I bolted up to my feet. Instant dizziness slammed through my head and I braced myself against the stones. My feet and legs were riddled with pin and needles, and heat flushed through my body.How long had I been sitting in one position?
“What is it you want?” The question scorched my throat, scraped glass over my tongue.
“To talk with you about how elated I am you accepted my offer.” He shifted closer, pacing slowly like a predator just spotting his next meal.
“You gave me no choice,” I said flattening myself to the wall, which somehow seemed to pulsate harder and faster than before.
“Does your human heart love him?” he asked, taking another step forward and leaning his head way too close to mine to be socially acceptable.
My eyes stung with tears, and my breath sucked back into my mouth for fear I might say something to cause Mathias more punishment.
Hemlock’s head tilted slightly, his cold skin brushing against mine making my stomach tighten into a painful mess.
“I will not speak to you about him. Ever.”
His hands lashed out at me instantly, grasping both my arms in vice-like grips. A scream tore out from the back of my throat, trailing fire through its insides. The room flashed and spun in blurry gray tones and salty tears. I tried to shove back, thrashing and flailing at him, but his hold was solid and hard.
His smile was wild and maniacal, and all I felt was the air around us freeze and my breath catching and squeezing in my chest. Ice trailed over my skin, stealing over my veins and solidifying my insides, draining me of energy, of caring, of hope.
Pain blinded me. White-hot fire tore across my skin, biting through the layers, searing into my bones. My own screams shrieked through my ears, my heart throbbed, and my pulse raced until all I saw was the deep darkness, the complete emptiness inside him.
When Hemlock’s hands dropped away, I stumbled away and lost my footing. The heaviness of my body unbalanced me and dragged me to the floor. Beneath me the stones fluttered and heated, kindling warmth across all the places of me it touched.
Across from me, Hemlock watched with bated breath. His face was fuller now, younger, more alive than I had ever seen before. His muscles were thick and strong and coiled, his skin a warm bronze and hair a thick silky black. And for the first time I saw it—Hemlock, as some ancient Greek god people once wrote stories about.
“You’re more than I ever dreamed you could be,” he whispered.
I looked away, not wanting to witness his sickening victory of the situation. But when my gaze dropped away, it fell to my hands and arms. Light gray soot covered my skin in the most delicate design of swirls and scrollwork. A fine dusting of chalk made of curves and curls traveled from the tips of my fingers to the top of my shoulders.
I rubbed my hands over one another, trying to brush the ashy artwork off, yet nothing I could do would remove it. I scratched and blew at my skin, tried to wet it with my saliva to no avail.
I ran to the mirror that stood in front of the dressing table and staggered back when I saw my reflection.
Every inch of me was covered with intricate patterns of gray soot as if I wore a body suit made of the finest lace.
I whirled on him. “What have you done to me?”
His grumble of laughter sent chills down my spine. “I took precautions so no one else would ever again touch what is mine.”
“You never did this to my mother.”
“She never lusted after my son.” He walked toward the shadowy corner with a gleam in his eye that made me want to hurl something at him.
“Take it off,” I demanded.
He took another step into the shadows. “Oh, I don’t think I will.”
I lunged forward, ready to rip that smile right off his face. “Take it off, right now! Take it off. You have no right to put anything on me. You have no right—”
His fist flew up out of nowhere. My head slammed back against the wall. Pain exploded through my face and neck as he gripped my throat and thrust me up so my feet no longer touched the ground.
Blood filled my mouth, tangy and salty. I couldn’t breathe. His fingers squeezed so tight black spots danced before my eyes.
I clawed at his hands, but I could find no purchase. A small weak sob escaped from my throat.
“Do you in some way think this is a game? You, my little pet, are mine. And no one touches what’s mine.” He barked out a laugh. “This is to ensure no one violates you but me.”
He needs me. He won’t kill me, I reminded myself frantically. His body pressed up against mine then, the sharp nails of his fingers digging in under my jaw. It didn’t feel like he needed me or wouldn’t kill me, no, it very much felt the opposite.
