Page 34 of Slay Me

“What the hell is it with me?” I demand, losing what little control over my anger I had. Energy from my fury blood snakes through my body, and a gust of wind sends the carefully organized papers on his desk scattering to the floor. I’m instantly mortified. Embarrassed even. Because my power is literally nothing more than a temper tantrum when compared with his. “Shit, I’m sorry.” Jumping up from my chair, I kneel and start gathering them. The Ringmaster does not move.

“You are my top performer,” he replies. “I enjoy watching you. The patrons enjoy watching you. If something were to happen, I would lose business, and that is not something I can tolerate. Not now. Not ever.” He moves away from me, so I take a moment to look up at him.

“So everything you said last night was a lie?” I hate the emotion in my voice. Hate the way I feel so fucking used.

“I was frustrated, and my control bent. What I said last night was a mistake,” he tells me. “And one we will not be making again.”

I stand, abandoning the papers on the ground. “I will see you tonight for my private performance,” I snap as I march toward the door. “Thanks for the headache.” After slamming the door behind me, I descend the stairs and emerge into the main hall where my room is.

Unfortunately, I’m not alone.

Valentina narrows her gaze on me. “What the hell are you doing up there?”

“Not in the mood, Val.” I try to move past her, but she steps in front of me.

“I asked you a question,” she snaps, her gaze darting from me to the door behind me. The one that leads tohisstairs. “You shouldn’t be bothering him like that.”

“Bothering him?” I gape at her. “You have no damn idea what you’re talking about.”

Valentina steps forward, bright eyes shimmering with anger. “I knowexactlywhat I’m talking about.Exactlywhat you’re trying to do, and it won’t work.”

Crossing my arms, I glare back at her. “And just what is it you think I’m doing, Val? Sleeping my way to the top? Letting him fuck me in exchange for freedom? Oh, wait,” I trail off, chuckling. “That was your plan.” Shoving past her, I reach my room and slam the door before crossing the room and reaching under my mattress for the box containing all the magic I’ve earned while working here.

It’s not much, really. A handful of vials of Vampire venom and two vials of shifter blood, but it’s just enough to help me get settled somewhere else. Somewhere far away from this place that holds the dragon who forces me to feel things that make me hate myself.

Chapter11

Liv

“What’s going on with you?”

I glance over as Apollo removes his shirt and stretches. Tonight, he’s not shifting—punishment for our act the other night—which means he’ll be flying on a lyra with me. “Nothing, why?”

He pulls his golden hair back away from his face, securing it in a band at the base of his neck. “Something’s off. We’ve known each other long enough for me to tell, Liv.” The gryffin crosses both arms and studies me, brow raised.

I’m having conflicting feelings for a man we all hate.“Honestly? I’m just tired. Val won’t stop giving me crap, and the double performances are starting to get to me.” The second part is a lie. Truthfully, the private moments with the Ringmaster are something I look forward to far more than I should. But his consistent back and forth has me questioning my own sanity. Add to that the stomach ache and exhaustion I’ve been unable to shake since I woke up this morning, and I’m pretty fucking over life at the moment.

Apollo’s gaze narrows. “You shouldn’t be forced to do those, Liv. You need to stand up to him.”

“And do what?” I dust my hands and then grip the lyra. “End up on my back with his hand around my throat?” Why does that mental image make me want to do just that?Damn hormones.

Lowering his voice, Apollo steps closer. “We can leave,” he tells me. “Find a way to escape.”

“Thatnevergoes well,” I reply even as my heart begins to pound. This is what I wanted, right? To have him take me away from here. And having Apollo offer it rather than me having to ask is a massive bonus because it means I won’t have to worry about him reporting me to the Ringmaster. So why does the very idea of me leaving make me want to hurl?

As if on cue, my stomach twists. Sweat beads on my forehead.

“But we’re different, right? I can fly, and with you able to control the wind, you can shield our scent so his team cannot track us,” Apollo insists.

Except he can fly, too. And likely far faster than we can.I step closer, keeping my expression neutral. “Apollo, you know what will happen if he finds us?”

“What’s going to happen with us staying here? We have decades left on our contracts, Liv. By the time we’re free, both of us are going to be too damned tired to do anything else. But if we go now, if we leave, we can make it to Fire and Fluorite. They’ll protect us.”

“The house that sold you to the Ringmaster in the first place?”

He shakes his head, eyes flashing with anger. “Mathis is dead now, remember? He was threatened by me, but the rest of the house will take us. And they can protect us from the Ringmaster. Once we’re a part of the house, nothing else will matter. We just have to make it to the border.”

Footsteps headed our way silence my response.

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