Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
The castle isn’t technically sentient, but it’s close enough, so it’s a good idea to be polite and ask for what I want instead of demand it. Whichever leader in generations long past imbued the building with magic to shift and mold at will, I don’t think they intended the place to end up with a will of its own. But magic and time have a way of playing with even the clearest of intent.
Case in point, it should be a five-minute walk to reach Eve’s room. The castle must sense my reluctance, because it takes me fifteen to reach her door.
I pause. There’s no avoiding this forever, and the longer I put it off, the worse it will be. I lied to her. I tricked her. And now I’m going to reveal myself to be a monster to her human eyes. I have enough magic that I could draw my human glamor around me, but it’s difficult in this realm, and more importantly, it would only extend the lie.
I have her for a lifetime, and if she hates me for the entirety of it, at least she’ll be alive to hate.
With one last aborted sigh, I knock firmly on the door. It cracks open immediately, the castle allowing me entry before Eve has a chance to decide for herself. When I don’t immediately push the door open, it creaks wider on its own.
“Not helping,” I mutter.
And then she’s there, standing before me in her yellow dress, her dark eyes stony. “I’m overstimulated and not in the mood. Leave me alone.”
“Eve.”
It’s agony to watch the expressions that play across her face. Shock, fear, uncertainty. She buttons it all up in seconds, but it’s clear that she recognizes my voice, and it’s equally clear that she doesn’t know what to think of me in this form.
She clears her throat. “Azazel? I thought you sounded familiar in the other room, but . . .”
But I look nothing like the man she’s known for years. “I’m sorry for how things occurred. You’re safe here.” Necessary words, for all that they feel inadequate.
She blinks, her uncertainty melting away to reveal pure rage. “You kidnapped me.”
“You signed the contract.” I register that it’s the wrong thing to say immediately and hold up my hands. “I understand that—”
“I signed a contract you led me to believe was role-play!” She clenches her fists. “Did you kidnap the others too? Did you fuck them before they signed their lives away? And now you sold them. You’re a monster.” She flicks a derisive glance over my body, for all that I tower over her in my true form. “And it has nothing to do with how you look.”
I flinch. I can’t help it. “I haven’t fucked anyone but you in years.” I don’t intend to speak that truth, but it lands in the space between us. I watch her discard my words as lies, and I have no one to blame but myself. Because I did lie to her.
Just not about this.
“Even if that were true, what do you want? A cookie?” With every word, she draws her composure tighter around herself, closing me out. “I am not, and never was, your girlfriend. You were a client.”
It’s the truth. There’s no reason for it to sting. I’m no lovestruck fool to think that she shares my feelings, no matter how much she seemed to enjoy our time together. I clear my throat. “And I didn’t sell the others. The contracts were renegotiated.”
“Renegotiated.” She snorts. “Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say.” She crosses her arms under her generous chest. “Are we done? Being in your presence is making me sick to my stomach.”
I want to roar my frustration, but I haven’t gotten to where I am today by letting my anger flare outward. Control is everything, and control is all I currently have to help me deal with Eve. I take a measured step back. “You’re free to explore the castle as you like. No one here will harm you.”
She narrows her eyes. “And if I want to leave?”
“You’ll find the doors locked to you.” I open my mouth to continue, to explain that it’s not safe, even in this territory, that I have enemies who don’t like the changes I’ve made, that those enemies are more than eager to take advantage of any perceived weakness, that she is my only perceived weakness . . .
But Eve slams the door in my face before I can get a word out.
I sigh. “Fuck.”
EVE
I strip out of the yellow gown and dig through the wardrobe until I come up with clothing better suited to my needs. My mind still whirls with everything I’ve seen since yesterday. Monsters of every variety and yet still seeming so human seeming. Women handed over to them without a single hesitation. And . . . Azazel.