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I snorted. I wondered what else Jana had told him.
“Right as rain. I can’t ask for much more than that after being dragged to Hell.”
“Not Hell,” he supplied. “Also, I didn’t drag you. You walked through that portal on your own two feet.
Were we really going to start that this morning? He and I both knew the only reason I came across at all, let alone stayed, was because of Clara. Pretending like he didn’t kidnap her wasn't going to change that, and I didn’t have the desire to repeat myself.
Caius just stood there, and surprisingly, it wasn't awkward. My words were clipped, and my tone was sharp, but whatever invisible current ran between us was charged. Being near the Soulless One while carrying half his soul was going to take some getting used to.
"What did you really come here for?" I said, shifting my weight and holding up my towel.
“To take you out,” he answered. “The first moon cycle has already passed, and I thought you might want to have a tour. Get to know the castle.”
“I’d rather be alone,” I said, despite the fact he was offering exactly what I wanted.
“You know, it’s not a bad place, Tartarus.” Caius turned his head, looking out the window before he sighed. “You can't just spend the next six months in hiding."
I laughed. “The first thing you need to learn is never tell a woman what she can’t do. We will go out of our way just to achieve it, and if spite is the only thing that drives us, so be it. So, yes, I could hide in here for six months if I wanted to.” Caius inclined his head, and he waited for me to continue, but I didn’t miss the way his jaw clenched.
“And the second?”
“We made a deal that I would spend six months here, but we didn’t make a deal that I would spend any of it with you.”
“You only see me as the villain,” he said softly, taking steps toward me. I backed up, bumping into a piece of furniture. My heart was racing, but I wouldn’t stand down.
“Is there any other way to see you?” I asked, holding my chin up in defiance.
“You haven’t seen me be a villain, Reagan. You only think you know who I am. Would you like me to be that man instead? Is that what you really want?” he asked softly, his eyes swirling with dark glittery threads as he advanced another step, making the space between us non-existent.
I swallowed thickly. “Do whatever you want, Caius. It’ll just prove my point about you. You’d do well to remember that the villain never gets the girl.”
He leaned into me, pressing his body against mine. The dresser at my back pinned me in place. Scared, vulnerable, out of my depth, and Istillfelt my traitorous core clench. He bent down, his lips near my ear as he whispered, his hot breath heating my skin.
“Depends on which story you read.”
Chapter14
Reagan
Clara sat on the edge of my bed, painting her nails while I sat hunched over in an armchair in my room.
“He’s right, you know,” she said, after I’d told her about the exchange I’d had with Caius three days prior.
I’d holed myself up in my room, doing nothing but sleeping and basically feeling sorry for myself. I ate what Isobel and Jana brought me, and bathed only because they drew my bathwater—not that it was relaxing. They had a job to do, and even though they hated me, I let them in and just kept quiet until they left. There was no way I wanted to spend six months doing that.
“I know he’s right, but there is no way I would tell him.”
“You shut me out too,” she said, pausing after a brush stroke to look at me. “I snuck in here while you slept just to make sure you were okay.”
I sighed. “I guess I needed to have a pity party for one. No invites. I didn’t mean to push you away.” A tear fell, and I wiped it away.
She smiled softly. “Look, you were dealt a weird hand in life. A ton of choices have been taken away from you, and you never had the opportunity to feel bad for yourself. You’ve always taken care of other people, and sort of had this giant responsibility on your shoulders that also required you keep it together for the sake of humanity. Honestly, three days to fall apart isn’t that much and it’s kinda overdue if you think about it.”
I laughed quietly. “Clara the therapist. Who knew?”
She shushed me, making a show of looking around the room. “Keep it down, or people will hear you. They’ll know I’m smart and they’ll want to talk to me about stuff. Your life is enough to handle.”
“Okay, okay,” I said with a smile. “You can just be my advisor.”
