“It’s interesting you believe that.”
If he could violently decapitate a man just for being the average version of a human sleaze bucket, he was capable of wrapping me in cotton wool and sticking me in a corner.
Panic rose with the tang of sour lemons in my throat. I wanted to dance. I wanted to be the architect of my own life with no one controlling me.
A man who could kill that easily would have no problem exerting his will over a simple human woman.
“Lady Hasannah.” The anxiousness was gone from Mathen's voice now, leaving it calm, smooth, certain. “You are in no danger here. Please, calm yourself.”
I braced my hands on the sink, then straightened, gathering my composure.
“I'm calm.”
But images of Larry’s body lurked in my mind and bile rose again. I grit my teeth. That lovely dinner all gone to waste. I wished I could curse, but my childhood conditioning was too strong.
“I'm going to go to bed,” I said quietly. His stiff shoulders relaxed. “I have to get up early in the morning. Thank you.”
He nodded, stepping aside to let me leave the bathroom, and hovered in the short hallway until I entered my bedroom and shut the door behind me quietly.
What was I going to do?
Growing up with seven siblings you learned to ignore people when they were present and you wished they weren't, but also to be aware of when you were no longer alone. I woke, alerted by the change in the air. Someone was in my closet sized bedroom with me, and I didn’t think it was Mathen.
I breathed shallowly, hoping the monster who wasn't under the bed would grant me the wish to go away. The only empty corner of the bedroom was slightly darker than it should be, especially considering the faint wash of moonlight coming through the window.
“My Anah. I know you're awake.”
His quiet, carefully mild voice seemed deeper, darker in the quiet of this enclosed space.
“Andrei. . .” I sat up slowly, clearing my throat. “Lord Andrei.”
I wore leggings and an oversized T-shirt to bed, clothes I'd brought with me from home, so I didn't worry about clasping the sheet to my naked bosom like some heroine in an ebook.
WasIthe heroine in my own ebook? The real question was, was this a romance or a horror? I was happy to hedge my bets and settle for at worst, a thriller. The plot where the girl survived at the end.
“You should have stayed in your apartment.” Strong disapproval in his voice. “I hadn't intended for you to see that.”
“It wasn't Mathen's fault.”
“I know.”
I relaxed a little. Good. The guard wouldn't be punished for me seeing something I wasn't supposed to.
“Why did you do it?” I asked.
“Why do you think I did it?”
“Don't play that game with me. Please.”
“That's not the game I want to play with you, my Anah.” He exhaled a soft sigh. “If the human had only offered you disrespect—and I suspect you've been enduring hisdisrespectfor some time—then I would have handled the matter differently. He would have survived, though he kind of would have wished to die when I was done with him. But he would have survived.”
I picked up my pillow, hugging it to my chest as if fluffy cotton could shield me. My eyes were adjusted to the dark but I still had trouble picking out the shape of his features.
“So why did you kill him?”
A part of me whispered,You only care because you want to make sure Andrei isn't going to be a problem. You don't care about Larry.
“He attempted to sell information regarding your identity and our possible relationship to a Lord of the High Court.”