Page 172 of Devil's Deal

And then, because he’s stuck just as I am and can’t avoid me, I scratch his chest as viciously as I can. His breath hitches, but he doesn’t stop me or protest. His wound vanishes in a moment, anyway.

“Careful or I’ll get horny again,” he taunts me viciously.

I shudder with revulsion, and he gives me a nasty little laugh.

“So that’s the contingency plan if I don’t get pregnant this time?” I ask, doing my best not to shiver from fear so he doesn’t know just how much that affects me. “You will just do it again, whether I want to or not?”

His hold on me tightens. I want to claw him again but I hold back because of how futile it is.

“There won’t be a need,” he says at length, his voice tense. “So no, I won’t.”

It’s my turn to laugh with all the contempt I can muster.

“And how much exactly is your word worth?”

He shrugs like he doesn’t care what I think. “Good point. Now, do you want to hear why I need you? You said you wanted it immediately after. We have time to kill.”

I swallow. Yes, I do want to know. But the meager trust I had for him was just destroyed so thoroughly, I’m not sure I want to hear him talk any more. I’ll go crazy trying to sift the lies from the truth.

“Why won’t you let me look at your face?” I ask with belligerence, hoping that maybe if I see him, at least, it will be easier to know when he lies.

I know I’m just fooling myself, though. He’s the master of deceit.

“Do you really want to look at me now?” he asks with a bitter laugh.

A good point. I clench my jaw and bite out, “Yes.”

He swallows audibly, releasing a long, slightly trembling breath, and swallows again. “Fine.”

It takes some maneuvering to pull my torso back far enough to look at his face, especially since my cunt is very much fused to his cock. When I finally see him, his features are completely rigid. It’s not his usual mask. It’s something beyond, something so hardened, it seems like he’ll never make another expression again.

Our eyes meet, and I shiver. Hurt bubbles up inside me with a potent force, and I swallow and swallow, desperately putting all those emotions back in their places, telling myself I’ve had worse, I will survive, he means nothing.

Something passes in his eyes, something bright and visceral, and he pulls me to his chest with a growl. As if he can’t stand looking at me. As if he’s suffering.

Or maybe he is just disgusted with me. I snort, pushing everything this tense moment brought up back down.

“You’re right,” I say cooly when I have control over my voice again. “I don’t want to look at you. Tell me the truth.”

“Very well.”

Chapter fifty-three

Slawa

“The war in Slawa has been going on for decades,” he begins, his voice cool and detached. “Perun and his gods have carved out the biggest part of the land for Wyraj, leaving a sliver to Weles for Nawie, and a small part for the rest of Slawa. This is where most people live, and there are many. It’s crowded, uncomfortable, and magical diseases spread often.”

I sigh. I swear, he never passes up an opportunity to lie to me. “You said it wasn’t a war about the land,” I point out flatly.

“It isn’t,” he says. “Perun and his gods need magic to keep ruling and to power up his immense ancestral soul operation. That’s why the entire land belonging to Slawa, where most people live, is surrounded by a tall, magical fence. The role of the fence is to suck magic out of everyone who lives there. Those who can’t get more or don’t have enough from the start, die or become vegetables.”

“Oh.”

I’m not sure I believe him, but he speaks with vicious hate, like this is something he feels very strongly about. If what he says is true, he’s right. This isn’t like mortal wars.

“The people rebel. Perun strikes a few with lightning to make an example of them. They rebel some more, he strikes again. It’s a futile war, and I won’t bore you with details. However, a few months ago, we received word from our spies about a much bigger threat. Perun looks to the mortal world, trying to come up with a way to suck magic out of these lands, too. Once he does it, he will be invincible.”

A shiver runs down my spine, and Woland smoothes it gently with a caress. I clear my throat, and he stops, keeping his palm on my lower back.

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