Page 5 of The Darkness in the Magi

“I’m not a liar!”

Just looking at the warden has my heart quickening unnaturally, making my blood run hot. I can hardly think straight as all I can do is study him. His strong jaw. The thick chords of muscles lining his arms. Those tapered hips.

Maybe it’s the bond, though I can’t see why it would have this effect. Hopefully, it’ll wear off.

It absolutely has to.

If I don’t make common cause with him, I’ll be spending the rest of my life in misery. There has to be something we can agree upon.

I force a smile. “Please, I don’t want to fight with you every moment we’re together, which will be all the time.”

He sighs. “Don’t remind me.”

“I know what is at risk if I don’t listen to you. I promise to do as you say.”

Weird sensations needle me. It takes me a moment to realize they aren’t mine.

He looks at me for a long moment, the light in his eyes wavering ever so slightly, like he’s conflicted.

I feel uncertainty in him, which is surprising because it’s not within his nature to feel shades of gray. He always does what is right, which sets him firmly in the light.

His head shifts ever so slowly to the side as his gaze hardens. “Do you promise to listen and do as you're told?”

I nod, hoping to sate his frustration.

“Then tell me this, what do you know of sex?” he asks.

I blink, wondering if I heard him correctly because there is no way that Lucius of all the wardens would ever have a vulgar thought.

“Speak,” Lucius bids. “Tell me what you know of sex.”

I clear my throat. “Very little.”

“Then tell me everything.”

“I know that you have a penis and where you’re supposed to put it.”

He chuckles. “Penis? The word sounds so sanitized.”

“What would you have me call it?”

“Cock. It’s called a cock.”

I nod, bringing my eyes to the stone floor.

“I feel your dark nature. The poison in your blood. The nightmares you wish to sow,” he says.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try to keep them to myself.”

“Your nightmares hold little fear for me, for I can tame you just as easily as I can tame your body. And your now poisoned blood does not affect me.”

Tame my body?

A shudder runs up my spine.

“What might I do to please you?” I ask, hoping my compliance will cause him to abandon his anger towards me.

“You can get on your knees, stygian, and do exactly as you’re told.”

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