Page 40 of Witch's Exile
17
DEJA
Ireally, really did not want Seth under my own roof. Just the idea of him being so close by made my skin crawl.
So why did I want to go back down there so badly?
My hand still throbbed with soreness from hitting him. I could've healed myself easily but wanted to keep feeling it. I didn't want to forget that he felt just an ounce of the torture he subjected me to for an entire week. All for the sake of keeping his so-called cover with my former coven and the hunter's guild.
Even after warning me about the hunters coming and telling me how to find Air, I still couldn't be convinced he was on our side. Why else would he allow my grandmother into the deepest parts of my mind only to torture me?
And perhaps a more important question, why was he here except to lead our enemies straight to us?
I resisted the temptation to drink that morning but even sober, I only had so much self-control. I had to know why.
My mind made up, I threw open the basement and stomped down the stairs before I could change my mind again.
I half expected him to be gone. He was a shadow master after all. Surely he knew some magic to wiggle his way out from being zip tied to a support beam. But a hum of magic in the air plus his seated form told me that was not the case. Sal and Raum spelled the room against his escape. Until Ash returned to play jury, judge, and executioner, they were not taking any chances.
Those gray eyes looked almost silver in the dim light from a single window as they watched me sit cross-legged in front of him once again.
"Come back to beat up a guy who can't defend himself?" he spat.
His face didn't look nearly as bad from my little lady punch as when the guys whaled on him, but there was definitely swelling and discoloration settling in.
"Don't tempt me," I retorted. "Besides, as an all-powerful shadow master, we know you can defend yourself just fine."
"Something tells me you didn't come down here to chat about the Niners game," he sneered.
Not even a minute into my visit and this guy already made me want to run back upstairs and slam the door.
"Are you always such an ass?" I demanded completely non-rhetorically.
"You and your boys have been such hospitable hosts," he carried on in the same tone. "How else can I convey my gratitude?"
"Right. And how should I convey my gratitude for you inviting my psycho, demented grandmother-- who tried to kill me-- into my subconscious?"
"A simple 'thank you, Seth,' would suffice," he jabbed, a humorless smirk emerging. "Hell, I'll even accept a kiss."
My head jerked away in disgust. This guy really wasn't going to let up the attitude, even a little. Still, I couldn't stop my gaze from dropping to his full lips, which he definitely didn't miss.
"I just want you gone," I said through gritted teeth. "I want you out of my head, and out of my life."
"Trust me, the feeling is mutual," he hissed back. The words unexpectedly stung. Why would I feel anything but good about him wanting the same thing? "I know you won't believe me but I never projected myself inside your shadows except for that one time," he went on. "If I wanted to, I could feel your suppressed emotions, see your deeply buried memories without you ever knowing. But I chose not to."
"Why not?" I challenged. "All your shitty insults might actually do some damage if you did."
"Because it's a huge breach of privacy," he stated as if it were obvious. "I wouldn't do it to my worst enemy."
"How noble of you," I shot back but my own sharpness wavered. His aura gave no indication that he was bullshitting. "So after allowing my evil grandmother to torture me for a week straight, why then did you decide to jump in and help me?"
"Because you were ready."
I shook my head before lowering my forehead to my palm. "You're not making any damn sense."
"Huh," he scoffed. "Lilith, the Mother of Witches. Master of light and shadow and everything in between. Personally damned by God Himself and you still don't fucking get it."
"Maybe I would if you'd just tell me what the fucking deal is and stop being such a dipshit."
