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Cursed?That is impossible. Signs would have shown within the first months after I turned, not well over one hundred and fifty years later.
Clara sniffles. “How could she do that to someone she loves?”
“Elizabeth doesn’t love him,” he says. “She only wants his love to fill the void of heartbreak another caused long ago… Well, that’s what many believe.”
Just when I think she has given up, she speaks again. “Please, Oliver. If he’s sleeping, I’ll turn around and leave, but I need to see him.”
“Very well. I will be right outside if you need anything.”
She doesn’t make a sound until he is gone. I keep my body still as her footsteps near. I’m on my side, with my back to her, yet I can still sense her approach the bars.
She sighs. I listen to her steady breathing for several minutes until she shifts her weight and begins walking away.
“That is a pathetic attempt, little nightmare.” I don’t know why I speak at all. I had no intention of entertaining any of her attempts at manipulation.
I hear her sharp intake of breath, then I sit up and face her. She is a better liar than I would have given her credit for.
“Did you really come here to stare at my back?” I ask mockingly.
She cocks her head and gives me an unamused look. “How long were you pretending to be asleep?”
The way she speaks to me as though we were equals is as jarring as ever. I glare, not deigning to answer her. “Why are you here?”
Clara wraps her hands around the iron bars, then rests her forehead against them. “I wanted to make sure you were well,” she says, as if it were obvious.
“Is anyone kept in a cramped cage ever truly doing well?” I gesture to the cramped cell. “You have seen. Now you can put your mortal mind at ease and go about your day playing with those dogs.”
No matter my tone, she never takes offense. In fact, she appears amused as she lowers herself to sit the ground, sitting back on her heels, hands resting in her lap. She watches me. Studying. I can’t fight the whisper of sensation that feels as though the way she looks at me means so much more than she lets on.
“I’m glad you are awake.” My little nightmare grins, cuts a glance toward the door, then whispers, “I was tempted to wake you so we could talk.”
The corners of my mouth twitch before I force them back into a scowl. “Why are you here?” I repeat.
She pouts, then says, “I told them I would earn your trust—believe it or not, Iamtrying to get you out of here…” Her brows furrow, then she shoves an arm through the bars. “Do you need to feed? There probably isn’t much time—”
“Little nightmare, whatever game you are playing, I will not be so easily manipulated into being used as a pawn.”
She heaves a sigh, retracting her arm. “Alaric Devereaux, I am not using you,” she admonishes.
I scoff and lean forward. “Liar—everything you say and do is a lie.”
“How can I prove—”
“You can’t,” I cut her off.
She throws her hands up and growls in a very human-like manner. Her frustration is almost endearing. “If I can’t earn your trust, they will keep you locked up. Is that what you want?”
I fold my arms over my chest. How long will it take for her to stop dancing around everything she is hiding? “It’s fascinating how you can be so dishonest without speaking a blatant lie.”
“Then ask me whatever you want, and I will tell you everything.”
As I rise, she mirrors the movement. I approach the bars, and rather than retreating, she inches closer. My hand is around her throat between one heartbeat and the next. She stiffens at the sudden movement but doesn’t struggle.
“You should have seen that coming,” I snarl. My grip is firm but careful. This confounding creature is entirely too relaxed for her own good. The slight flexing of my fingers is all it would take to snuff out her life.
She simply shrugs. “I took a calculated risk. Besides, I know you’re just trying to frighten me, you won’t hurt me.”
“There is something unnatural about you, little nightmare.”
