Page 45 of Destroy a King (Five Kings 4)

His voice is loud and angry and shocks me into silence as he stands and the fire blazing from his eyes scares me—a lot.

I almost think he’s going to strike me when he raises his hand and I flinch and watch as his eyes darken and he says huskily, “Take a seat, Holly and I will explain.”

Hating myself for being so weak, I sink into the chair opposite him and he says darkly, “I didn’t like our conversation.”

“What do you mean?”

I am genuinely confused, which once again reinforces my realization that I’m facing a madman.

“You spoke about a life outside of this one. It’s what you hope for your future, telling me you are unhappy with our—situation.”

“But…”

He holds up his hand. “I told you if you displeased me, angered me, there would be consequences. You made me doubt my offer to teach you, to mentor you and show you a better way.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I still don’t understand.”

He sighs and looks a little lost, which makes me worry for him and he says in a whisper, “I want you to stay. To see this through and learn. I want to give you everything you want, Holly, but I want it to be on my terms. Bringing you here was a big risk, asking you to fulfill the role you’re in was a very big risk and I thought you understood. You need to trust me and I need to control you, that’s how this works. If you can’t, then there’s no point, you will have to go.”

“Go.”

“Suddenly, I’m fearful of what I’d wished for so desperately a few days ago. Now the thought of leaving him is strangely disturbing and I wonder if I’ve been drawn into the madness and my head has been screwed as well as my body.

“Yes. You remain here under my terms or not at all, it’s your choice.”

I watch in shock as he stands and says roughly, “I’m going out. Stay here and finish the job you started, if you can lower yourself, that is.”

Before I can even breathe, he is gone and as the key turns in the lock, I am once again a prisoner and feel as if I’m right back where I started.

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