Page 46 of Rose and Shadows
“Then what?”
“Access.”
I frowned.
He explained, “Access to powerful, influential beings. To rare magics and spellwork.” He ran his thumb over the stubble on my jaw, making me shiver under his touch, the increased intimacy of it. “Let me share a secret with you, beautiful hybrid… I may hold the role ofExecution Oversight, the one who oversees their extermination facility,Genexis, but there are very few who I’ve actually murdered. My unmatched speed among every single member working alongside me at that facility, along with sleight of hand, some borrowed magic like that portal you saw me create with a Specus Relic, have created a smokescreen. In truth, I have actually removed those brought there and spared their lives.”
I started, my eyes shooting wide.
He’d donewhat?
“You saved them?”
“Most of them. Some couldn’t be trusted, some had already been mentally broken before they reached me. Those I couldn’t risk sparing.”
“No. You’re not a benevolent force.”
“Of course not. Like I said, it’s about access to power and influence for me.”
Holy shit.“You’re building an army, and one made loyal to you because you saved them and offered them hope in the darkest moment of their lives.”
“Precisely.”
“Where is this army?”
He patted my cheek. “Not your concern. At least not until you are finally mine.”
I didn’t get to speak more to it, as he went on, “So, back to my initial point… due to your abandonment issues and the painful rejection you’ve suffered, of course you’d latch onto the first signs of affection in Sylas, Velra, and Cassius, and thereby liken it to love. You’ve essentially been conditioned to view it that way.” He beamed down at me. “That’s not your fault. But it is something that can be undone.”
“I don’t want it undone.”
“It will actually help you if it is. Velra has been marked and she won’t survive much longer, so she’ll be gone anyway. Cassius is slated to be mentally broken by heavy Dark Fae mind-meddling andPuritaswill take control of him completely. And Sylas is being pulled deeper into The Shadowed. Even if he resists the call, Morien will take his life. So, you see, Lazriel, they will be gone regardless.”
I hissed, my fangs dropping with the vehemence of it. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not gonna play out like that. At all.”
He patted my head and stepped back. “You require time to absorb it.”
“That’s not—”
“In the meantime, in a bid to help you become more accepting of the reality that you will belong to me, I have a gift for you.”
A rush of adrenaline usurped all the rest that had already been rolling through me from the moment I’d woken up and realized my predicament—because he started unbuckling his fancy, tailored dress pants, kicking off his designer shoes in the process.
Amusement danced in his eyes as he saw the worry that I clearly had failed to hide in mine. “No. Not that. It isn’t time. Although, it’s delightful that your mind went there.”
Where the fuck else would it have gone with him first stripping his blazer and shirt off right in front of me, then now going for his pants?
He was trying to fuck with my own thought process, trying to make me believe I was thinking things for reasons that I wasn’t—reasons that benefitted him and what he wanted to get from me.
My dad’s words to me about Victor played on my mind.
“As for what that filth said to you, bear in mind that every word out of his mouth was calculated and spoken with twisted intent, to elicit specific reactions in you.”
He’d called it.
Right now was proof, as was every interaction I’d had with the maniac.
And I had to hold to that. Hold steady.
