Page 282 of The Making of a Villain

“You should hurry up and come back to life since all you do is reminisce about that mysterious male.” I shake my head at her. “You left a piece of your conscience behind to help me, but all it does is bemoan about your mate. We are torturing mine now, mom. Please wait for your turn, all right?” I say in all seriousness.

“But that’s just it, Barbi, I cannot help it. I’m just a specter.“ She sighs.

“Well, then be a good specter and make sure nothing goes wrong with my lovely guest. I’m heading into town.”

She turns to me, frowning. “Why?”

I point to the empty popcorn bucket. “I need to get more popcorn.”

Her brows are bunched together. “I do not understand this need of yours for a snack,” she adds pensively. “Torture is a very intensive process. How can you eatandtorture him at the same time?”

“It’s not torture. It’s entertainment.”

“In my day, once I tortured someone, I fully dedicated myself to it,” she says as she starts reminiscing again.

“Well, that was seven thousand years ago. Keep up with the times, will you?” I laugh.

She doesn’t share my amusement. In fact, she barely hears me as she starts recounting one time when she devoted herself to torture day in and day out—myfather’s torture. After all, every time she starts talking, the subject somehow ends up revolving around her mate. I wonder if she specifically programmed this specter to be so obsessed with her mate, or it was a by-product of her actual obsession.

“Are you sure you want to go now? I think he’s in pain.” She points out to the magical mirror that now shows Nyk writhing in pain and calling out for his beloved Moe.

“That’s nothing.” I wave my hand. “He’s currently in that jail at the Royal Palace. He’s probably just worrying about Moe.”

Lispera crosses her arms over her chest. “Are you going to appear as her in front of him again?”

“Why would I stop? That’s when I have the most fun.”

“I don’t know. I thought you’d have gotten bored by now. You have been torturing him for quite a long time already.”

“Long?” I frown. “It’s only been a few months for me. Well, granted, for him it’s been over three thousand years. But interms ofmyenjoyment, I think I can go another few months. Maybe a full year?” I muse.

“Even after everything you’ve seen from his point of view?” She probes further.

She does this every now and then—she comes over and inquires about the state of my revenge and if I’ve had my fill. And always, I tell her the same thing. Not a chance in hell.

“I may pity him, but he’s still a son of a bitch. I told him once what to expect if he crossed the line with me, so how can I not deliver it? I’m the queen of petty after all. And this is just the beginning.” I smile as I look upon Nykander’s pitiful form. “Wait to see what else I have planned for him.”

To be Continued in The Birth of a Villainess