Page 71 of Her Blood Revenge

‘Really?’ My interest is peaked.

He nods as if that’s obvious.

‘Why antagonise him?’

‘Fun. Revenge. Take your pick. He hurt you. What else do you think he deserves? Shaw walks every time Cole sleeps and makes him suffer. Until we get our hands on him, that’s about all we can do.’

I glance at Shaw.

‘What does he make Cole see?’

Archie just laughs and takes back his flask, swigging deeply from it as he leans back.

‘Is it awful?’ I ask.

‘For Cole, I imagine it’s the epitome of hell.’

‘Tell me.’

He just chuckles to himself and takes another swig. I watch Shaw, curious to know what nightmares Cole would suffer though the most. His father’s death? His own torture?

‘You look beautiful,’ Archie says.

‘For a dead witch-slash vampire who had to be knocked out and put into a wedding dress. Sure. I bet I look wonderful.’

‘I’m jealous.’

‘You want to swap? I bet you would look amazing in this dress.’

‘No. I’m jealous that Shaw gets to marry you and not me.’

Those words take me by surprise, and I suddenly find myself struggling to think of what to say back.

‘It’s not a real marriage,’ I end up saying as if trying to comfort him.

Me. Comforting him!

‘And what is a real marriage?’ he asks.

‘Not this.’

‘Do you want a real marriage, Pix? Do you want to be a lady of the house? Managing the kitchens and staff? Popping out some kids? Be dependent on your husband for everything?’

‘Well. No.’

‘No. You want to be wild. To run barefoot in the forests and swim naked in the rivers. You want to tap into your earth magic whenever you fucking please and be stronger than any other earth witch that has lived. You want to read what you want. Drink what you want. Swear like a sailor and speak your argumentative and pain in the arse mind. You want to fuck hard and be fucked even harder. Have orgasms that tear through your body one after the other, and be worshipped and devoured by three very skilled and willing males. You want to feed and be whoever the hell you want to be. Let me tell you a secret.’ He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and beckoning me closer with a wag of his finger. ‘You just described our perfect woman. That’s all we want for you too. But to get there, you need to work with us. Not against us. You have aloooonglife ahead of you. These next few days, weeks, and even years are a blip in the many decades to come. I know you’re scared of the humans.’

‘I’m not scared,’ I grumble.

He carries on, ignoring me. ‘But can you please trust us in this? We know what is needed to win. And their allegianceis fucking needed. So. Go to the palace in this stunning dress. Stand before the king with a smile and claim the most powerful witch hunter as yours. Drink some wine. Dance. Then we can get on with killing Neve and Cole. After that, you are free to do everything you want to do.’ He tugs on the chain around my neck so we’re nose to nose. ‘Do you think you can manage that?’

‘I can manage that.’

‘Good girl.’ He lets me go and glances at Shaw, whose eyes are back to normal. ‘Shall I do the whole “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you” speech?’

‘If I hurt her,she’llkill me. She doesn’t need you to do that for her.’ Shaw tucks my hair behind my ear. ‘Forgiven me?’

‘Ask me in ten years.’

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