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They say the serpent tricked Eve out of Eden, tempted her with promises of power and desire. But I think he was merely answering a call, an obscured need to escape the oppression of the man that didn’t want her to have a stray thought beyond serving him. Eve craved more, she had an appetite for the wicked, she wanted to be free, so the serpent freed her.
As I look into Morrigan’s eyes, I see it… I may be wicked, but she’s just like Eve, a heathen in disguise.
I can’t help the slight quirk in the corner of my lips. “You want to make a deal with me. Just like that.”
I know she hates me; she doesn’t hide the feeling, so this is utterly disturbing. Even through that disdain, she looks at me as if she’s about to sign off her soul… and I suppose she’s about to do just that. A deal with me is always an exchange, never free.
“Yes. I can do it… but not alone. I… I need help.” She sighs yet again, those words like lava that pour from her depths, and they pain her.
I step even closer, and offer my open hand to her. Her brows furrow as she looks between it and my eyes, but caves. The moment her soft skin touches mine, it prickles, like wicked black magic shooting through my body on a silent, hitched breath. She’s had a spell on me for a long time… Little Eve. I clasp her small hand, lifting it above her head as I guide her in three slow pirouettes on the dark southern tune, then pull her against me. Her free hand braces on my chest, holding me at a distance, mine on the small of her back, but I don’t allow her a moment to rethink the stance, instead I follow the music, leading her in a languid dance on its notes.
After all, pacts need to be sealed somehow.
She’s antsy, waiting for a response as she pretends she doesn’t enjoy the feel of me against her, but the hand holding me away has softened. I made my decision before she even told me her desire, but I’m enjoying this, her skin electric against mine. Only it makes old memories flash through my mind… her lips on mine, mine on her bare skin… And I really hope it’s happening to her too, because this is a whole other brand of torture.
“I will help you.”
I spin her in another pirouette, before I bring her back into my body.
“What am I trading for this dangerous pact?”
“What are you willing to give?” I ask, testing her.
But she drops her gaze and turns her head to the side.
“I…”
“You…”
Her gaze whips back to me in an instant, tensing as she regards me like she’s about to kick me in the gut, even as she still follows my lead to the music.
“Give me your trust and patience… for now. What I want, I can only get from Holt. I can’t get rid of him until I get it.”
She narrows her eyes, lips parting, but I interrupt and dip her, leaning over, my lips just next to her ear, breath brushing against it.
“I will give you what you want, you have my word. For now, I only need your trust.”
“For now…” she whispers back. “What about later?”
I straighten, pulling her with me as I hold her cunning, green gaze. I want many things from her, but none I’m willing to take unless they’re willingly offered.
“Deal.”
Fuck.
“I have to warn you, what I want from Holt might not be owned by him alone. Your father is in deep with him now.” The flesh between my eyebrows tenses as I await some sort of surprised reaction, only she doesn’t move a muscle. I suspect by the end of it all, Holt will not be the only one paying.
“You may be The Serpent, but my choice is between losing everything to them, or losing something to you.” She’s desperate, agreeing on incomplete conditions, no one in their right mind would make a deal with me without knowing the terms. If I’m her only choice at survival, it says more than it should.
Nodding once, I reluctantly pull my hand away from the small of her back, and spin her one last time, her feet kicking stones through the crossroads. When she stops, her palm is in mine, my index on her quickening pulse, and I keep my gaze on hers as I lightly press my lips on the top of her hand, a faint vibration passing through her tense flesh.
“It’s a deal… Little Eve.” I flash a faint, wicked grin as she narrows her eyes, and I don’t miss the goosebumps that flare on her skin, but I let go of her anyway.
If I’m The Serpent, then this covenant is the forbidden fruit, and this forest is our Eden. How lovely.
I take one last look at the fire in her eyes, then skip back into a jog, leaving her behind as I continue my trail through the dark forest.
Morrigan-fucking-O’Rourke just made a deal with The Serpent, at some crossroads in the middle of the forest.
