Page 124 of Barbi and the Villain

Why do I feel like I’m intruding on an intimate moment of my dogs?

From the corner of my eye, I see Nykander is still there. He’s balancing himself on his heels as he stares at us intently.

“Why are you still here?”

He purses his lips.

“Are you going to blame me for failing the competition now?” I raise a brow.

“No,” he mutters.

“Really? Because this was your chance to meet the High Priestess if you won.”

He shrugs. “She will call on us eventually.”

It doesn’t escape me that he said us not me.

I narrow my eyes at him.

“So that’s it? No insults? No more calling me a fool?”

“What you did was foolish.” He sighs as he steps closer. “Were you going to take off your clothes?” He surprises me by asking.

“Of course not,” I reply immediately. “I thought it was weird with the whole panty-smelling thing. I mean, who does that? But because I didn’t know what it was for, I sort of went along.”

“Why? You didn’t have to enter the competition.”

“Because I am petty,” I tell him as I cross my arms over my chest. “And I planned to humiliate you once you won.”

A smile pokes at his lips.

“I see. You certainly displayed your pettiness in the skill trial.”

“Damn right. It happens to be a true talent, so you’d better watch your back from now on. I have downgraded you from my pink notebook to my black one to suit your dark, dark soul.”

“But I thought you were the light to that dark, dark soul?” he adds with a smile.

“Careful, Dark One,” I tell him in a warning tone. “You might unlock my other talent. And it will not bode well for you, especially seeing as how we’re trapped together for now.”

“And what is that talent?” He takes another step forward.

I smirk and get up. “I am as petty as I am obsessive.”

His features light up in surprise.

“But whereas you might have earned my good type of obsessiveness while you were a member of the pink notebook crew, since you are now on my black list, the level of obsessiveness will be adjusted accordingly.”

“And what does that…obsessiveness entail?”

“I’ll make your life a living hell,” I say without missing a beat. “I might not have any of those fancy powers of yours, but I do have something that’s even better.”

He raises his brows.

“Perseverance,” I continue. “I do not forget, nor do I forgive.”

“Not even if you receive a sincere apology?”

His words startle me.

---