were supposed to remain in ignorance. We taught magic, metalwork, how to read. I taught mankind about the cycles of the moon. But the biggest mistake we made was teaching the art of war, because mankind truly took that to disturbing new depths. So after the Great War, when we saw the cruelty mankind had wrought, we tried to fix that. We slaughtered those who started it. We began to impose order. And that’s why we are here.”
He was mesmerizing me with the seductive sound of water moving back and forth, and somehow, what he was saying started to make sense. I wondered if this was some sort of hypnotic propaganda. I took another sip of his whiskey.
“Well, the public executions are not a good way to bring peace.”
“Samael wants complete conquest.” He turned to me, his hazel eyes large. “I keep telling you more than I should, considering you’re not trustworthy. It seems to be a weakness I have. It occurs to me that I should not risk spending much time with you if I can’t keep my mouth shut.”
And with that, he rose. Without looking back at me again, he crossed through the archway, and I heard his footfalls echo off the high ceiling of the library. With a little smile, I realized he’d left the bottle of whiskey in the bath with me.
This should get me ready for the battle still to come. One more sip.
I stood in the bath, the water dripping down my body in rivulets. I dried myself off, then dressed in the little red underwear that had made Finn blush. I pulled on a short, white dress over it, the material so delicate and sheer that my crimson underwear shone through. My wet hair cascaded over the dress, dampening it, making it more transparent.
Then I draped myself on the sofa and waited.
And waited.
When a half hour had passed, I pulled out my little children’s books and started practicing reading, saying the letter sounds out loud. I lay back on the sofa, working through the small words one after another, until I could read cat and bat. Until my eyes started to drift closed.
As I slept, my mind offered up erotic images of Samael coming into the room, stroking my breasts, licking and kissing my skin. Pulling my clothes off and laying me down on his bed, spreading my thighs open. I dreamt of him touching me, toying with me until I lost my mind. I dreamt of him pinning me down, claiming me.
What in the world?
I woke to find my dress riding up, my fingers at the apex of my thighs, muscles clenching. A hot ache burned in me. And to my horror, Samael was back in the room—staring at me.
Oh God.
I felt my cheeks burning hot. His pale eyes swept over my hard nipples, straining against the dress, my bare thighs. With a flash of horror, I pulled my hand from my knickers, then tugged down the hem of my dress.
And yet even as my chest flushed, I thought perhaps this wasn’t a terrible start.
I had his attention. He stood before me, staring, his chest bare under his cloak, eyes bright with flames.
“Hi,” I said, breathless. I tugged the hem of my dress down farther. “I was having a dream.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw, and he turned away from me. He took off his cloak, hanging it up near his bed, then pulled a book from a shelf and sat in the chair by the fireplace.
He seemed positively determined not to look at me. And yet the rigidity of his muscles suggested he was still thinking about me.
The war drums begin their rhythmic beat.
Despite the burning in my cheeks, I rose from the sofa, standing before him. He kept his eyes fixed on the book, and his refusal to acknowledge me only made me more determined.
He wasn’t really reading, though, was he? He was strangely still, not turning the pages. His eyes weren’t moving. Immobile as a statue, he was only pretending to read.
I’d only been living with him two days, and yet I was starting to notice things. He tried to hide from the world, like he was trying to hide from me now. He hoped I’d stop looking at him.
Know your enemy. Knowledge is power.
And I knew a little about him—that my focus on him was deeply unnerving him, making him tense. That he liked it when I touched him. That he was gripping the book so hard it