Page 64 of A Deal with the Shadow King

“Wake up, Isaac,” I say regretfully, giving the shape of him a big push.

In a blink, Two and I are back to the foggy forest.

My dark teacher nods emphatically. “A bit dramatic with the dress tearing and all, but it was certainly a memorable finale. You weaved your first nightmare, bravo!” A satisfied grin glazes his lips. “I still won, though.”

“There was no way not to wake him once I’d been sucked inside his dream besides staying in there forever. That was the most unfair?—”

“Tut-tut. Everyone hates a sore loser. You still have one question, so use it wisely.” He licks his lips.

I wrangle my hands, unsure how to phrase my question to get the most out of this bad deal. “I heard about a woman named Morrigan…”

“Mm?”

“Jo said she was engaged to a hunter,” I add, testing the waters.

“Jo said that?” Two opens his mouth, his lips torn between a cringe and a smile. “I’m not an idiot. I won’t be baited into answering more questions than necessary. If you have a question about Morrigan, let’s hear it.”

I should confirm if he’s Fae, but I can’t pass up the chance to know more about Morrigan. A hundred variations of the same question tumble inside my mind, but I know Two might take advantage of a poorly-phrased question, so I decide to be as direct and clear as possible. “Was One ever engaged to Morrigan?”

Two’s eyes widen, and his chest heaves like I’ve just punched him in the gut. “Why would you ask that?”

I lift my chin and hold his avid stare. “We had a deal. You have to answer.”

“Yes,” he spits out begrudgingly. “He was engaged to her.”

My hand flies to my mouth. By the Mother and all she holds dear…

Two doesn’t waste any time, his revenge-question ringing loud and true. “What happened between you and One that you think could most likely explain his desire to switch you with Mara?”

I press my lips together. If he’d asked differently, I could have claimed that I didn’t know, or that I wasn’t sure, but the phrasing makes it impossible for me to weasel out of the question.

A fierce blush heats my cheeks as my gaze darts to the ground. “I think that he got upset after we kissed.”

Two loses all semblance of humanity, the cruel curve of his mouth lost in shadows. “And if I wanted to know all the details of that kiss, what would you tell me about it?”

Words bubble out of my mouth as though they’re being raked out from the depths of my chest by his magic, and I offer him a play-by-play of the kiss and the circumstances surrounding it. I talk about the lightheadedness, the enchantment, and how the taste of my own blood shook me out of it.

I ramble on and on about the way One’s lips felt on mine, and Two doesn’t make fun of me for calling it “the most sensual experience of my life.”

In fact, the man looks like I’ve just sank a knife in his gut.

When I finally regain control over my tongue, I fight back the urge to scream, the humiliation hot and heavy in my ribcage. I feel…used. I haven’t made good use of my question at all. No wonder the devil in front of me insisted for me to go first.

“I’ll reserve my third question,” he says quietly.

“That possibility wasn’t mentioned in the deal.”

A wolfish smile blooms on his lips, the kind of smile that makes me doubt he’s related to One at all. “It was not precluded either.”

And just like that, I know I’ve been utterly played.

Chapter 23

Rules of the Curse

“The first rule of the curse: we never take off our masks.” Two’s scoff resonates in my ears, dripping with contempt.

“Second rule: we avoid unnecessary contact with the High Fae—and the hunters. We never allow any of them to see our eyes.

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