“Never suspected a thing.”
“Wow, Roman.” I shake my head as if I’m impressed when really I’m deeply disturbed.
“We should go to bed, it’s getting late.” His tone is eerily seductive, as if all this was meant to impress me. As if all of it were foreplay.
I lick my lips, then glance toward Vivian, whose eyes are enormous in her gaunt face. I’m walking a tightrope here and I have to be careful. I have one chance to prove to him that I’m as crazy as he is, to become Harley Quinn to his Joker. It’s the only way I’ll earn his trust.
I rest my hands on his chest and stare up at him through my lashes. “This is so impressive, Roman. Really. Your entire plan was nothing short of brilliant. I couldn’t have written it any better in one of my books.”
He seems to swell under the compliment and leans in as if to kiss me. I rest two fingers on his lips.
“But can I ask you for a wedding gift?”
He steps in closer, those dead eyes narrowing in on me. “You know I can give you anything you want.”
“I want the dragon,” I say through my teeth. I fist his shirt and pull him closer to me. “The one that took me. I want you to capture it so that I can keep it in that fucking cage after Donovan is dead, just like it kept me caged.And I want to watch you burn the bastard with your ring whenever I feel like it.”
Even saying that aloud, knowing I’m lying, makes me want to die, especially with Donovan within hearing distance, but I throw every bit of control I have left into the act.You’ve got this, Alex says inside my head. Indeed, Roman’s pupils are wide and he’s looking at me like I’m his favorite slice of birthday cake.
“I swear it on my father’s grave,” he says.
I nod. “It counts for more since you put him in it.” I cackle like I’m entirely off my rocker.
“Come, it’s late,” he says, glancing at his watch.
I’m not wearing one, so I look at his. It’s not just late, it’s early morning. “No wonder I’m so exhausted. I can barely keep my eyes open.”
He threads his fingers into mine and starts for the stairs.
I plant my feet. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” I point at Vivian.
She tentatively takes a step toward her cell door, her eyes darting in Roman’s direction. He blinks at me and shakes his head. “She knows too much.”
“She won’t tell anyone. She’s my friend.” I make eye contact with her and widen my eyes slightly.
“Of course I won’t,” she promises through a dry, raspy throat. I can see what saying it costs her.
“She realizes how powerful you are, Roman. We both do. Besides, if I’m going to be a proper grandmaster’s wife, I’m going to need a friend I can confide in, one who knows howto keep a secret.”
He scowls. “Yourfriendhas not been cooperative up to this point.”
I swallow down the bile rising in my throat and cup his face in my hands. “At least move her to a guest room. Feed her dinner and let her shower. Guard the room if you must but give me a chance to convince her to do it your way.”
“Our way,” he says softly, brushing a hand along my back.
Swallow, swallow, swallow.Don’t you dare puke right now, Fiona. Not until she’s out of that cell,Alex yells in my head.I meet his soulless black eyes and hold them. “Our way.”
His cold lips meet mine in a kiss that makes me think of kissing a snake, and somewhere deep down, in that place where I can feel my bond with Connor, a place that’s been silent for hours, I finally hear a roar.
Chapter Thirty-Four
CONNOR
The nightmare grips me. Fiona’s in my arms, screaming as I fly her away from the helicopter to safety. But Roman is shooting at us, those deadly blue bolts whistling far too close to her pretty face. I twist and turn and fly as fast as my wings will carry me, but icy pain, so cold it burns, pierces my flesh, punches a hole in my wing. And then another. And then another. I’m twisting and dodging, but he’s too fast, and before long, the membrane of my wings is tattered. Cradled in my arms, Fiona is weeping now, her creamy skin splattered with my blood. But I’ve protected her; I’ve saved her. Until the air starts to sing through the holes in my wings and I realize we’re falling. Her eyes grow wide just before we careen into the earth.
I wake, heart pounding, and sit up in bed. Bones is at attention, ears trained on me. “Just a nightmare, buddy. Go back to bed.” He rests his head on his pillow.
The first rays of silvery light diffuse through the window, chasing the moon from the sky. Morning. Tentatively, I stretch my wings and peel away the bandage where the hole had been. I can still see where Morwyn stitched it, but it’s not as painful to move. Almost healed. I dig my fingers under the one on my chest. That wound is worse, still sporting blue veins that branch across my torso. They’re fading but still hurt like hell.
