“We grew cordial in the labyrinth.”
My eyes snapped up to his, and I held his stare. I knew better than to gaze into their depths, but I didn’t care. Maybe they would suck me inside, and I wouldn’t remember the things to come.
Astaroth leaned down, those specks in his eyes swirling as he lost himself in my own abyss of anger, despair, and grief.
“I understand your plight. I have been patient and kind,” he stated and lifted a hand to wipe the tears from my other cheek. I blocked him from doing so. His lips tightened into a thin line. “Or I can be as cruel as you, if you choose.”
The audacity of this… this… whatever he was. The gasp released like a volcano erupting. “How dare you.”
He ignored me. “You will enter the castle.”
“I will not.”
“It is safe there.”
“Not from you.”
Was that a quick glimpse of shock I saw on his face?
Rigid, he stated, “You will go to your quarters.”
One of my biggest fears dispelled and a weight lifted from me. A moment of joy seeped through my middle that I wouldn’t be sharing one with him after my failed escape. Another one settled in its place. If we weren’t sharing a room now, then when? And what would he do to ensure it?
What resembled annoyance flickered over his features when he noticed my little moment. I schooled my face.
“Enter.”
“No.”
“No,” he huffed. His teeth sank into his bottom lip, preventing whatever he would’ve said next.
“That’s what I said. No!” It came out on a screech as he hauled me up over his shoulder and carried my screaming ass inside the castle.
I beat at his back and tried to kick my feet, cursing his very name while trying not to notice how high above the ground I swung, but his arms clamped my legs to his chest.
“Put me down, or I swear to God, Astaroth, I will bite chunks out of your backside!”
He had the audacity to laugh. “Maybe I will make you share my quarters so you can fulfill those promises.”
“What?” My face burned as I looked around the now empty room, and I wasn’t one to embarrass easily. It sent me into freakout mode. I was glad his little minions weren’t there to witness any of this. I wiggled my entire body to break loose from his hold. “Put me down right now! Don’t touch me!”
Once again, he ignored me and kept walking.
The wishing stone swung from neck and caught my eye. I didn’t think twice. I was already here, what was the worst that could happen.
“I wish for you to put me down this instance.”
The stone pulsed so hard I could feel it vibrate up the chain. I wasn’t ready when he dropped me unceremoniously onto the floor. My ankle twisted under my weight as I tried to get my feet under me. I felt like a baby deer standing for the first time and failing, crumbling to the unforgiving, cold marble. It was jarring when I landed. My palms struck before the rest of me. I curled into a ball, cradled my tweaked leg to my chest, and rested my face on the cool surface trying not to puke. I’d spent too much time on the ground tonight, but at least the marble was cleaner.
When I looked up, confusion and anger met me. Only he wasn’t staring at me; he was staring at the wishing stone.
“Rise.”
I closed my eyes and curled tighter.
Without a word, Astaroth stepped over me. His presence drifted farther away. The sound of his boots indicated he walked back toward the door to the courtyard outside, but I couldn’t bring myself to look. What did it matter anyway? I couldn’t escape him here. Hell, I couldn’t escape him at home. It was safe to say I couldn’t escape him, period. There was no reason to get off the floor. That would make this all too easy for him.
His voice surrounded me and bounced off the inside of my skull. “I have infinite time.”
