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He gave me a curious look. “No? Most women don’t need to be asked.”

I shuddered and looked towards the bar. “You aren’t normal.”

“You aren’t normal. I have always been extremely attractive to women. But there you are, as disinterested as you possibly could be. Definitely not normal.”

I sniffed, but I didn’t look at him. He didn’t seem to mind that I’d slapped him. Probably wouldn’t notice anything I did to him. Which was absolutely terrifying. “It’s my turn to get an answer, and do a good job, as thorough as I was.”

“Everything, he’s perfect. Such a boring answer. And then you slap me, which is interesting. You should choose. Are you boring or interesting?”

I took a deep breath and turned so I could stare at him with hopefully no expression. “Is Clark safe?”

He nodded at the ugly ring on the table. “That’s a stupid question. He’s a million times more capable of defending himself than you are, and now without that ring to protect you from internal and external threats…” He shook his head. “No, he’s not safe because you’re not safe, and he won’t ever allow any harm to come to you. He’ll always put your safety, and that of the children, over his own. Since you and your children are so very unsafe, he is as well.”

I glowered at him. “You say that as if I knew anything! If he wanted me to not take off the ring, he should have explained why I shouldn’t take it off, even if he did betray me and stop loving me.”

He clenched his jaw for a moment, before he relaxed and nodded. “My turn. Why do you keep saying ‘soon-to-be-ex-husband’ even after you know that he hasn’t cheated?”

“All the things I love about him don’t really exist. Our entire relationship was based on a lie.”

“And yet, if he doesn’t protect you and your children, you’ll all die terrible deaths.”

I held very still while his cold words sank in. “We seem to be safe in Hoar House,” I finally said.

He bared his teeth in a smile that made me flinch. “You must not have heard what happened to the last heir. Let’s not dwell on unfortunate likelihoods. Your turn for a question.”

“How can I protect my children?”

“Excellent question. Very practical. You’re going to love the answer. You can beg your husband to forgive you for throwing him away without the slightest hesitation, and then hope that he chooses to save you instead of returning the favor.”

So cold. I shivered as his words pierced me through to my soul. “They’re his children. He’s going to protect them no matter what I do.”

“True. He’s also going to protect you, because whatever you call him, he calls you wife. He’s not as changeable and fickle as you are.”

I stared at him. I was his wife whether we were divorced or not? “You make him sound as though he can’t accept that I can choose to be with him or not. That’s as barbaric as you are.”

His smile was cruel mockery. “Well, we do share the same blood.”

The green-haired girl who’d been leaning on him earlier came over with a hot pizza, sliding it onto the table while she stared at him like he was so much more delicious than the melting cheese and pepperonis with crispy edges. I grabbed a piece with lines of stretchy cheese and bit into it while the girl leaned on the table and reached out to trace his hand. Blue flames flickered over his skin matching the drink he hadn’t drunk, and she pulled her fingers away with a whimper. Seriously, why did she think she could touch him any time she wanted? It was weird.

I ate like I was starving while he watched me and the girl finally left. I chewed and swallowed. “Did you want some?”

“Maybe later. I’ve had some indigestion lately.”

“Oh.” I stared at the mass of destruction. Indigestion? That made him seem almost normal. No, it just added to the pile of weird.

“My turn for a question.” He smiled and leaned forward, like a tiger about to strike. “Did you like the tea I made you last night? Chamomile is always a good choice.”

I stared at him for a long time, not breathing. He’d given me that hot cup of tea? Not the house? I started getting black specks on the edge of my vision, so I gasped an inhale and grabbed a piece of pizza. “It was lovely, thank you. Much better than Courage.”

“Courage manifests as stupidity eighty percent of the time.”

I wasn’t going to argue with him there.

“My question. Am I actually the heir to Hoar House? Were my parents the people killed thirty years ago? Did you kill them?”

“That was more than one question, but they’re related. If you weren’t the heir to the house, it wouldn’t have done its best to get you to live there. That house is not indifferent to you. Your parents were among those killed thirty years ago. I did not kill them. I would have been twelve at the time. At that age, even I wasn’t quite ready to slaughter the second most powerful family in the world.”

“You’re ten years older than me?”