“That’s one thing we agree on.” His blue eyes pierce mine, and the familiar pressure against my forehead returns. “Are you ready to make it two?”
“You’re doing it again, aren’t you? Trying to get inside my head?”
He smirks. “Not trying. I’m in.”
My lip curls. This time, when I draw my blade, he’s ready. He pins me against the wall with a thud. His chest presses against me, his mouth lowering until it’s pressed against my ear.
“Nice try, brat.”
“Fuck you.” I look at his face the best I can from this angle. “I’m not playing into your bullshit. I don’t want to be here. Send me back.”
“That’s not an option.”
“I swear to the fucking gods—”
“Yet.” He cuts me off, and with that one word, my mouth slams shut.
Creed smirks knowingly.
He widens his stance, hands folding in front of him like some privileged fuck, and I have to hold in the urge to roll my eyes.
“If you can dig deep into that empty skull of yours and find even a tiny bit of self-control, pretend you’re a good little gifted girl, I will make you a deal.”
“Just fucking say it already.”
“Stop driving my brother into a manic state. It’s weighing on him. Agree to stay where we put you.”
“And what doIget out of that?”
“Besides the opportunity to find out if you’re worth more than your skin as a gifted?” He raises a brow.
I raise one right back.
“Fine,” he clips. “Agree and when the time comes, I will helpsend you back where you belong myself.”
My head jerks back. That’s unexpected. I take a step back, watching him closely. “Do you think I’m a fool?” I ask, cocking my head. “I might not know jack all about your little world, but don’t underestimate me,King Deveraux. Because if you do, it will be a mistake you can’t come back from,” I warn. “Don’t forget, I come from a place where there weren’t just snakes in the grass but in the very air you breathe. I know a trick when I see one, and I won’t be played into submission.”
He hums, hands clasped behind his back as he circles around me. “There is a Royal Gateway on campus accessible only to those we let through. It is a living, breathing portal created and protected by the enchantment of desire. A safety net that allows us to get where we’re needed in the event we find ourselves drained, or worse. When entered, it takes you where your heart demands. Agree, and I’ll shove you through the second the time is right. Legend won’t know you’re gone until it’s too late.”
My throat runs dry. The more I study him, the less I’m convinced it’s a lie. “What’s the catch?”
“To enter the gateway, you have to be able to open its doors.”
“And let me guess…you need power to do that?”
“Along with the blood of a royal. I can offer you one of those, but the other…well. That’s up to you, isn’t it?” He smirks in triumph. “So, what’s it gonna be? Go back to that cesspool you call home as the girl you are now—assuming you can make it there on your own.” He pauses. “Or go to Rathe U and figure out if there’s anything worth a damn under this skin of yours?”
My pulse pounds widely and I glare at the bastard. “I think I hate your face more than the other one.”
Creed chuckles as he steps back. “Remember that, brat. Because I can promise you this: If you’re toying with my brother in some way I’ve yet to discover, my face will be the last thing you ever see.”
And with that final anticlimactic threat, he snaps his fingers and reality bleeds into nothing.
…
My muscles shriek. Something pulses with agony. My head? My hands? My—I rocket to my feet.
The sleeping platform beneath me groans like tortured bones, and I’m caged within some sort of rectangular tomb with walls that stretch toward a ceiling painted like false galaxies.
