Page 52 of Jailer to the Death God
My stomach flutters. Wetness is sliding between my thighs, dampening my panties.
“And you’ll hurt me,” I murmur, holding his gaze. “When I’m helpless, bound to that rack, at your mercy—you’ll cut into me, dismember me, burn me. You’ll make me suffer.”
“I’ll make you scream,” he says, low.
I squish my thighs together and try to distract myself by taking a large bite of the buttery bun Hessie gave me. Which reminds me…
“This morning I noticed a symbol on Hessie’s forehead,” I say. “It’s faint, but it looks like one of yours. Not quite the same as the ones you use when you’re sparing life.”
“That’s a tethermark,” he explains. “It gives her immunity from death for seventy years.”
My jaw drops. “Do I get one?”
“It’s the sign of a god’s favor.” He gives me a disdainful look. “Which you do not have.”
“I seem to remember you offering to kill the poor girl. What did she do to earn your favor?”
His lashes blink slowly at me. “She performed a service.”
“Oh.” A strange, crawling horror coils in my stomach. “So she took care of your needs. I must say, I don’t think her a wise choice. She has managed to keep your secret so far, but I’ll wager it’s been difficult. Besides which, your power and authority might overwhelm her. She would feel obliged to yield to you, even if, in her heart, she would rather not consent. Why did you not mention her to me last night?”
“What in the furnace are you talking about?” He looks utterly confused.
“You—you took Hessie to bed.” The words sour my mouth.
“I did not. I’ve taken no one to bed. Well… I put youonthe bed last night, but I did not take you.” The low purr of his tone over the last handful of words makes my belly quiver again.
“Then what is the ‘service’ Hessie performed for you?”
“She helped me with a few tests of my magic. I put her to sleep, turned her into a cat, aged her up and then down again, and wrapped my shadows around her. It was harmless, and non-sexual.”
“Harmless?” I gasp. “You turned her into a cat!”
“A very fine cat. And only for a few moments.”
To be fair, the tests he conducted don’t seem to have affected Hessie in any negative way. “So if I submit to a few tests, I can earn your favor, too?”
The moment I say it, I know I’ve made a mistake.
Arawn leans forward, thick forearms braced on his knees, eyes glinting. “Do you want my favor?”
“I… I want to live a long and healthy life,” I breathe.
“Why do you think you deserve a long life, when so many others are not granted it?”
“I never said I deserve it,” I reply quietly. “Only that I want it.”
“And you would submit to me in exchange for such a boon?”
“Submit to you?” I can hardly manage the words.
“To a test of magic, little Queen. What did you think I meant?”
By the way his full lips curve just slightly at the corner, I’m fairly sure he knows exactly what I thought.
24
It’s not as if I haven’t thought of gifting the Queen a tethermark. If I could, I would, to protect myself by ensuring her long life. But it’s impossible to tether her to me that way while we’re already bound by the summoning ritual and Macha’s spell. I’d have to do it at the end of our year-long contract; and frankly, I don’t feel compelled to reward the little Queen for getting me into this mess.
