Page 82 of Wicked Chains
"Why are you telling me this?" I ask.
"Because you asked." He shrugs."And because, despite my better judgment, I find myself inclined to be honest with you."
"The last time I was caught," Soren continues, his voice taking on a faraway quality, "it was by a group of hunters working for a private collector. A human with enough money and magicalknowledge to be a danger. He wanted an incubus for his 'collection' of supernatural beings."
My stomach turns. "That's disgusting."
"Quite." Soren's smile is thin. "I spent three years in a cage warded specifically to contain my kind. Three years being studied, being tested, being fed upon in my own way."
"How did you escape?"
"I didn't." His eyes meet mine. "I was purchased. By the academy, and by Helena when she was headmistress prior to Victoria. She needed someone to teach Shielding, and didn't mind if that someone happened to be a demon.”
I sit back, stunned. Helena. "She bought you?"
"She did. And then she offered me a choice. I could work for her at Serpentine or leave and take my chances outside the wards." Soren's laugh is hollow. "Not much of a choice, really."
"So you became a professor."
"I became a professor," he confirms. "And discovered, to my surprise, that I rather enjoyed it. The teaching, not just the access to a veritable feast of erotic dreams."
I think about all the times I've seen Soren flirt outrageously with anything that moves. How I assumed it was just his nature as an incubus, his inability to be serious or form real connections.
"So all the seduction, the constant flirting?"
"People are less likely to see you as a threat if they think they know exactly what you want. If they believe you're simple, driven only by lust, they underestimate you. They don't look deeper."
"But you're not simple at all," I say softly.
"Neither are you, little witch." His eyes hold mine. "I stayed for more than just my own safety, after the coup."
“I know.” And it’s true, I do know that. I believe him.
Soren reaches across the table, his fingers brushing mine. "Now you know one of my more closely guarded secrets."
"Why tell me?"
"Because I think you might understand what it's like to do whatever it takes to survive."
He's right. Growing up the way I did, always on the move, never sure where the next meal would come from or if we'd have a roof over our heads, it teaches you to adapt, to become whatever you need to be to get through another day.
"I get it," I say simply.
Soren studies me for a long moment. "Well, this has become unexpectedly serious. We should probably take our clothes off, lighten the mood." He waggles his eyebrows.
I laugh. "Thanks for the chat. And for, you know, telling me the truth."
"Enjoy your day off, little witch. Try not to get into too much trouble without me."
"No promises," I say, but I'm smiling as I walk away, Hank shifting contentedly in my pocket.
Thirty-Seven
Rose
By dinner time I’m bored, and hungry enough to go to the dining hall, even though it’s bound to be busy at this time of the day. Sure enough, the hall is packed, and noisy with the crowd of students chattering, but whatever is on the menu tonight smells absolutely mouthwatering, and my stomach is growling audibly. I slip in, intending to grab my food quickly and find a table out of the way, where I can sit alone.
I barely make it three steps before I sense the eyes on me. All of them. Thorne’s table goes silent as I pass. The twins from my Magical Theory class nudge each other and snicker. I’ve been at Serpentine Academy long enough to know that the only thing this place loves more than a winner is a loser. Especially one who goes down in flames. And these people look at me like I’m about to be tossed on a pyre.
