Page 28 of The Deathless One
“I’m the one controlling this meeting, not you.” She tilted her nose up, looking all the more like the princess she was. It made him want to ruffle her again, if only to see this mask break.
He had thought this would be easier. The Deathless One had spent a long time dreaming about what the next gravesinger would be like. In his experience, witches were easy to control. They all wanted the same thing: power. They enjoyed toying with him, but in the end, he always won until it was time for them to sacrifice him.
This one didn’t seem to be all that interested in power. In fact, he had yet to figure out what she did want. Other than her throne back, of course. But that would not happen anytime soon.
The girl had been betrayed by everyone she’d held dear. Soon enough, she would realize that in the worst way possible.
“Then control the meeting.” He waved a hand in the air. “So far, all I’ve heard is bickering and childish snipes. You do remember I am a god? I am busy.”
“You’re a dead god. What could you possibly have to do?”
“Stare into the everlasting eternal darkness and dream about a time when I wasn’t dead,” he snarled, leaning forward as anger flashed through him. “And I’m late for that appointment, witch.”
“Stop calling me that.” Jessamine glared at him with obvious hatred. “I am not a witch.”
“Do you prefer ‘princess’?”
“Not when you say it like that!” She almost shouted the words, so angry with him that all her years of decorum flew out the window.
Oh, that was satisfying. He liked the way her cheeks flushed with anger, and how she tried to keep her tiny hands fisted so he wouldn’t know how badly they trembled.
Tempting. She really was a pretty little thing, and even in her anger, he wanted to prod her. Make her even angrier. He wanted to see what it would take to make her explode, and just how glorious she would be when she did.
Jessamine lurched away from him, perhaps so she didn’t have to lookat him. If she couldn’t see him, maybe there was less for her to be infuriated with.
“How’s that working for you?” he asked, leaning forward even more to watch what happened next.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re clearly not looking at me to get your emotions under control. I want to know how that is working for you.”
Tilting her head up to the ceiling, she muttered a short prayer. He wondered what god she still prayed to before she turned around to glare at him.
She raised a finger and jabbed it in his direction. “Is this your plan? Annoy me to no end and eventually I’ll forget why I summoned you in the first place?”
He shrugged. “Perhaps.”
“Well, it’s not going to work.” She visibly pulled herself back together before sinking into the same position before the altar. Between his legs. Her hands folded in her lap. So pretty, yet a few erratic strands of hair now stood out, freed by her wild pacing before she’d returned to him.
Ah, he had gotten to her. Now all he wanted to do was loosen a few more of those strands, to see what she looked like completely wild.
He was unable to stop himself. He’d never had the ability to deny himself soft things. The Deathless One leaned forward and snagged a strand of her hair between his fingers. He marveled at the texture. It caught on the calluses and scars on his fingertips, still somehow silken even when it snapped in his grip. So fragile.
Just like her.
“I want to know my future,” she said, her voice a low rasp. “And you’re the only one who can help me. I’ve talked with Sybil. Both of us agree that if I am to continue forward and get my throne back, the only person who can help me is you.”
“You’ve already gotten my help. I gave you life, and now you will do with it as you wish.”
“We both know that’s a lie.” She tugged her hair from his grip, forcing his attention back to her. “You know something that you aren’t telling me.”
“What could I possibly know?”
“I have researched you and the other gods for years. I’ve read countless books that cover your powers, the people who worshipped you, everything I should need to know.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she bit her lip before begrudgingly adding, “And I still know nothing, clearly. That book claimed you can sneak into someone’s mind. You can see what they saw at any point. You can break into their memories and find details in there that tell you everything you need to know about them. Is that true?”
Again, he shrugged, just because he knew it annoyed her. “Perhaps.”
What could she want from him? He would not give her the easy answer. If she wanted to know more, she would need to beg. He wouldn’t make anything easy for her—she hadn’t earned that.
