Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Because I’m less of an obstacle than the bargainer demon.
Shame coats me, so thick I can barely breathe past it. I’m used to not being enough for my people, more or less, but this damned human doesn’t know me.
She signed the contract, same as I did. She gave her word, same as I did. And yet she’s not even going to wait twenty-four hours before she breaks it. I have no intention of forcing her into anything. I was going to give her the benefit of the doubt and conduct a slow seduction. I intended to get to know her and potentially craft a real relationship.
She had dinner with me to placate me. To make me think that we had a potentially real connection.
She lied.
As I ascend to the roof and crouch there, waiting for her to make her move, resolve solidifies inside me. If she doesn’t intend to keep her word, then I won’t either. I won’t force her. I didn’t lie when I said I have no desire or intention to do so.
But there is a lot of ground between a sweet seduction and force. It makes me a little sick to think of, but even that feeling falls away as full darkness descends and I catch the movement of Grace slipping out of the castle below.
She really thinks so little of me that she didn’t even attempt to cover up her escape. There was no waiting for the deepest night to fall. She’s not even moving particularly sneakily.
Anger blooms inside me, and I welcome it with open arms. It’s so much easier to be angry than to drown in the damned shame that never leaves.
I take to the sky, using the cover of clouds to hide my movement. No matter how capable she is, she’s on unfamiliar territory in the dark. There are many dangers in the lands around the castle, and I might be so furious I can barely breathe, but that doesn’t mean I want her harmed.
She’s prey and doesn’t even know it.
She slips past the guard post with its spells that keep the area safe. I descend until I’m almost skimming the treetops, following the gray of her worry as she picks her way through the forest. Barely ten minutes have passed before a muffled curse sounds. Exactly as I expected. I find a spot and drop to the ground in front of her.
Grace hangs aloft, her entire body stuck to a massive web. She’s taken the time to change out of her dress into a pair of leggings and a long tunic that puts her lean body on full display. She curses harder when she sees me, struggles more violently. All it does is entangle her further.
Overhead, something scurries along the web.
“The more you fight the web, the greater their frenzy when they reach you.” I’m so angry, I hardly sound like myself. I approached this deal in good faith; Grace never intended to uphold her side of things.
“Cut me down, you bastard!”
I spread my arms. “I’ll make you a bargain of my own, Grace.” I don’t wait for her to respond before I continue. “I don’t know why you’re so determined to flee, and I don’t really care at this point. But if you’re going to break your word, then so will I.”
“What are you talking about?”
Now is the time to turn back, to not allow my anger to drive this situation. It’s too late, though. I’m running out of time. More than that, I can’t help looking at her and seeing the past play out in real time. Like my father, I went against the will of my people and brought a human into my home to be a potential partner. Like that human, Grace has gone back on her word and betrayed me.
Like that younger version of me, I wasn’t good enough to stop it.
That should be reason enough to turn away from this course of action, but maybe I’m more similar to my monster of a father than I thought. Because I don’t turn away. “You obviously want to run. I’ll even let you. But every time I catch you, you will come to my bed willingly.”
“Hard to call the sex willing if it’s coercion,” she snarls.
“Hard to call it honesty when all you do is lie.”
The rustling overhead gets louder, closer. I don’t look away from Grace as I strike out with my wings, using the spur to kill the spider stalking her. She doesn’t scream when it drops and curls up on the ground below her feet, but her eyes get wide and her movements grow more frantic.
“I suggest you answer quickly. When they die, they give off a pheromone that draws others. They are not a wasteful species.”
Grace looks up, and every bit of color leaches from her skin. Her energy surges with the light gray of fear. It’s almost enough for me to back down. I hate this, but not enough to turn back. I had every intention of doing things with her the proper way, but she’s taken that option from me with her betrayal.