Page 70 of Forgotten Monsters
He scratches the nape of his neck. “Mal wants to visit Faerie with your sister and her husband. They apparently go way back, even though she was a cat then. I’m going to set sail tomorrow morning and meet up with my twin brother, Lucas. Yer welcomed to join, if ye want.”
My throat dries up, the invite a surprising one to say the least. “I’m needed here.”
He gives me a sharp nod. “Don’t let politics ruin yer life.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
Doesn’t he remember his promise? Is he only attracted to me when I’m boiling with rage?
As if on cue, Daniel taps on my shoulder. His sudden closeness makes my head spin. “I need to speak with you.”
Barron’s dark aura thickens, but he doesn’t move an inch.
Daniel glides his hand down my arm and guides me aside. His sheepish grin turns my stomach.
“Come on now, kitten. I didn’t know you were alive. I swear.”
“We were both played, then.”
“Doesn’t it make you squirm? Your sister gets power, recognition, immortality…”
I know what he’s doing. He wants to stoke my envy. Maybe he means to shock me to regain my trust…or he just likes to see me suffer.
I meet his gaze head-on. “Better to get nothing than to get screwed.” I shiver, because despite my anger and his treachery, a part of me still yearns for his approval, and it disgusts me.
He probably only wants to get back into my good graces because of Dad’s new position.
“You never loved me, did you?”
He shakes his head in disbelief. “Don’t play the victim, here. You’re a clever, ambitious girl. You knew what you were signing up for.”
Before I can stop myself, I punch him square in the face. He recoils, holding up his hand to shield his eyes. My silver ring left a dent in his brow.
He licks his lips. “I admit I deserved that. See you later, kitten.” He spins on his heels with a wink like this is merely a time-out, and I’m condemned to gravitate his orbit.
Maybe I have it all wrong.
Barron’s large frame towers behind me as I watch Daniel leave. “He can’t own you, if you don’t let him.”
“Does vengeance always taste so bitter?” I choke.
“Ye have no idea…” the words are both wistful and dark.
A new ambition rumbles in my belly.
Daniel Osbourne is right about one thing. I’m not a victim, or at least I don’t want to stay in that role. If he used me and manipulated me…I won’t let it become my pattern.
I can’t let Jules play with fire alone. And if my sister has already achieved immortality and a fate that’ll put her name on everyone’s lips, despite all odds, who says I can’t do the same?
“You live for revenge… Teach me.” Barron might call himself a druid, but he’s a warlock first. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to teach me his brand of magic. If the spell he used tonight is any indication, the treasures buried below deck must be enough to change the course of history.
He rubs the curve of his jaw. “I thought you weren’t into lowly scavengers.”
I summon a confidence I don’t possess yet and grab a fist of his shirt to pull him down for a very scandalous, very public kiss. “As it turns out…I’ve got a thing for scoundrels.”
26
DARKER DEALS
