Page 7 of Cursed Shadows 2

“Since you arrived,” she says softly. “Each time he brings me a piece of you. A strand of hair… or I take it from your seat when I serve you.”

I sit in this for a moment.

Staring out the window, I decide I’m not upset about the imitation of my body. Not when it means he only ever thinks of me when he beds someone else. Not when it means he’s so desperate to have me. But it’s still a problem, because maybe the imitation is good enough to keep him from falling into my trap.

I have talents of my own. Glamour, lies, and my personal favourite, seduction. I can read on males what they like, what will work, what will turn them away from me. It’s not a fae trait exactly, but a skill I developed naturally, like some others of my kind are better suited to fiddles and painting than others are.

And it so happens that Daxeel likes my natural way of seduction, that I myself am his temptation. I never had to act or pretend with him for him to want me, not outside of the time I challenged him with a dupe dagger.

I release a heavy sigh and reach into the pocket of my plain dress. I tug out the single coin and flatten it down on the table. A shilling, not a nugget, but the silver is more than the thanks she deserves.

I say nothing as I push from my seat.

Before I can walk off, she stops me.

Her hand snatches my wrist and stills me.

Looking up at me, she adds, “When he is gentle, he might sometimes speak—words he thinks are too quiet for me to hear, but I do hear them.Vicious one… I don’t know if that means anything to you. But other times, I dress in clothes that he brings—yours. And if you were to ask me how I think he feels about you…” Her smile is tight, and I know this extra information isn’t because of the tip I gave, but rather a thanks for not beating her senseless. “He hates that he loves you. But hate and love you, he does.”

I nod once.

Her grip falls from my wrist.

I stare blankly at the wall for a moment. “You will not see him anymore. I don’t care if you leave, fake illness, or simply pretend you’re too busy for his visit.” I turn a dark look down at her and she blanches. “But if you do accept him again, I will kill you.”

It doesn’t matter if I’m lying or not, what matters is that she believes I’m telling the truth.

She nods.

Then I’m gone.

If Daxeel wants to play these wicked games—fucking me with his tongue on the tower, fingers inside of me in the corridors, then finding his release in an imitation of me—then I will play with him.

I stole away his crutch, and now he will have no imitation of me to chase down.

It’s me or nothing, dark one.

I will have him fall into my trap again. I will take back my one love.

This is about more than getting out of the Sacrament.

This is about us. How desperately I will fight, play this cruel game, to steal him back, earn his forgiveness—and have the life I should have had with him. A happy one.

I know what I need to do, that my slight against him—especially that it was so public—was as severe as it would’ve been for me to take another to my bed.

So I must let him punish me, I should feed into it, and use those moments with him, his desperation to have me and hurt me, to my advantage. In those moments, I can convince him of my remorse, regret, and I can lure him back into my trap, and I can have him fall in love with me all over again.

It would not serve me to throw myself at his feet in a flurry of tears and sobs and pleads. All my begging would fall onto the wings of the wind and drift away, he would only consider me like one might consider mud on their boots.

I wouldn’t bemeif I were to do that, and he would recognize that shift. He would see I have cracked too soon, and he would be disgusted by it.

But I know I need help. I’m no match for him alone.

I find my help in the library.

Aleana is buried. She’s buried in the layers of her silky dress and ruffled moss-green bodice; and she’s buried deep down the aisles dedicated to the Sacrament.

How eagerly she tries to save me from this fate. Eamon too, so I know he’s in the aisles around us, somewhere, searchingfor the answers.

---