Page 28 of Nocte

“No!” My teeth are gritted, muscles chorded, body on all fours like a snarling beast. I paw at the blood-red carpeting. Can’t do much more than that. Still, I snarl, “She’s mine. You gave her to me!”

“Wrong.” He raises his hand. “I did no such thing. Tell me why I should let you keep your little toy? Your recent naughtiness does not warrant a prize.”

Bastard. Motherfucker. Piece of shit.

I think every fucking insult I can muster.

He laughs and laughs.Thisis the Caspian that appeals to him. A monster fixated only on him. But her…

The fae complicates things. Ruins things. He can’t let me have her.

Then I won’t remember. Won’t remember that I willneverwant him.

“I may change my mind,” he says, his voice a slithering snake winding around me. “For a price.”

I hate him. He’s thrown my own words back in my face. On the receiving end, they aren’t so much fun. They are a demand. A test.

How badly do I want her?

You don’t,he tells me, his smile wide, voice inescapable.You don’t want her. You will surrender. Give in. Be my good, loyal Caspian. Your past is gone. Dead. Accept it.

I do. I will. The past is dead.

“One of your brothers will take over from here,” he repeats, but I know a knife is hidden within that offer. None of our brothers have their own will, not anymore. They’ll do his bidding, and it will behim. Him touching her. Killing her. Tasting that sweet fae blood.

No.I’ll kill him first. I’ll kill them all first.

“Now, now, Caspian.” He clicks his tongue, and in an instant, I’m flat on the ground, writhing in agony. It’s as if he dropped a ton of bricks onto my skull and stripped away my ability to heal. Then he goes further, oh dear, Master Cassius. He turns my brain into a sieve and lets the others in. I’m inundated with them all. Stupid, mundane, insipid creatures that only think of him. Long for him.

Cassius, our lord Cassius…

Through gritted teeth, I counter him the only way I can. “N-No. No! I…want…her.”

“Insolent wretch!” The pressure relents, and he begins to pace, his robes swishing out behind him. Then he stops. His smile returns. Damn. I know that look. He’s devised a new plan. A more twisted game to play, he and I.

“You can have her,” he declares. “For a price. Whatever you derive from that fae, you must also give to me.”

Fuck. No. No. No. I’d rather die. But I can’t let him know. Can’t show that he has me dangling on a string. “I gave her a rose and a lie,” I hiss. “Is that what you want, Lord Cassius?”

“No,” he says with no inflection. “You gave her a kiss. A slow, savoring kiss.” His disgust laces the air. I can only imagine how angry he was after that. To lose control over me. To watch. “That and anything more, you must give to me. Or, you can carry out your original plan. Attack her at the ceremony. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

Sick fucker. He thinks he’s won. Thinks I’ll back down without a fight. I should. Nothing is worth touching him. Enduring him. Nothing. Nothing!

“Until you square our debt, you are forbidden from seeing her,” he says. “Not until the day of the ceremony.”

There is not much time left until then, of course. He’s already taken one night from me. I’ve spent hours locked in here, at his mercy. What has she gotten up to in that time, the little fae? I picture her face. I see those eyes.

Worth touching Cassius for? No. Never.Never!

“Then we are agreed,” he says. “The ceremony is in a fortnight. I can ease your mind before then. Wipe your thoughts clean.”

Take her away, those minutes I stole. Minutes when I wasn’t crushed under his thumb. Seconds when I did what I wanted. Without him. Seconds when I almost remembered…something.

Are those memories worth a kiss? A dance with the devil? No. No…

“Wait.” The word rips from me just as his consciousness descends on mine. I get a glimpse of his true self then, old Cassius. So very badly does he crave to wipe my fae away. Replace her image in my head with his. Maybe then I’ll crave him?

Never. Never.

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