“Hmm, where to begin?” She crossed her arms and shifted toward him too. She’d all but forgotten the book in her lap.
“Maybe because you kidnapped me, locked me in a dungeon, and then left me to starve to death. Or maybe because you scared the piss out of me with your creepy souls—twicenow. Or maybe because of all the times you half strangled me, threatened me, insulted me, and traumatized me with your stories about the horrible things you’ve done to demons, humans, and even angels.”
He laughed. He actually laughed. “You’re being dramatic.”
“Dramatic? I can’t even—” She shook her head. “If I had more energy, I’d punch you.”
There was that grin again. This time it flashed his fangs, and the sight of them sent a tiny pulse of heat throbbing through her traitorous body.No, we are not doing that.
“The way I see it,” he replied, “I’ve treated you like a queen.”
Her brows shot up so high, they probably disappeared behind her fringe. “I never knew you were delusional as well as psychotic.”
“You weresupposedto be a prisoner,” he said, choosing to disregard her comment. “And yet, somehow, you now have private chambers in my tower and servants to bring whatever you desire from Earth.”
“That’s only because—”
“And if that wasn’t enough, you are the one and only person ever to be allowed access to my library. There are demons currently impaled on the tower spikes just for entering this room or daring to touch a single book. And yet, I granted you complete, unfettered access to everything here after only knowing you a short time.”
“That’s great, but it’s hardly a justification for—”
“On top ofthat, I am now sitting here, putting aside my important work, upon which my life quite literally depends, in order to teach you about your father’s grimoire and your origins.” He shot her a challenging look. “Tell me, how is it that you still believe I treat you badly?”
She opened her mouth to reply … but nothing came out.
Shit, he’s kinda right, isn’t he?
“You would have let me starve to death,” she said, aware she was grasping at straws.
“You wouldn’t have died. And I didn’t realize your strength was influenced by food and water, since that’s not the case for me. I corrected my mistake though, did I not? Look at you now.” He lifted an arm and gestured to her before letting it drop into his lap. “I’ve never seen a more ungrateful person. I’ve half a mind to throw you back into the dungeon so you remember how good you have it.”
“I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“How about, ‘Thank you, Master, for your benevolence’?”
Is he fucking serious?She looked sharply at him. Humor danced in his eyes. The urge to punch him rose anew.
It didn’t escape her notice that she was trying to convince the bad guy that he was the bad guy. Of course he disagreed with her. Villains always felt justified in doing the terrible things they did.
So why was she letting him persuade her? Why was she listening to his point of view at all?
“None of this changes the fact that you took me without my consent and refused to allow me to tell people I wasn’t dead. You really want to prove your point? Let me go home and tell my friends and coven I’m okay. Then I’ll stop hating you. No more arguments. No more fights.”
The humor bled from his gaze, and it hardened. “No.”
“I’ll come back. I won’t try to escape. I’ll even swear a vow.”
“No.”
“Come on, Murmur.”
“No. We’ll cast the spell soon anyway. With any luck, it’ll be successful, and you can return to Earth for good.”
She ground her teeth. He had a point, but she was still goddamn frustrated. Just when she thought they were making headway, something always reminded her what he was capable of.
Maybe he was right, and he wasn’t treating her badly, but at the end of the day, he’d abducted her, and he wasn’t letting her go until he was finished with her. Her wants and needs were irrelevant. And that was something she could not overlook.
Facing the fire again, she looked down at the book in her lap. Her blood felt hot with her rising ire.
