Page 36 of Stone Seduction
“Because the lighthouse is his home,” Asher answered. “You can’t stop him living his life.”
Seth glanced between us. “Think about what happened tonight.”
I jumped in. “But my powers are suppressed properly now. Trust me.”
The powers and the dark voice slept at an extreme distance. Almost as if they were in another realm, the walls thin enoughfor me to know they were there, yet thick enough to provide utter silence.
Telling him this didn’t assuage him. And Luna offered no backup. I mean, she knew how her bracelet worked. Why not take my side?
Why the hell should she?
“It’s not enough,” Seth said. “Not until we’re sure it’s safe. Also, we must get to grips with Brinecrest’s security first. In the past twenty minutes, there have been two more attacks from those humans.” He sucked on his joint. “Times are changing. I am being forced to impose a stricter lockdown for the next week. There will be no reopening as of yet.”
God. At this rate, Christmas would be canceled. Though I hated the season, those who loved it deserved some festive fun.
Carissa clasped her hands together as if in prayer. “Tell me you both understand this.”
The rational part of me did. Of course I did. This made the most sense. But the rest of me…it was another case of Seth’s hooks burrowing into the fabric of my life, his influence smothering me.
I slumped a little. “I… I…” No words came out, snared by defeat.
“I will allow some concessions,” Seth added. “As long as you behave and follow the rules of the tower.”
“What are they?”
“You can have your friends over. You don’t have to be isolated. I want you to have a semblance of a normal life, and you can even make your fabulous cocktails to scratch those mixology itches. As long as you whip up a Paloma for me.” He winked.
Although the wink made my skin crawl, relief mitigated the disgust. “Tom and Maren can visit?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Awesome. Thanks.” How painful to say.
“See? I’m not a monster.”
Old feelings surfaced for a moment. Vestiges of sensation from when I kind of liked him. They quickly died away, Asher’s sandalwood aroma chasing them away.
Whatever kindness he tried to show, there were new rules to live by.
Never fall for Seth’s kindness again.
Never fully trust anything he said.
“There’s no choice here,”Asher said in my head.“My hands are tied.”
I didn’t react, keeping our communicating a secret.
“Thank you for the concessions,” I answered Seth out loud. “I know you didn’t have to offer them.”
He nodded, blowing out a stream of smoke with no further response.
For Asher, I said, “We can get through this. There are worse places to stay.”
“Yeah.”
“Plus, Dane’s here for you to hang out with, and there’s some awesome views of the town and sea.”
He laughed.“Loving this positive spin.”
