My walls shook from the ache in my heart. This is what I had missed all these years and couldn’t have. How could I not remember this? It would have been a pivotal moment in my life, one branded in my heart forever. Yet, nothing. The harder I tried to remember, the foggier things got. My head began to pound from the effort.
I stared at the photos, feeling cheated and even more deceived than before. There were times when I glimpsed a fraction of this in his gaze before he would shut it down or turn away. I felt it through our shared connection and never understood how he could feel even a morsel of love for me. This explained it, but it didn’t explain how I couldn’t remember.
I didn’t know how to face him or what to say. I was furious, hurt, and concerned with Nick’s wellbeing. By the time the shadow began to form in the center of the room, I’d had more than enough time to think of the billion questions I wanted answers to. Astaroth would give them all to me. I did everything he wanted and expected of me. In return, he continued to wreak havoc on my life and anyone associated with it. I was done with his lies.
Tucking the photos in my back pocket, I crept toward the portal. It flickered and wasn’t nearly as dark as it usually was. Wisps of white fog mingled with the slowly spinning shadows.Worry knotted in my stomach. If he were injured, I’d know. I would’ve felt it the same as I did during the hunt. I waited at the side of the portal to see which way he would emerge.
Astaroth stepped through, facing the bed. The shadows evaporated the moment he exited. That was different, too. Shoulders hunched, he sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. His matte black eyes took in the destruction before meeting mine. Not a twinkle to be found within them. His skin seemed darker, drier. He looked exhausted.
Did he go find Nick and finish him off himself? He didn’t have a speck of blood on him, but he could’ve easily cleaned up with one of those annoying finger snaps he liked to throw around.
“You’ve been busy. Say what you need to say to me.”
The sheer disregard in his tone made my teeth clench. I slapped him across the face. “How dare you.”
He stared at me. Emotionless. Lifeless. Nothing like the photos of the lovesick pup in my pocket. No remorse, no guilt, no shame, not even gloating or the cockiness I’d grown accustomed to.
“What did you do? Hunt him down like one of your beasts? Will I find his skull on your throne next?”
Astaroth’s brow lifted. “No. But now that you’ve given me the id—”
I slapped him again. The sting pulsed in my hand. “Why did you do it?”
“The timeline is moving quicker than I had planned. Your safety is my top priority.”
My brow furrowed. I’d have to ask him about that next. “You know what I meant! Why did you take them and kill them?”
“I didn’t kill them.”
“You did.”
“I didn’t.”
“You. Did.”
“They killed each other.”
I turned around and screamed. “I just wish for once you’d be honest with me!”
The dormant stone flared to life against my chest. Searing heat burned my skin. I sucked air between my teeth and gripped it through my shirt.What the—
“Did I leave your side to go to the arena and drive a sword through them? No. I sat next to you as you stroked my cock for everyone to see.”
Shocked and embarrassed, I whipped around. “I did not.”
It stopped when they walked onto the field. Didn’t it?
“My favorite part… you squeezed me every time one of them died instead of letting go.”
He smirked as I tried to recall what my hand was doing while I disassociated.
“Why would you do this?”
His face contorted into a sneer. Astaroth stood and towered over me. “Because I wanted them to see. You. Are. Mine.”
“They didn’t deserve to die!”
“No, they deserved far worse than the punishment I served them. I should have cut off their dicks and fed them to each other.”
