so alluring…” Her finger hitches under my chin. “I just want to keep you for myself.”
Frowning, I look at her. “Innocent? Seriously?”
Her lips twist to a grin. “Innocent compared to me, but if you let me, I can change that for you.”
For a split second, I actually consider saying yes, which makes no sense. Snapping back to my senses, I shove her hand away from me and swiftly stand up from the table. “Don’t ever touch me again,” I growl, shoving her.
Her lips curl upward as she hisses, leaning in. “Eventually, you’ll be begging me to touch you.”
I laugh. “Yeah, that’ll be the day.”
She leans back, smoothing her hands down her arms. “Just wait. After you start taking souls,” she starts to circle me, “and your mind goes to the darkest place.” She walks around, sweeping her finger on the back of my neck. “When you do things you can never erase and you can never go back, you’ll be begging me to comfort you.”
Smiling, she turns away from me and walks out of the room, her high heels clicking against the floor. “Oh, and Alex, Draven wants you in his quarters.” She lets out a spiteful laugh. “I think you might be in trouble.” She ducks her head as she steps out the doorway.
Placing my hands on the chair, I heave out a frustrated sigh. Goddamn Banshee thinks she knows me—thinks I’ll go over into the darkness—but she’s wrong. I’m stronger than that. I have too much to lose, like my love for Gemma. However, as I walk out of the room, I have to wonder why my heart feels so empty.
***
Draven’s quarters are in the opposite direction of my room. I’m supposed to go there daily, after I eat. He tells me it’s because he wants to get to know me on a personal level. Yeah, right. He just wants to keep close tabs on me and remind me of who’s in charge.
His door is closed, which is interesting. Usually it’s open. Before I knock on it, I inch closer, listening. I hear the sound of muffled voices and I wonder who else is there because, as far as I can tell, the only people here are Draven, the Banshee, and me, and the Banshee took off in the other direction.
I let my hand fall against the door, knocking with hesitancy. The voices quiet and Draven says, “Come in.”
When I open the door, I’m confused because Draven is sitting at his desk and there’s no one else in the room. There’s a thick book opened in front of him and he barely raises his head when I enter and shut the door behind me. I glance around at the bookshelves, the fireplace and the two empty chairs in the corner. Who was he talking to?
Knowing the drill, I grab one of the chairs and drag it over in front of the desk. I take a seat and wait for him to acknowledge me, picking a pen up from the desk and tapping it on my knee to channel my nervous energy.
Draven elevates his head to me and glares at the pen. “Is that really necessary?”
I shrug and toss the pen on the desk. “Maybe.” I eye the page of the book, catching the words “soul,” which appears numerous times, along with the word “evanescence”. Draven slams the book shut and shoves it to the side. Overlapping his hands, he places them on his desk and leans forward in his chair.
“Well, I’m glad to see you are showing an interest in what I am doing,” he says with an arrogant smirk. He wears that smirk a lot, just like he always wears black, and always has cigars nearby.
“Just trying to understand why you brought me here,” I say, crossing my arms.
“Enough time’s been wasted since you’ve come here,” he says simply. “You’ve been moping around, doing nothing, and it’s time for you to fulfill your debt to me, or at least, start it.”
Before I have time to say anything he snaps his fingers. One of the shelves on the wall shifts to the side and reveals a hidden doorway. The Banshee emerges and she’s not alone. Out of the thousands of people that could have walked out of a hidden door, it had to be this one.
“Stasha?” I gape at her with my jaw hanging open.
Her blonde hair is a tangled mess, her hands are covered with gloves, her dress is ripped at the bottom, and a strip of