She already knew that she wasn’t going to like it. And why would she?
Earth was her home. She wouldn’t want it under my dominion. Not in the possession of a beast like me.
“Your friend has some time yet.” I wasn’t certain of that, but from the way her brow smoothed slightly, she seemed to believe it. “If you prove your worth to me and do as I ask, I will heal her.”
“How can I trust you?”
You can’t. “You’re going to have to.”
She scowled up at me, eyes flashing.
I stared at her, wholly unwilling to concede.
“Fine. But this needs a finite end. You will cure Mac as soon as we return from the Temple of Shadows.”
She wouldn’t give up. Like a mutt with a bone. Like a pawn playing back, trying to checkmate the very master who manipulated it.
Something in me thrilled at it—at the game of wit and will.
“And you’ll let me go,” she added.
“Absolutely not. Your work will not be complete so easily or so soon.”
Her scowl deepened, debate flashing in her eyes. “Fine. Give me the cure for Mac, then.”
She bargained for her friend’s life rather than her own. What must that be like, to care for someone more than you cared for yourself?
“Agreed.” I nodded. It didn’t matter if I agreed. The master didn’t keep his word to a pawn. Only to the darkness would I keep my word. To the power that drove me.
She huffed a frustrated breath and stepped backward. “When do we go to the Temple of Shadows?”
“We leave tomorrow.”
“Fine.” She nodded, staring at me hard as she repeated the terms of our bargain, as if to drill them into my mind. “I will go. I will help you. Then you will give me the cure for Mac.”
If she helped me, it wouldn’t matter if Mac were cured. Once I had dominion over the Earth, all would be mine.
“We leave at dusk tomorrow. Be ready.”
She nodded, then turned to go. As I watched her sweep from the room, my gaze lingered on the long fall of her gleaming dark hair. On the curve of her shoulder and hip. Her waist. My heart thudded harder, a strange hunger rising inside me.
I swallowed hard, turning from her as the door shut behind her. How long did we have until hunger took her? If she did not eat…
It was a problem.
I could force the food past her lips, but there was an easier way.
Course set, I strode from the room. Having a goal calmed my mind, drew my thoughts away from the unrelenting harridan who had set up residency inside my mind.
Yet in the hall, I swore I could still smell her. Fresh and bright and sweet. It took all I had to hold my breath, and not draw her deep into my lungs.
Quickly, I strode through the halls, headed for the bottom floor of the castle. I passed no one on my way out, as if they could sense my magic and my arrival and had scurried out of the way. More than likely, they had.
It suited me.
I reached one of the exterior doors a few moments later. It was unguarded, as were most of the doors. Within my realm, no one could compete with me for strength or power. No one would dare try. The true difficulty was getting into the realm and out of it.
My castle was safe.
I stepped out into the darkness, using the moon as my only light.
It was nearly full tonight, shedding a bright glow on the stone garden. Plants that had once been alive had turned to stone long ago. The very center was empty save for a single tree.
I strode toward it, already smelling the sweet fruit.
Pomegranate.
It was the only living thing that grew within the city walls—the rest of our food was obtained from outside, in the fields where the dead souls toiled.
Years ago, when I’d learned of my purpose and determined the steps that I would take to achieve the goal, I’d sought out this tree. I hadn’t yet known where to find Persephone, but I’d known that when I found her, I’d want to keep her.
The magic that imbued the fruit would force her to stay here. And once she was obliged to stay, there would be no reason for her not to eat.
The tree loomed over me, larger than a normal pomegranate tree, fed by my magic. The leaves glistened darkly under the moonlight, unnaturally black. It