Page 63 of For the Love of the Gods

My skin felt itchy and hot with fear and dread of being stuck in this room without being able to help. The dam had finally fissured and cracked, letting all the resentment and anger against me flood my home.

Threaten Dominic and I.

Maybe I should have listened to Max or Marcus or Thea when they begged me to retaliate against those who had quit or who spewed evil words at me.

Maybe it was the same person who’d poisoned my dress.

I shivered with the force of my fear, then shoved it down. I couldn’t deal with this right now, not in front of Dominic.

I looked at Marcus, who shot me a look that towed the line betweenI told you soandI have this handledbefore walking over to Raiden. The locks they were putting on the doors could only be opened by them, but would still allow us to portal out if they didn’t come back.

Which they would, Raiden promised, when he saw my mouth opening in protest. He also tacked on a serious warning to both of us—even though he spoke directly to me—about the stupidity of leaving the room before they addressed the situation.

I didn’t argue, I did some stupid shit, but that was too far even for me.

They left with a nod to Dominic. I heard them secure the rope lock and their boots stomp away from the door, leaving me and Dominic locked together and alone.

“Well,” I said, throwing a rock through the glass wall of silence in the room. “I’m going to take a nap.”

I grabbed a blanket off the back of one of Dominic’s chairs and moved towards the couch when he wrapped a hand around my arm. “What the fuck do you think you are doing?”

I looked up at him to find his eyes ablaze with wild anger.

“Um, napping?”

“You can sleep right now?” His jaw ticked and I had the sickening urge to press my hand to his skin to soothe the joint.

“It’s a breach,” I said, trying my mighty best to sound nonchalant. To hide the fear and the confession. “Some souls probably got overexcited.”

“And knocked two of my best guards unconscious?” Good question, one I was trying not to think too hard about.

I shrugged. With the wrong shoulder, I realized, when the movement caused Dominic’s hand to scrape against my skin. “Maybe they were drinking on the job.”

“How can you be so cavalier about this?” The question was deadly. Answered honestly, it would unravel everything I was trying too hard to hold together.

Because I should have expected this.Because I spend most of my life in defensive mode. Because this is probably my fault.

“Because it’s not that serious.”

Dominic scoffed, dramatically lifting his hand from my arm. His eyes were searching my face like it was a page in a book he was tearing through. “Do you have no care for your life?”

He had no idea how deep that question cut.

I flicked my hand and conjured a Shadowwalker to stand by the door. It was willowy, a little terrifying, and tall. Maybe a little more than normal. Pure death floating by the door and waiting for my silent command.

I looked at Dominic and shot him a look that saidare you happy?

“If someone breaks down that door, you’ll see exactly how much I care about my life. Until then, I. Am. Napping.” I punctuated my last point by dropping onto his couch and throwing the blanket over me to fight the sudden chill in the room. The dress I was wearing was a thin cotton, held up by two straps and pulled together by a line of buttons down the front. Adorable, but nowhere near warm.

“I cannot believe you,” Dominic grumbled, turning his back to me.

“Speak louder if you want me to hear you,” I said from under the blanket.

He turned around, and if I thought I saw flames in his gaze before, it was a raging wildfire now. “I cannot believe you.”

“You know, you keep saying that.”

The fire was inches away from me now. “Well, it’s true.”

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