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“Do you really hate spending time with me that much?” He smirked. “Or is the King’s Favorite afraid of little ole me?”
I hated drunk Bennett so much more than sober Bennett. Although I was the one holding the dagger to his throat, it felt the other way around. We both knew he was the better fighter. He proved that last night. Truthfully, I was a little afraid, because I’d never had an opponent I knew was better than me and that put me on edge. I also didn’t trust him; he wasn’t the same boy I knew before, and I couldn’t read him. I wouldn’t let him get to me though and refused to let him see me afraid. “I’m not afraid.”
“Really?” he asked as shadows started to slither behind him like snakes stalking their pray, his eyes darkening as if excited for a challenge.
“Stop,” I said. Surprisingly, my voice didn’t shake. “I don't want to fight you.”
“Why, because you know I’ll win?” he said, his tone taunting me.
I rolled my eyes. “No, because you’re drunk.”
He looked at the ceiling, as if lost in thought. “Oh, right, I forgot.” His eyes lightened from black back to navy. “But, I did have so much fun last night.”
Of course causing me pain would bring that bastard entertainment.
I nicked a bit of skin on his neck, causing a small droplet of blood to fall. “Lanue me out of here, Bennett,” I said coldly.
“I thought you wanted me to stay here? So no one would find out about your little secret.”
My grip on the blade tightened, and I pressed it further into his neck. “Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that if you were planning on outing me, you would’ve done so already.”
“She’s learning,” he said, with a smile that showed his perfect teeth.
I pricked another bit of skin, and his stare became stern rather than playful.
“Would you stop doing that?”
“Oh, I gladly will, as soon as you Lanue me out of this damn cellar.”
“Oh, I gladly will.” Sarcasm covered his tone. “As soon as you figure out how to release the wards on these walls that keep Shadow blood from Lanuing through them.”
My shoulders sank. “What?”
“Clearly, you need to get your eyes checked yet again, because if my memory serves me correctly, we passed the dungeon on the way over here. Pater had the stone enchanted against Shadow blood so no one could Lanue in or out of it. And considering we are still on the same floor, that enchantment carries over to his fine cellar that we’re both trapped in, thanks to you.”
“But there’s no one in there with Artis blood. What’s the point of going through the warding process? It would take months to complete all of the runes that would need to cover up the whole dungeon, along with someone who has studied and knows how to properly use them.”
He stared at me blankly, not a hint of emotion on his face, as if he was hiding how he truly felt.
I dropped the blade from his throat, grunting in frustration as it was clearly doing nothing to sway him anyway. “I don’t believe you. Try it anyway.”
“As much as I love alcohol, do you seriously think that I want to be stuck here with you all night?” Hatred filled his eyes. “If I attempted to Lanue, I would just run into the wall. Trust me, I’ve already tried it.”
No wonder he seemed so calm with the idea of being stuck in here. He must have been trapped in the cellar before.
Giving up and accepting the inevitable, I sighed as I plopped down on the settee across from him. Bennett began to fill the glasses once again, and this time when he slid one over to me across the table, I took it.
Tomorrow. I was stuck in here until tomorrow. Maybe alcohol would be the only thing that would help me relax and keep me from stabbing him.
I tilted the glass back and drank all of the liquid in one go.
Bennett raised his eyebrows. “Rhiannon, I didn’t know you could handle your alcohol like that.”
“Does that surprise you?” I grabbed another bottle off of the shelf closest to me and popped off the cork with my dagger, figuring I might as well just drink from the bottle at this point.
Bennett kept his eyes on mine as he brought the glass back to his lips. “There are many things about you that surprise me.”
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