He took a large swig of wine, as if it were an elixir that strengthened him against the awkwardness that filled the air. “It is difficult to begin.”
She hadn’t even known he could drink real wine.
His eyes searched hers, looking for some sign she returned his affections, but she remained cold and expressionless before him. “Elizabeth, I sought you out because there’s something you need to know about why I chose to bring you to my castle.”
Her stomach dropped to the floor. She leaned forward, expecting him to say something to the effect of the prophecy. Ambriel had said that was why she was chosen, because Caspian had been hunting for the woman who it described.
She waited with bated breath to have it confirmed: he had never picked her because she was special, but because she fit the markers of the mysterious prophecy.
“I picked you because of your father’s name. Nothing more.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she blurted, “What—not—” She paused. “Wait, myfather’sname?”
Caspian gave a hollow laugh. “I wanted to make you fall in love with me, then kill you. The Ashcroft line was meant to end with you—to die with you—heartbroken and alone.” His face was unapologetic and grave.
The words hit her like physical blows. “How could you possibly be so cruel?” Elizabeth’s lips curled in revulsion. “You wanted to kill—me?”
“I wanted to end your family. They wronged mine, several centuries ago. And for several centuries I have waited.”
Her gaze narrowed. “But I don’t understand. You haven’t hurt me at all.”
Caspian smiled grimly. “I trapped you in a contract so that you would be mine. So I would own you for three months and glut myself on your blood. If you’d left early, I would have killed you for breaking our contract.” He paused. “And if you had stayed the full three months, I would have killed you, anyway, as soon as it was over. On the last day of the contract, as soon as it was midnight.”
“Why did you want me to fall for you?” Her voice came out in a horrified whisper. “The walks in the garden, the gifts, the kind gestures? All of it—why?”
Caspian glanced at the snow falling outside before returning his gaze to her. His expression was wooden. “I wanted the pleasure of watching you, and theothers, fall in love with me, worship me, adore me, feel completely safe with me, so that it would be all the more sweeter when you realized I was going to kill you.”
Her nose wrinkled in disgust. “That is a sick thing to want. To want to hurt people you don’t even know and bring their heart into it, only to stomp on it. To want to torture their feelings, and kill them? And for what crime?” Her nostrils flared in solidarity with the women whom he had hurt before. “You’ve killed them all?” Her voice shook. “Every last one?”
“Yes,” he said dismissively, as if the women before her had meant nothing.
Her heart sank to the floor. Here it was, the irrefutable proof that the angels would have been right to damn her soul if she had voluntarily stayed with such a beast.
In a horrified whisper, she asked, “How many?”
He looked up at the ceiling, as if counting. “In this particular quest, I have ended nineteen houses of nobility. The daughters I tricked and invited into my castle in the same way as I did with you, but the sons, I simply killed in dark alleys.” He paused. “Always many years apart, always in the shadows, so that no one would ever suspect me.”
“You murdered them.” Elizabeth sat taller; the meal in front of her lay forgotten. “Not for sustenance, or sport, but out of nothing but spite.” She gave a humourless laugh. “You are a horrible, wretched person. There is not a word foul enough to describe a male who would want to break a woman’s heart into pieces, only to make her more horrified before her end.” She lifted her chin in defiance, daring him to try and justify it. “You disgust me.”
Elizabeth thought of white walls and braced herself against infiltration and attack, protecting her mind. She tunnelled into the magic in her chest, preparing to fling it at him. She glanced around the restaurant—at the candle flickering on their table, at the steak knife at her side she could send flying. Her fingers tensed on the table, waiting for him to strike.
If he was going to kill her, she might not win, but she could hurt him as much as possible before he did. Pressure built in her chest, her magic aching to be released.
Caspian frowned, staring at her from across the table. He made no move towards her, and no attack on her mind came. He looked down, and a lock of black hair fell across his face.
Annoyed that he was being so calm, she hissed, “You’ve come to do it then? To try and kill me, and for the crime of what? Being born into a noble house? For having enough sense not to fall at the feet of a male as despicable as you?” She leaned forward and said vehemently, “Try to hurt me then. You came to do it. Sodo it.”
Caspian looked up, their eyes locking. His eyes were green, and lined with silver. “I cannot.” His voice cracked as he said. “I cannot hurt a single hair on your head. Don’t you see what you’ve done? You’ve broken me.”
Elizabeth blinked. Unwilling to offer him an ounce of sympathy. Coldly, she said, “I will not apologize for hurting the feelings of my killer.”
“No,” he said loudly. “You don’tget it. I can’t stomach the idea of hurting you now. I find the idea of anything even making you sad abhorrent. And when you left … I was a shadow of myself.” He paused. “All I want is you in my castle again, smiling. Happy. With me. You have my word that I will not harm you. Not now. Not ever. So … come back with me.”
Elizabeth’s lips thinned in rage. “You just told me that you wanted, at least for a very long time, to kill me. So, I really don’t think I’ll be going anywhere with you.”
He brooded and crossed his arms, staring at the street outside. “That’s it then? When you finish eating, we will go our separate ways, never to speak again?” He scowled. “You’re crueler than I’ve given you credit for. Heart of ice, I name you.”
She knew he was only saying those things to try and hurt her. So, Elizabeth smiled grimly and said, “Call me whatever you like, Caspian.” She paused, raising her brows. “I will not return with you if you say the kindest things I’ve ever heard, or if you continue to insult me.”
