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I blew out a sharp breath. “You were there when I bought her, Santino. Quinn was supposed to be nothing more than a pet I could play with until I grew tired of her.”
“Until you knotted her.”
My upper lip curled to expose my demonic fangs. “Are you going to bring that up every chance you get?” I growled.
He couldn’t stifle the laugh clawing up his throat this time. “I can’t imagine the look that was on your face when Nico walked in on the pair of you that first night. Still, I fail to see what has you so concerned, boss. You’ve taken that collar off. She hasn’t tried to kill you. Hell, I’m sure she’s enjoying the sex as much as you are.”
“She’s still half human,” I countered.
“Quinn was half human.” Santino arched an eyebrow at me. “Seems like you fuck a chunk of that out of her every time, boss.” He paused, studying me intently while I fumed in my own growing rage. After a moment, he clicked his tongue. “You’re worried that lingering humanity will prevent her from taking on the challenges the old ways call for.”
There was so much irritation tearing through my veins that I found my throat scorched. A part of me yearned for the wine still stashed at the bar and it took everything I had not to budge off the couch. Not when Nico’s words were still burning from the depths of my mind. I already had a fair portion weighed down with the guilt of drinking any of it in the first place.
Whose death are you mourning, Asher? Yours?
As Fate would have it, I would be mourning my father's death before long. The carefree lifestyle I had carried while he maintained most of the rule from the family home in Italy would dissipate and it wouldn’t be long until I endured the stress of the challenges I’d have to deal with myself. Most princes had time to put their chosen mates through those called by the old ways.
Neither Quinn nor I would have that gift.
It took everything I had to stifle a groan to where it was nothing more than an annoyed noise. “Just because that humanity is fading doesn’t mean there isn’t still some there. They’re the bottom ring on the ladder, Santino. Any human in their right mind would come to this with demands.”
The demon lord scoffed, rolling those silver eyes without a single damn about how much it irritated me. “You saw the same burns on her back that I did, boss. She was extremely underweight when you took her in, which means that bitch starved her more often than she fed her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she admitted her sleeping conditions were just as shitty.”
“What’s your point, Santino?”
Those piercing eyes flashed with a mixture of emotions that I couldn’t quite decipher. “You aren’t going to know where Quinn stands on ruling by your side or taking on these challenges until you’ve spoken to her. She doesn’t have much of a reason to make any demands for the human race. While you did originally buy her as a pet…You’ve taken more care of her than her own flesh and blood.”
In other words, I’d probably earned more brownie points in her eyes than her own kind had.
I mused over his words for a moment, taking the chance to draw in a deep breath and trap the oxygen in my lungs until the organ started to burn with protest. When I released it, my heart was pounding in my chest. “Perhaps you’re right.”
Quinn was strong, far more than I had given her credit for when I brought her into my home. No one would embrace the hand they had been given like she had, even if the fate handed to her didn’t remain for very long. Once the rawness of our bond became clear, she’d taken it in stride. Hell, she’d fought tooth and nail to impress a man that I didn’t think would accept who she was.
As much as I wanted to dwell on those thoughts for a little while longer — to ponder what the approaching days might hold in store for us — panicked sounds from the guest bedroom were enough to shatter those thoughts. My stomach twisted into a painful knot when all it took was a quick glance at the TV to realize the regular segment had been interrupted. I eased off the couch, gesturing at it. “I want to see Calianna’s stunt. If you don’t see it in the next hour, call Archer. We’ll take her down our way.”
“Understood, boss.”
While there was a part of me that yearned to linger behind and see if this was the emergency segment that I had been waiting for, I couldn’t deny the powerful pull within me to go to my pet’s side. As soon as I nudged the door open, the muffled whimpers had shifted into ragged gasps. The fear was coming off Quinn in waves. The beast within me would have been delighted at the sweet aroma — if it wasn’t her as the source.
“P-Please don’t,” Quinn rasped. She curled up into a tight ball. It wasn’t long until her entire body jerked, her back arching as if she was desperately trying to get away from something hot. “I promise I won’t do it again! I won’t steal from Timothy’s garden — No!”
The rage tearing through my veins heightened to a searing pain that left me seeing red. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Quinn’s subconscious had yanked her into an old memory, one where her own mother was no doubt unleashing a punishment on her. From the sound of it, for the simple fact that she had attempted to fill her empty belly. It wasn’t long until my fingers were itching for answers.
Using my gift was certainly going to drain me at a time when I couldn’t afford to lose my strength, but damn the gods if I was going to let her suffer alone.
Quinn’s body stiffened as I slid my hands underneath her. There wasn’t a part of me that could blame her for caving into the instinct to immediately pull away, especially when she was so consumed by the nightmare that her mind thought I was someone else. I was quick to scoop her up into my arms so that the heat from my body could start driving the tension away.
The noises coming from her were a mixture of ragged gasps and pained whimpers. Every single one of them simply fed the fire brewing within me. To hell with the weakness this would mean. Uncovering the source of her nightmare and helping it end officially was worth the new challenges I would face.
If that meant I had to burn down the entire world and send my kingdom along with it, then so be it. I would end this nightmare for Quinn Rossi.
Gritting my teeth, I bundled my pet up in my arms and wrapped her against my chest. I refused to let my grip loosen while she thrashed against me, her subconscious desperate to get free. “Shh, amor…” I pressed my lips against her hair.
There was a part of her soul that immediately relaxed in my presence. It could sense I was there — even if Quinn herself couldn’t.
Scooting back until I rested against the headboard, I tucked my legs around the other side of her body. I started humming softly in my native tongue while I summoned my magic from the depths of my soul. It emerged with a frantic energy, both eager to please me and urgent to soothe our other half. As it leaked from my skin and sank into hers, I closed my eyes and set my chin on her head.
Alright, Quinn… Let’s conquer this nightmare of yours.
