Page 26 of All the Devils are Here

Laurent was one of the gentlest people I’d ever met. Even when he’d nearly yelled at me outside the club, his touch had been soft and warm. Not once had I ever been afraid of him, and I couldn’t imagine him like that.

But he’d rejected me. Not once, but twice. If anything, that thoroughly proved he didn’t want me or anything to do with me. Not like that.

Why on earth would he come rescue me? He probably thought I was dead.

The true horror of what happened was starting to sink in now that I was awake and my body was in less pain. How many people on the boat had died? Everyone was drunk, and there was no light. No way to find lifeboats, and even if they had, the waves had been so violent I didn’t know if anyonecouldhave survived that.

Janelle? Raoul? They could be gone, and I had no way of knowing.

Grief clung to my chest, and I curled up around myself. Did everyone thinkIwas dead? Was Christine okay? Did Laurent know what had happened? Oh fuck. Not just them, but everyone else. My family and friends in America.

I didn’t even know how long it had been since the boat sank.

Tears stung my eyes, but I didn’t want to cry. Not here. If he was watching me, I didn’t want to show weakness. But all I wanted to do was curl up tighter and weep. For me and for my friends. For everyone who died because, for whatever reason, a magician wanted to use me.

Through the window the sunlight changed, slipping from afternoon into early evening. But I didn’t move. Where would I go? What the fuck was I supposed to do here?

A sound like a soft sigh startled me, and I turned to see dark smoke seeping through the cracks around the door. A second later Ariel appeared out of it. He was no longer wearing a suit. Instead, he only appeared as half a body. A bare torso, arms, and head.

His skin was nearly white and shone gently in the light, like a pearl. I couldn’t ignore the way his body looked, either. It wasn’t just his face that was beautiful, the paleness of his skin making him look nearly like a marble statue. Lean, and with more muscle than a spirit should have.

I’d already felt exactly how much strength he had when he held me down. Which was why it wasn’t okay he was here. “What are you doing here?”

The look on his face was indescribable. He was staring at me like I was the dessert he’d been craving for a decade. Such intensity that he didn’t seem to even hear my question at first. The fact that his gaze did something to me pissed me off. It was just like Ban. It dug down deep in my gut and made mefeelthings.

He came across the space and reached out for me with now-physical hands, and I recoiled. “Don’t you fucking touch me.”

He stepped back like I’d struck him. Then he looked up at me and inhaled, holding out his hands like an offering. “I came to apologize.”

“For what?” I spat. “For not fuckingtelling anyonethat the boat was going to sink? For letting me get on there and then letting people die? Or for holding me down while your madman of a boss? Owner? Whatever the fuck he is,torturedme?”

“I’m sorry.” He appeared the rest of the way, wearing what looked like soft dark pants. Coming closer, he knelt in front of the bed. He offered his hand again, and I pulled away, pretending I didn’t see the hurt in his eyes and wishing I understood it. “I’m so sorry, Meg. I’m sorry for all of it. I know that not having a choice doesn’t make it better. I know that. But I’m still sorry. I came to apologize, and hopefully, explain.”

I glared at him, pushing my back against the wall and attempting to arrange the chains around me so they were somewhat comfortable. “And if I tell you to get the fuck out?”

The same devastation as earlier filled his face, and he looked down, breaking our eye contact. “Then I’ll go.”

Why did that affect me so much? It shouldn’t. But as angry as I was at him, I also didn’t want to be alone. “Why am I here?”

Ariel looked up sharply, like he was surprised I hadn’t sent him away. Then he blinked. “Prospero didn’t lie. You’re here as bait.”

“For someone who doesn’t care about me?” I scoffed. “That hardly makes sense.”

“If you think he doesn’t care about you, you haven’t been watching closely enough.”

I shook my head, unwilling to think about that. Because if it were true, and he’d kissed me back or taken me home and done…anythingelse with me, I might not have gotten on the boat. Maybe I would have stayed in Paris, and I couldn’t bear to imagine that right now.

“What did he do to me? Really?”

Ariel hesitantly held out his hand for mine. “I’ll show you.”

After long moments staring at it, I leaned forward and placed my hand in his. All at once, Ariel stiffened, and there was ahumin the air, the same kind of feeling as when Ban had shifted back into his feline form.

“Fuck,” he said under his breath, hand tightening on mine.

“What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. Here.” Gently, he pushed the metal cuff as far up my arm as it would go. Not far, but enough to reveal the inside of my wrist. He pressed a finger to my skin, and violet light appeared.

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