“Never again,” he growled. “I will never let you go again. If I have to chain your body to mine, I will, so help me. You will not escape again.”
I sucked in a breath as I felt the finality of his words. Something permanent and eternal landed on my shoulders.
He was right. I would never escape him until I killed him. I would always be chained to him, figuratively or literally. I would never be free of him until one of us was dead.
“You’re hurting me,” I whispered, testing him. I needed to see where he was at. I needed to see how far gone to rage he was.
His pressure didn’t ease, but he moved so that I wasn’t in such an awkward position. “You haven’t thanked me yet.”
My eyes went big and I licked my lips, stalling for time. “For what?”
He jerked his chin toward Eryn’s dead body.
Did he honestly expect me to say thank you for that?
“I saved your life,” he pointed out. “You could express your gratitude.”
“I’m not sure that I am,” I answered honestly.
A slow smile spread across his face, transforming his ire into amused allure. He was beautiful. I could admit that. Physically, he was perfect. Dark haired, dark eyed, golden skin and an aura that captured everyone around him.
But he was also evil… repulsively so. And I hated that he wanted me so completely, that he couldn’t let me go. I hated that I had to fight him every step of every day.
I just wanted this to be over.
And maybe that was my problem. I had run from him every chance I got. I had forced him to chase me.
But I wasn’t helpless and I wasn’t confused any more. I knew exactly how I wanted this to end.
I was tired of this game he insisted on playing. Even if Ryder and I made it to Tortola, we would always live in fear that he would somehow find us or get to us. I would never be able to breathe easily until I had finished this completely.
Instead of saying thank you, I asked a question that bothered me most of all. “Why did you send her to kill me to only kill her yourself?”
His head jerked back and he shook it slowly. “I didn’t send her to kill you. I don’t want you dead.”
I looked down at Eryn’s lifeless feet. “Then who did?”
With the kind of passive nonchalance that I knew was born from an eternity of family drama, he said, “My guess is Hera. She thinks you’re Zeus’ child. She wants you dead.”
“I’m not,” I answered needlessly.
He smiled at me, “No, but your sister is. She’ll figure it out soon enough. I wonder who she’ll send after little Honor. Maybe a harpy or a minotaur. Or a cyclops. I would pay good money to see that execution.”
“You’re a monster.” Rage quivered through me. My power started to build. Water rushed through my veins. It was the source I called to, the energy I borrowed from. This saltwater wouldn’t hurt me; it would fuel my vengeance.
“You weren’t expecting something different from me, were you? After you lied to me for so long?” His grip tightened again and I winced in agony. “After you dragged Smith into your deceitful lure and convinced him to help you? Does he know that you put him under your spell? Or is he too deep to realize he’s being played?”
“I never played Smith! Unlike you, he doesn’t want to manipulate my power!”
Nix threw his head back and laughed. “Is that what he told you? Is that the lie he fed you? He just wanted to get close to you.” He suddenly let go of me. My hand and arm screamed with relief, but I only had a second before his hands were back on me, cradling my face. “He wants what’s mine. He wants to have what only I can.”
I shuddered from his vile touch. I wanted to recoil into a ball on the ground. I wanted to run again.
But I knew I couldn’t this time.
“I’m not yours,” I ground out. “I will never be yours.”
“That’s where you’re-”
