because they’re all okay with how Merdon is treating me.”
“How is he treating you?” she asked.
“He’s force-fed me, made me try to get away from him in the basement, spanked me, bit me, and wasn’t letting me leave the house until yesterday.”
Brenna’s face went white then red.
“Hold on,” Angel said quickly. “Hannah, the fey talk, and I’ve heard something similar. But, there’s more behind his behavior than what you’re telling, isn’t there?”
“You’re saying you believe he’s justified?” I asked, getting angry.
“No. I’m saying that you were trying to kill yourself with alcohol and Merdon’s kept you inside so you could sober up away from temptation. He also set up a sparring area in your basement so you could get some exercise and take your mind off of withdrawals. To keep you very distracted, he taught you how to avoid infected bites. I’m not sure about the spankings. You’d need to ask him the reason for those. And the force-feeding I’m a little confused about as well, unless you were trying to starve yourself.”
I stared at her in stunned silence, looking back at my interactions with Merdon in a different light. A distraction? The withdrawals hadn’t been fun. I’d thrown up so much. I’d just been lying there in misery. That was why he’d forced me to drink and threatened to force me to eat. And it wasn’t until after I was eating and drinking and over getting sick that he took me downstairs. Had it all been to distract me?
“My mom had problems with alcohol after the accident,” Brenna said slowly. “It’s a dangerous slope. I saw you when you let Thallirin use your shower and again when the men kidnapped us. You have a problem, and I hope that Merdon really is trying to help you. But if he isn’t, if he’s forcing you to do things, find me.”
My eyes burned as I realized what she was saying. She would have my back if I needed someone to hold the body bag. Only, I wasn’t sure anymore if that’s what I needed. Still, I swallowed hard and nodded before looking at Angel.
“He was just doing stuff,” I said. “He never said why. The reasons you gave sound good and make sense, but it didn’t feel like that. It felt like he was being an asshole and getting off on it.”
“Does that sound like any fey you know?” Angel asked softly.
“Yes. Merdon,” I said firmly. “He doesn’t act like all the rest of them. He walks around like someone pissed in his cereal.”
“Thallirin was like that, too,” Brenna said. “Angry all the time. Never talking about what was going on in his head. It made it hard to understand him. Talk to Merdon about what he’s been doing. Get him to explain it to you.”
It was my turn to snort.
“Right. Like he’d be forthcoming about anything. His favorite lines are ‘I know’ and ‘you’ve slept enough.’ The last one was why I told him I wanted to learn to shoot a bow. I’m tired of his method of waking me up.”
“What’s his method?” Angel asked.
“First, it was tossing me in a cold shower and telling me I stink. Then, it was just tipping the mattress so I fell out of bed.”
Angel made a pitying face.
“That’s harsh. You know you can change all that, though, right?”
“How?”
“Just sit on his face and ride his tongue like you would a horse. Whatever bug is up his ass will be gone by the time you’re screaming his name, and he’ll be ready to start worshipping the ground you walk on.”
“First, I’m not ‘with’ Merdon. Second, isn’t that a little backward?” I asked. “Aren’t they supposed to worship us when they’re the ones getting off?”
She gave me a wry smile. “That’s human men. Fey are a different breed.”
I huffed out a breath.
“A different breed with different rules. I hate being this lost.”
“Don’t worry. It’ll work itself out.”
“Communication is key,” Brenna added. “Don’t assume you know what Merdon’s thinking. Ask. It’s crazy how often we get the facts wrong because we’re guessing the wrong thing.”
“I don’t want to work anything out. I want him to go away.”
“Good luck with that,” Brenna said. “Fey are stubbornly persistent. Do you know I threatened to shoot Thallirin when he wouldn’t leave me alone, and he held his arms out and told me he’d stand still?”
“Damn. He’s lucky he still has his babymaker,” Angel said.
I agreed.
Brenna looked us both over.
“He is. They need to learn that their methods aren’t always