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“I don’t believe that for a second,” she spits, fury bathing her voice in fire. “Isn’t that what you do down here in this place, abuse people whilst they’re helpless?”
“Yes, when the mood takes me,” I admit. “Though, if youreallywant to know what happens in these chambers, I’m happy to show you.” I reach in my pocket for the knife once more, flicking it open, then I press the flat side of the blade beneath her chin, lifting her face. Her breath stills, her eyes widening. “Do youwantme to show you, Zero?” I ask, licking my lips, my heart pounding, my fingers itching to nick her skin. Pushing her like this, testing her boundaries, enjoying her flush of fear, it turns me on.
“Do I have a choice? Aren’t I already yours? Won’t you act regardless of whether I want you to or not?”
“That’s very true. You’re learning fast,” I say, drawing back the knife and tucking it back into my pocket. She looks away, refusing to meet my gaze. “Besides,” I continue. “I’m getting the feeling that you like to hide from the things that haunt you. Fortunately for you, Iloveto unmask them so I’m happy to indulge you if we both get something out of it.”
“Ha!” she laughs, shaking her head. “You don’t know the first thing about me.”
“I know plenty.”But not enough.
Grim had hid her well. Zero, by all accounts, doesn't use social media. Keeps to herself. Is a recluse apart from when she goes to work at the hospice, an interesting choice of job if you ask me. Her older, half-sister might be Grim, fearless ruler of Tales, but she doesn’t share any of the same history, or at least never met their father before he died. It was difficult to find out much about Zero’s past before Grim came into her life, aside from the fact her mother died in a house fire and she’d somehow survived it.
“You’ll never know the real me. Never!” she insists.
“I’ll find out what makes you tick. I’ll find your truth. I always do.”
Laughter bursts free from her lips. “You’re wrong, you won’t be able to see past your own desires to unravel the truth of who I am. Monsters like you are selfish, greedy, self-centred.”
“Is that a challenge, Zero?”
“It’s an invitation. I’mnotafraid of you,” she replies, lifting her chin, her nostrils flaring just like the wild horses that roam the hills and valleys surrounding our remote castle. She reminds me of them, untamed in a way that is thrilling to witness.
“You should be afraid, but in a way I’m glad you’re not. It will make this so much more enjoyable. Someone who’s easily scared is also easily manipulated. You, however, are not, andthatintrigues me.” I grasp her chin, my fingers digging into bone and flesh, capturing strands of her long hair. She grits her teeth, I feel them grinding together beneath my touch. Leaning closer, my lips brushing against hers, I allow some of the truth of who I am to bleed into my voice. “My brothers and I find pleasure in many things. Passion, fight,fear. They all turn us on, but hunting a worthy foe, that is something we crave above all else. Three against one, not very good odds, hmm?”
“Fuck you,” she mutters.
“Such dirty words coming from such a pretty mouth. I wonder, Zero, are youreallythis brave or are you just like the other Numbers and full of bluster and bravado?”
Suddenly, my need to take what isn’t freely given is overridden by my desire to tame the untamable without it breaking. Every single Number who lives in this castle has had their spirit crushed. They’ve become a weaker, duller version of themselves no matter how they might seem on the surface. I don’t want that to happen to Zero, not because I feel any kind of empathy for her situation or remorse for kidnapping her, but because she’ll be so much more enjoyable if she maintains this fire, herfight.
Long may it rage.
“You seem to think you know everything there is to know about me, what do you think?” she counters.
“If I sliced these clothes from your body, and fucked you until you couldn’t feel your legs, would you still be as brave then?”
“Try me.”
“I’d love nothing more than to test that theory right now—”
“So what are you waiting for?Do it. Do what you came here to do! Fuck me. Abuse me.Rapeme. Take my body and use it! That’s what you want, isn’t it? Stop talking about it and do it! Or is ityouwho is full of bluster and bravado?” she snarls, throwing my words back at me.
“No.”
“No?”
Her eyebrows pull together in a frown, her lips trembling. I find myself leaning back, my fingers freeing her chin and sliding over her cheek so I can cup her face. It’s a tender gesture and throws her. I see the uncertainty, the flicker of hope in her gaze as I hold her captive in my stare. I watch in fascination as she studies me, her strange eyes both alluring in their own way.
“Ghost eyes,” I mutter.
“What?” She flinches as though I’ve struck her.
“Tell me, can you see into Heaven and Earth at the same time?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.
“Your eyes. They’re different.”
