“Oh, you beast.”
The pressure disappears. I heave in a breath, gasping through my laughter when she huffs with annoyance.
“Keep doing that,” I taunt her. “You’ll use up all that magic in my blood, and I’ll be able to lie again. Maybe you won’t notice when it happens. It will be fun.”
Her lips purse, and she braces her hands on the table, making to stand.
“Wait.” I settle opposite her, pulling more food toward me. “I have a story to tell you. A rumor, really, but I’m convinced it’s true. It’s about your dearest Dar. About you, too.”
Jaga regards me with obvious mistrust, which is fucking hilarious right now. I cannot deceive her even if I want to. Or—wait, I could. Probably. When you twist the truth enough, it becomes a lie.
But that’s not what I’m trying to do here.
“Can I be Weles, love? I’m sorry, but I can’t help plotting how to outsmart your spell. Weles is more honorable. And you hate him less.”
“I hate him even more than you,” she hisses through gritted teeth. “He was my only hope, and he turned out to be the biggest lie of all. Try to be decent for once.”
“I am indecent by nature.” I grin, remembering how bashful that made her long ago. “You used to mind it—you found my nakedness embarrassing. Remember how I put clothes on to please you?”
“You did it to taunt me.” She looks away before our eyes have a chance to meet. “Fine. Change. I don’t care.”
“You need a spell to make you honest, too,” I murmur, leaning in over the table. “Little liar. Yes, you care, yes, you know there’ssomething wrong with your soul, and no, you don’t hate me. Not anymore. You’re afraid you’ll fall for me again.”
She flicks her hand toward where the torture wheel used to stand. The half-translucent shape of it reappears, making my guts twist with foreboding.
“Go back there. You haven’t learned your lesson.”
“No. I’m done with it and you should be, too. I let you do unspeakable things to me. My heart, Jaga? That is fucking sacred, and you defiled it. The way you touched me as Mokosz was disgusting. Do you think I don’t mind because I’m a man? How would you feel if I did that to you?”
Her expression turns stony, eyes cold.
“You told me I could do anything.”
“Yes, you! But not Mokosz!”
The bench topples as I stand, my chest heaving with sharp, painful breaths. I stare at her with my teeth bared, and Jaga’s eyes widen, her lips parting in surprise. I turn away, wrestling with my fury. It’s useless, though. Now that she’s forced me to be honest, I have an unhealthy desire to let her know exactly how I feel.
“Do you know what I want to do now?” I ask, my voice sounding hoarse and strained. “I want to fuck you a hundred times so the feel of your cunt washes away the memory of her. It doesn’t matter if it turned out to be you. Fucking—Mokosz.That was dirty, love. You should kiss it better now. I’ve never done a thing like that to you.”
“You tried to rape my mind, made me kill children, chained me naked to the floor and let Mokosz take me and bury me for months,” she says softly, a world of suffering glittering in her eyes. “For the sake of peace, let’s be even.”
My wrath boils over. I want to scream that we’ll never be fucking even, that she went too far, that I loathe her. But just likebefore, my tongue rebels. A part of me must know I hurt her in despicable ways. She paid me back.
All things considered, it’s not too high a price.
“Fine.” My shoulders drop in surrender. “We’re even. So love me again.”
She doesn’t grace my pathetic demand even with a scoff. Her eyes are averted, face closed off, and for a moment, she’s the apathetic Jaga again. But then she sighs, shakes herself off, and looks up.
“What were you going to say about Dar and me?”
So it’s like that. I put the bench to rights with magic and sit down slowly, careful with my tail. It still feels tender. Should I be Weles, then? She gave her permission, but I don’t know this strange, new Jaga who fondles hearts and dresses like a goddess.
Being Weles would be easier. But also—less exciting. Jaga ignores him with no effort, just as I control my reactions to her with more ease when I’m him.
I’ll be Woland, then. I’ll win her over. Somehow.
“Dar is powerful, more powerful than he has any right to be. As are you. Now, let’s make it fun. Tell me: what do the two of you have in common?”
