“Fine!” he spat.
I slipped the cuff back into my pocket. It wouldn’t strip him of his powers. One cuff was likely to dampen them. He was an elite God after all, and I had my doubts over just how effective they truly were.
Grayson closed the space between us quickly, his arms on either side of me, hands gripping the bench, so I was trapped in the small space.
“You tried to run from me,” he said, looking down at me.
“I did no such thing.”
“They put you in my service.”
“I’m not in anyone’s service. This is my job!” I raised both my hands and slammed my palms into his chest, trying to move him, but Grayson held himself solid beneath my hands without the slightest flinch.
“There it is,” he whispered, twisted joy coming over his features. “There’s the anger that you worked so hard to keep at bay. That’s the anger that would get you to call for me.”
“I told you, I don’t believe in you. I would never call for you.”
“Foolish girl. You’ve seen plenty of proof that our blood is divine.”
Ever since I was a child, I struggled with my temper. The smallest thing set me off in the most explosive ways. The older I got, and with my parents’ guidance, I learned to control it, but it never truly left. It’d morphed from physical spats into verbal ones. I became versed in the volley of words and how to use them against my opponent.
“Divine?” I asked, disregarding the way my heart pounded. “You’re so insistent that we’re so different, but look at you. You’re no better than I am. You’re selfish and ill-tempered. You sit on a throne and look down at mortals with a river of gold flowing through your veins, but that’s it. You walk and talk and are flawed just like the rest of us.”
A murderous expression graced his face at my blatant nerve to question his divinity, but I was tired of being pushed. Tired of him thinking that he called the shots when he was on my turf.
A small voice called my name, and I looked past Grayson to see James standing there, surveying the situation.
Only older by three years, James had no issue taking orders from me. The man was so laidback he was practically horizontal.
“James, would you get us some liquid nitrogen buckets, please?” I asked him, trying to keep my voice steady.
He kept his eyes on us and nodded before he left to do as I asked.
Slowly, I turned my attention back to Grayson, careful not to look him directly in the eyes. “I need to work, so move.”
Time ticked by at an agonising pace until Grayson eventually removed his arms from either side of me and I picked up the needles from the bench where I’d placed them. Grayson had left little space, so I squeezed past him when he caught my elbow.
“I am nothing like you,” he spat with a disgusted look. “Make a comparison again, and I won’t think twice about showing you every difference that makes me a divine being, including how easily I could end your pathetic mortal life.”
Scott had batted away the few questions about her disappearance this morning with a tight smile and curt response, refusing to disclose the true reason behind her temporary placement on the floor above us.
It gave me immense pleasure to watch her squirm, especially after her little comment. How dare she compare me to a mortal? Did she truly think we were anything alike? If she made another comment like that again, I’d be sure that she couldn’t voice another word. I’d be doing the world a favour.
“Arm,” Scott ordered brashly when the lab resumed work.She snapped on a pair of white gloves and picked up a tourniquet.
“I still require respect, Scott,” I told her through gritted teeth.
She sighed and tried again. “I need your arm.”
I gave her my most charming smile, perfect pearly whites on display. “Say please.”
“You’re insufferable,” she said, playing with the tourniquet in her hands, and I swallowed a laugh.
Underneath the controlled exterior, something deep inside of Scott belonged to me. Wound a little too tight, like a spring with too much tension, ready to pop at any moment.
“Say please and I’ll do it for you,” I said, making my words sickly sweet.
With a sigh, and probably hoping to avoid another scene today, she gritted out through her teeth, “Please, give me your arm.”
