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I came here after betraying Rhoan and Cerridwen. The sight of the star-studded walls and gilded shower made me feel so guilty that I’d considered throwing myself in the nearest mortal landfill if only for the sentimental gesture of it all. That’s where I belonged some days.
To say that I didn’t really like myself was an understatement. I’d been numb to my self-hatred up until that moment. Beryl had laid everything bare, and I’d been forced to witness it.
I shut off the water and stepped out. The blue-stone floor was warm to the touch. It was always perfect in here. Magic made sure of that. Yet, I yearned for the realness of cool stone and the sharp shock of that first touch after a shower.
“Fucking magic,” I muttered under my breath.
I knew it was my ally and the best tool in my arsenal, but it also made things too easy—if that made any sense. I wanted to feel alive, which was why I stuck with my job as a bounty hunter and assassin when I could easily retreat here and never have to face the world again.
Something about the siege on my court had left a part of my mind unhinged. That’s the only explanation I could come up with. There was really no other reason for the way I craved excitement and danger so much.
With an oversized robe wrapped around myself, I padded back out to the living area. Arven was still right where I’d left him. He hadn’t moved an inch while I’d soaked in the warm waterfall. His attention roved over the room, taking in each small detail like he still couldn’t believe where I’d brought him.
“Are you all right?” I asked. “Do you need to sit down?”
“Hm?” He shook himself from his reverie, and his attention snapped to me. His brows furrowed, lips pursing while he gave in to the rusty thought-cogs trying to turn inside his man-brain. “What…what is all this?”
I cocked my head and stared at him as if he were daft. “What?”
Arven gestured broadly to the wide room consisting of cozy cushions and a roaring hearth. On one side of the hearth, a vintage refrigerator held all of my cold foods. On the other side of the hearth, open shelves displayed all of my dishes and cups and snacks.
I swept past Arven and grabbed a bag of tortilla chips from the open shelves. From the fridge, I grabbed a container of homemade guacamole that the domain had conjured to suit my cravings. I plopped down onto one of the faux fur cushions, crossed my legs, and cracked open the bag of chips.
Still, Arven stared at me like I’d just performed the wildest witchcraft he’d ever laid eyes on. It made me smile. I knew that my domain brought together the aesthetic of my old court with the comfortable fixings of a modern mortal abode.
“Why don’t you come here all the time? It must be safer than any other place you could hide? That rat hole in the mortal realm nearly got us both killed.”
I waved his statement off with a tortilla chip before shoving it into the green goodness in my other hand. “I told you already. There are people who can track movements in-between. I don’t want anyone getting back here. You’re lucky I brought you here at all.”
His expression softened. He came over to crouch near my seat. I couldn’t help but pull my bathrobe tighter around myself as I became aware of just how naked I was in his presence. He didn’t look to my bare thighs or the sliver of skin between my breasts, though. The man stared me square in the eye.
“Why did you bring me here if you don’t trust me?”
I stopped dead in my tracks. He had a point, though it wasn’t one that I wanted to address. If this was the man who’d ordered the slaughter of my people and the destruction of my home, then why had I brought him here?
Because I could not imagine this man being the one to order such a thing.
The two versions of him were at war in my head. On one hand, I knew that he was a monster. I’d caught glimpses of it myself from time to time. Yet, that monster had protected me when my apartment had been attacked. He’d brought me food as a way of extending an olive branch.
Something here was off, and I couldn’t quite register what.
“We…I mean, I need to figure out how Locke found me. It seems like he has a magical tracker on his retinue as well. I’m not sure how he knew I was watching him.” I gave Arven a pointed look as I finished my sentence.
He sucked his teeth as he closed the distance between us. “So, you’re going to change the subject?”
The man’s chest would have brushed mine if I so much as breathed. I lifted my chin and kept my gaze steady. If this was an intimidation tactic, it made my heart race in a different way. The smell of him wafted over me. It was musky and deep, like the heart of a mossy wood that’d only ever seen rain.
I hated how much I liked it.
“Fuck off,” I said, half turning away.
He put an arm out to stop me and leaned in. “I’d much rather fuck you.”
Arven’s eyes flashed a hungry red. I jerked back and struck out. He caught my fist before I could make contact, but that was fine. My other hand was already reaching to summon my crossbow. The heavy weight of it hit my palm, and I aimed it at his chest. He caught my wrist, but he couldn’t stop me from pulling the trigger and embedding a poisoned bolt right into his heart.
Ihesitated, though. Instead, I lashed out with my words. “It seems like your request has been denied. Maybe, if you’re that horny, you should go home and find a courtesan to fulfill your desires.”
Why didn’t I just pull the trigger? The poison would take him. He would die here, in my private realm where no one would ever find him. His little war-torn court would be too busy fending off invaders to seek me out. I could erase Arven D’Or from existence once and for all.
