Page 80 of Land of Shadow

“Because you still believe in her?” He smirks.

“Yes.”

“You’re lying to yourself.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” I snap back at him. I clench my eyes shut and take a deep breath. Why do I let him rile me up so easily?

“I think you’ll find that’s incorrect.” That smug smirk is back. “Orphaned or abandoned as a child, not sure which, adopted by a fine family where you met your sister Juno. She was both a friend and a mother-figure for you, looming large in your life and encouraging you to continue your path of excelling at your studies. You would’ve easily outshined her had you desired to; however, you never craved the spotlight as she did. Instead, you locked yourself away in an attempt to learn the secrets of immortality?—”

“What?” I make a choked noise I don’t recognize. “Immortality?”

Eyes still closed, he nods. “Of course. Why does anyone become a physician, truly? You are searching for ways to prolong life. As I was saying, you allowed your sister’s star to burn artificially brighter than your own, and you followed in her wake. Your bleeding heart saved many, many lives until you met your match with the plague. This clash of titans led you to the governor’s mansion, then here, where you are currently both Juno’s sister, her captive, and in many ways, her unwilling co-conspirator. You still follow her light despite knowing full well it’s simply the glint of the moon at the bottom of an endless well that will drown you and everyone else around you.”

“Shut up.” Stunned is an understatement.

“As you wish. Besides, I feel I covered most of the highlights.” He gives a non-committal shrug.

I sit there fuming, a dozen comebacks flitting in and out of my gray matter. I settle on, “I believe in Juno because I know she’s doing the right thing even if it looks on the outside like it’s the wrong thing.”

“Good.”

“Good?” I don’t think I could be more confused. “Why is that good?”

“Because it means you can love something evil.”

I swallow that statement, unsure of its bitter taste. “She’s not evil.”

His smirk only grows. “That’s love talking, isn’t it? Because you know—in your human heart—you know what she’s done. But you won’t admit it to yourself.”

“There’s nothing to admit.” My cheeks grow hot, anger bubbling through me. “You don’t know her.”

“I know she sold you out. She sold out all of humanity. All for a brief moment, the blink of an eye in vampire years, of power. Of wielding the scepter.”

“I think you should leave.” I tuck my feet more tightly beneath me. Why did I think I could have a normal conversation with him?

“Invite me to your bed.” He turns to look at me again, his eyes seeing too much.

A shiver races along my spine. “No.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want you.”

His damned smirk reappears. “Lying to yourself again, I see.”

“Get out.” I hold my book up, blocking his view.

“I don’t know why you punish yourself like this.” He stands, his gaze landing on me again like a touch. “Pleasure is worth it for its own sake.”

“Spoken like a truly ancient creep.”

He laughs, the sound foreign and so warm that I almost drop my book. His eyes twinkle as his laughter subsides. “Tomorrow, then.”

He leaves, his scent still lingering right along with the unexpected fizziness of his laugh.

* * *

The power goesout the moment I step into the lab, Wyatt’s record slowing to a stop, the music stretching into a creepy mess of notes before going silent.

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