Page 174

“I want many things.”

“Say it.”

I look at him for a long moment. “Leave Sangremere,” I say. “Tell Alessia you want to return to Purgatory, and I will cover every debt attached to you, your mother, and your sister before the next tide leaves the dock.”

His eyes harden.

“There it is. A king buying whatever gets in his way.”

“Do not flatter yourself,” I say softly. “You are not in my way.”

He laughs, bitter and unbelieving. “No?”

“No,” I repeat, stepping closer now because he needs to understand the insult in it. “You are not a rival, Arlo Basik, and you are not competition. You are a mortal boy she loved because the world gave her no one better,” I continue. “You are a memory of pain, hunger, and misery that she has shaped into devotion.”

He steps forward, though the movement makes him hiss in pain. “She loved me before she knew you existed.”

“Yes,” I say. “And now she knows me.”

His hands curl into fists. “You want me gone because you’re scared.”

For the first time since entering the room, I smile. “If you were a threat to me, you would already be dead.”

“Then why not kill me and get it over with?” he snaps, stepping closer still. “You know you want to. The only reason you haven’t is that she would hate you for it.”

“You truly are a foolish boy.”

His eyes burn. “You want to show her some civilized version of yourself, but we both know what you are. You can dress like a king, speak like you’re above us all, but you’re still a monster waiting for an excuse.”

I am in front of him before his next breath.

One moment he’s standing by the hearth, the next his back hits the wall. My hand tightens around his throat, not crushing, only firm enough for him to feel the possibility of death.

The fear in his glassy eyes sends a small thrill through me. Because he should be very fucking afraid. “Do you see the difference between us now?” I murmur. “See how easily I can end you?”

His breath catches beneath my palm.

“Perhaps you should feel it,” I say, lifting him effortlessly. His hands grip my wrist as I drag him higher up the wall, his feet dangling uselessly. “You feel it now, don’t you?”

He sputters, not words, just the sound of all that pride deflating instantly as his face turns pink.

“I want to kill you,” I continue. “I have wanted to kill you since the moment I smelled your mouth on her skin. Not because you are a threat. Because no one touches what’s mine.”

His eyes bulge, his face turning dark purple, and his pulse beneath my hand slows.

I lean closer. “Wanting is not weakness unless you obey it.” I release him, and instead of crumpling, he catches himself against the wall with one hand at his throat.

I step back and straighten my cuffs.

“If I were the monster you are so desperate for her to see, your blood would have spilled in the town square.”

He drags in a rough breath, glaring up at me. “Then why are you still here?”

“Because I read your records.”

His expression shutters again. “Congratulations.”

“Complaints filed by your previous owner,” I continue. “Disobedience, theft, violence, and a tendency to put yourself between Alessia and consequences meant for her.”