Page 103 of Tortured Soul
“So heisyour lap dog,” I crooned, swirling the wine in the elegant glass. “Must be great to have minions to do everything you don’t want to do. Maybe you’re a little like the human who occupied this house before you.”
I stared at his face, waiting for a reaction. He gave me none, his face hidden behind a blank expression.
“He’s not a lap dog, nor a minion,” he said, cutting a piece of meat from his plate. “Carter and I have a mental link connecting us. He can see through my eyes and talk to me, as well as read some of my thoughts. That's how he knew I needed someone to come get you, as I was otherwise engaged and couldn’t do it myself.”
I chuckled, the sound a little dry, as I placed my drink back on the table next to my plate.
“Yeah, sure. Filing paperwork is a long and taxing task.”
He tilted his head to the side, his blue eye sparkling under the ceiling light.
“I was cooking, Lola. Because I thought it would be nice to have dinner, all three of us, to try and get to know each other better so you guys could finally get along.”
I looked at our plates, at the dish pushed to the side with enough food to feed one or two more. Was Carter aware of that plan? Did he agree to it before I pushed his buttons and we started to fight?
I squared my shoulders, stabbing a piece of vegetable. “Well, that backfired, didn’t it?”
He closed his eyes, releasing a long, exhausted exhale. “How can you be so—”
“I’ll stop you right there,” I interrupted, dropping my fork and knife on my plate. “Dimitri told you how I fucked up and I didn’t have a soul. I told you I lost it for selfish reasons. So be smarter than him. Don’t get hung up on the hope that you can somehow retrieve it. It’s been gone for over fifteen hundred years, Arc. I’m sorry to be such a disappointment, but no matter what your powers are, you’ll probably never find it.”
My hands were crossed over the table in front of me. His stare was trying to pierce holes into my absent soul, calculating. Studying my face, my moves.
“Carter and I are a lost cause, and I found your behavior toward Dimitri sketchy. Know that Dimitri has been my rock for my whole life,” I said, ignoring the pang of hurt at the memory of the last eighty years I spent without seeing him. “I’ll always choose him over anyone. I’ll alwaystrusthim over anyone when it comes to my well being and happiness.”
The muscle in his jaw twitched as his mask started to crumble.
“So let’s take back the binding promise,” I continued. “Because as soon as he’s back, we’ll be leaving. I don’t want to stay here, where Carter doesn’t want me anyway, and you manipulate me to get what you want.”
We glowered at each other in awkward silence.
I was done with all this. Something felt fishy here. Arc manipulated a binding promise out of me, and used it against me too much over the last two days, making me move in here, dangling it to Dimitri’s face, taunting me with his damn hot body to confuse me. Carter had beaten me once and I attacked him twice. There was no way we could ever get along.
Leaving with Dimitri was the safest option. I only had to hope he wouldn’t run off again.
“No.”
My hands uncrossed and turned to fists on the table.
“No?”
“You heard me right.”
I stood up abruptly, his eyes turning playful as he resumed eating.
“Why the fuck not?”
“It was a pretty speech and all, but…I don’t care that you think I won’t manage to get your soul back. I will, at some point. And when I do, you’ll be right here where you belong, with all of us.”
I scoffed. “So what, are you planning to keep me here against my will?”
He shook his head, chuckling.
“You might have succeeded in convincing yourself you wanted to leave, but I don’t buy it.”
“Then you’re delusional.”
The grin spread to light up his whole face.Smug bastard.
