Page 314 of Fated to be Enemies

“Who says I can’t?”

I paused. “It’s wrong.”

“No.”

My eyes widened. “No?”

“I needed souls, and I chose to feast upon dark ones. How does that make me bad?”

“Everyone is allowed a fair trial. You can’t just feel someone as being bad, then condemn them.”

She shrugged, sitting at the edge of the bed all too casually. Peering around her, I noticed the large window overlooked the snowy peaked mountains and an evergreen forest that continued to the horizon. I looked around the wood cabin, which must have been situated on the side of a mountain—or at least built up high.

I moved as far away from her as I could, without falling off the bed. “You kidnapped me. You’re not making a strong case for not being the bad guy. I mean, it’s like you’ve taken a page right of the villain handbook.”

Freya shifted her weight, then tucked her hair behind her ears, showing off her diamond-shaped face and strong features. I supposed I could see the beauty that had captivated Raiden. Her cupid-bow lips were painted dark red, complementing the dark brown of her hair and her olive-toned skin. “I’m doing what I must to survive. You see, they will not allow me to live, but Thalia and Aziel listen to Raiden, and Raiden cares for you. As long as I have you, he won’t come for me, not when your life is in danger.”

Panic struck through me, forcing my heart to skip its next beat. “You’ve got this all wrong. We’re barely friends. We hated each other before that. If your life is riding on whether or not he cares for me, then you’ve made a fatal mistake.”

She rolled her expressive eyes and stood, sweeping the creases from the silk at her waist. “I know what I felt when I touched Raiden, and he was protecting you that day I broke in. I am not wrong in this. I never am in matters of the heart.”

“Don’t you care?” I pulled myself off the bed and stood. “He loved you! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

She looked at the window, her gaze far off. “No.”

“You’re so cold.”

“I’ve had to be.” She walked toward me, even as I shuffled against the headboard, and took my hand in hers. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and a hint of a smile curled her lips. “You have felt great loss too. It never goes away, the emptiness after losing someone you love, and you have so much emptiness.” She released my hand, gently placing it on the covers. “You feel almost hollow. I can see why Raiden showed an interest in you. He, like you, is broken.”

I scoffed. “You’re not?”

“Why do you think he loved me?”

I scowled. “How can that mean nothing? You speak so coldly of him when all he did was love you.”

“You know what he did. He is responsible for my son’s death.”

“He didn’t know.” My voice cracked at the ends. “This is all one big mistake.”

“My son’s death is not a mistake.” She balled her fists, tensing the lean muscles in her arms.

“You didn’t even want him,” I snapped but wished I hadn’t. “Sorry, that wasn’t fair.”

She lifted her hand as if to push me but stopped herself. “This is my room.” She blew out a tense breath. “You should leave it before I decide to throw you through the window.”

I gulped. “Thought you needed me.”

“Only alive.” Steady, cold rage guided her tone. “Alexander can heal you should you step out of line.”

I glanced from her to the window, not wanting to be told twice. I hightailed it out of the room and found myself standing behind the now-closed door to her bedroom. I ran straight for the front door, pushed it open, and found a hundred steps leading down to the meadow, among the forest crowned by mountains. Glancing behind me, I decided to brave it and pushed a foot outside, but I was forced right back in again.

“What the—” I tried again but was forced back inside as if an invisible barrier surrounded the house. I closed my eyes. Of course, that was exactly what it was. Alexander must’ve been one powerful warlock to be able to cast a barrier spell and heal my head earlier. It was probably why she kept him around. Although, it did show her threat of throwing me out of the window was empty, considering I couldn’t even step outside.

After closing the door, I stormed back inside. I kicked the corner of a rug that covered the polished floorboards of the living room. Skulls from various animals were hung decoratively on the wood-paneled walls. Dusty, yellow lamps emitted an orange glow from the two corner tables next to a four-seat cream sofa. A painting of Freya, shrouded in silk upon a horse, hung above the unlit fireplace. Her eyes seemed to follow me around the room as I paced.

I left the living area and ambled through a barely used kitchen with what appeared to be oak countertops and an old stove with an empty teapot on it. I continued out, moving through another door and down a narrow hallway until I reached a well-lit, windowed room, like Freya’s. In it, an easel stood in the center over a blue rug, and paintings of all different colors cluttered the walls. At the back, a twin, unmade bed sat under an erotic painting of Alexander and Freya.

I almost knocked into a box of open paints as I walked past a mahogany cabinet. Alexander was looking out the window but turned his dreamy gaze toward me. “The sun will set soon.”

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