Page 55 of A Surrender Of Hope

“Of course, I watch you. That is my job. And I’ve been here since Lennox pressed you against that wall and kissed you until you made that weird sound like a dying cow. You both could’ve been killed. Try not to do that unless you’re sure no one is in the room with you,” he drawls, looking around the room with a calculating glance. “You didn't lock the doors after he left and you failed to light the room, leaving lots of dangerous blind spots,” he points out casually, flicking his wrist and igniting the torches on the walls as my mouth drops open in shock.

“I’ll be sure to do that from now on! That’s a gross invasion of privacy, Razar. I was naked in here,” I snap, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Hmm. Yes, but since you came into my room unannounced while I was naked and didn't leave me to my privacy, I figured it was fine with you,” he points out, and my mouth clicks together with an audible snap at that memory. “However,” he mutters in an almost bored tone. My fingers twitch toward my blades, sitting on the bed nearby, and Razar tracks the movement, his eyes lighting up in excitement. “I didn't follow you into the bathroom, and I turned my back when you came out until you were dressed if that is any comfort.”

I narrow my eyes at him, but my anger dissipates quickly, and I nod. Razar may be many things, but a liar isn't one of them. There hasn't been a single time he’s ever lied to me since meeting him. So if he says he didn't look while I was getting dressed, I believe him.

“Why are you watching me?”

“I told you it’s my job,” he repeats, turning and grabbing my knife, yanking it from the wall with a pleased nod. “That was a good throw. A little slow on the draw, but we can improve your speed,” he murmurs more to himself than me. “That way, you can draw blood if it happens again.”

“You want me to cause actual harm? What if it works and I do hit you?” I ask in confusion, dropping my arms to my sides as he strides over, flicking the throwing knife in the air and catching it by the blade, handle extended to me.

“I want you to protect yourself if someone comes into your room unannounced. I doubt you’ll ever draw my blood,” he grumbles, turning to walk back to his corner. “But if you do, we can move on to the next step.”

“Which is?” I ask, leaning to the side, trying to see what he's grabbing from the corner of the shadows.

“A fatal blow. Death instead of injury,” he grunts as he drags something heavy from the corner. “I brought you a gift,” he adds, making me frown.

“I don't want a gift from you. I’m still mad about being tossed off a cliff yesterday,” I remind him as he turns and shoves a large object toward me.

“You’ll want this one,” he says confidently, my eyes widening in horror when I realize it's not an object but a damn person! There’s a grunt from the man as Razar waves his hand in the air, whispering a few words. His dark magic spreads around the room, and suddenly, I hear a familiar voice cursing Razar in an arrangement of words I’ve never thought to use before.

“Razar! What the hell?” I gasp, leaping forward and grabbing the sack tied over Theo’s head, ripping it off and revealing my friend’s dirty and scratched-up face. “Theo! Are you alright?” Theo's big brown eyes are lit with anger as he scowls at Razar over his shoulder.

“Yeah. Can you untie me?” he asks in a hoarse voice, my fingers already tugging at the rope looped around his wrists.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I snap at him, then look up at the infuriating man leaning against the wall, watching me with a blank expression on his face. “What the hell is he doing here? Why did you tie him up?”

“The boy decided to follow us through the rift. I saw him stalking the convoy yesterday and decided I would fetch him if he survived the night. Found him treed by a pack of Therion,” he grumbles, nodding at Theo, who continuously glares at the Demon. “He did well. I’ll let his Senior know on our return,” Razar grunts as he nods with a pleased purse of his lips.

“That doesn't explain why he’s tied up,” I growl, finally getting the rope untied from around his wrists.

“I… uh, might have fought him about going back home,” Theo cuts in, dirty cheeks turning pink as he shakes his hands out in front of him and winces. Razar nods in agreement with Theo's words, and I roll my eyes at the two of them.

“So why are you here instead of home?” I ask, glaring at Theo as he helps me untie his ankles.

“I pointed out that you would be mad if he brought me home without you seeing me first.” I snort and look at Razar, not believing he would care if I was mad or not. There must be another reason, a lesson he wants Theo to learn, and that’s why he let him stay. “So he tied me up and threw me on those freaky dragon horses and brought me here.”

“Why are you here? I thought we agreed you were to stay at the castle,” I grind out, my anger doubling as I look him over. There are no major injuries besides some scratches and torn clothing. He’s filthy and has dark circles under his eyes, but he looks mostly unharmed. Theo yanks the remainder of the rope off and rubs at the reddened skin of his ankles as he glares at me.

“Not we, you decided I was going to stay at the castle. I didn't. So I trailed behind you up to the North Ridge and followed you guys off the cliff.” My head snaps back toward Razar, and I widen my eyes at him.

“Elaine is going to kill us when she figures out where Theo has gone,” I murmur in realization, and Razar nods once in agreement.

“Yes,” he confirms, glaring at Theo.

“Dammit. Theo, what the hell? You could have been killed! Do you understand what that would have done to your mom… to Jordan,” I point out, flicking my attention back to my friend, who at least has the decency to look a little guilty. “To me,” I stress as I reach up, wipe some of the mud and grime from his face, and sigh. “You really need a shower. You’re dirtier than I was yesterday.” Theo winces, his hand moving to his backside as he rubs it and nods.

“Yeah, I kinda landed in a mud pit after I jumped off that cliff, and I think I broke my ass,” he admits, making me chuckle despite my lingering anger.

“Same, but I rolled down a hill and then tackled that one into a mud pit for shoving me off the cliff,” I ramble, thumbing over my shoulder at Razar, who stiffens and huffs, looking away from us as he crosses his arms over his chest.

I take a deep breath and stand up, offering my hand to Theo and heaving him onto his feet, making him groan in pain as he stands up. “Fuck. I think I really broke my tailbone when I fell.”

“Shouldn't go jumping off cliffs when you don’t know what's at the bottom,” Razar mutters.

“Yeah. He should have been shoved. It’s so much better,” I snark, making the Demon Prince’s lips curl back in a snarl as he leans forward.

---