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I swallowed. With a long breath he leaned in, his natural scent tempting me to close my eyes. Instead, I pulled back, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him. With a hollow smile and an empty laugh, he pulled back.
“I figured you wouldn’t bother with a demon like me,” he whispered.
He released his hold on my face, stepping back to take off his outer shirt. Throwing it to the side of the room, he crawled onto his bed, lying with his head on his arm as he looked at the ceiling. The silence was deep and suffocating, his aura tormented as if he were a little boy who just had a nightmare.
I stepped forward and sat next to him on the bed. “I don’t think you’re a demon.”
He rolled his eyes. “You know nothing about me.”
“I’ve heard some of the terrible things you’ve done. It doesn’t change my mind.”
“What have you heard?”
I thought about it. “The courthouse fires. I heard that they were your doing.”
He smiled. “My best work, honestly.”
“And I know you’ve started riots in the city.”
“Not as successful as I had hoped.”
“Let’s not forget that you kidnapped me.”
He cocked his head to look at me, something sincere reflecting in his eyes as he looked me over.
“Can’t say I regret it, either,” he said.
I broke eye contact, worried he could see the blood rushing to my face. He sighed.
“Did you hear that I got Henrik fired?” he asked.
I raised my head again to look at him. “What?”
“I got Henrik fired,” Adrian said again. “I knew that Henrik was on probation for his voodoo methods. He was under the king’s watchful eye, constantly monitored and analyzed. Yet Henrik pledged his allegiance to the dirtbag. Loyal and respectful to a fault. I hated it.
“When the doctor told us Mother was ill and gave us the estimate for her treatments, I lost it. My reputation was trash and I knew I could never get a job. I could never be a respectable officer like Henrik. So I did what I do best: destroy things. The courthouse fire, that was a salute to the king who overcharged his citizens on medical expenses and who also treated my brother like a dog.”
There was a heartbeat of silence.
“But when they found out who did it, and who I was, they sacked Henrik immediately.” His eyes glossed over as he stared at the ceiling. “He never once yelled at me for it. He never once acted like he knew it was my fault. He continued to act like my honorable older brother, looking after me when I didn’t deserve it.”
He gave another long exhale, not blinking. I patted his arm to show my sympathy.
“You have a choice to be honorable every time you inhale,” I told him. “If you want to pay Henrik back, become someone your brother can be proud of.”
He scoffed. “It’s too late for that.”
I looked up at him. “It’s never too late for that. If it was too late, you wouldn’t have saved me from the merfolk that day. You wouldn’t be taking care of the crew. You wouldn’t be pursuing the Eros to save your family.”
Adrian held my gaze, his eyes piercing into mine. He licked his lips and turned his head away, nudging me away from him.
“Get on the floor, princess. Stop coming on to me so hard.”
I huffed, punching him in the side. “Who’s coming on to you, you arrogant mule?”
“Ow! Do you intend to be this violent with your future husband? The aristocrats will eat you alive for this sort of behavior.”
“Then let them!” I huffed. “They’ve already spread every other rumor they can think of.”
