“I remember,” I said. It was all coming together, wasn’t it? The Merrow, the Fomorians… “My memories from those days are a little hazy, but I remember. I had a good reason.” Understanding slowly dawned. “Was it you, by any chance? Did you get out, and this is your revenge? I’ve heard a rumor you don’t like me very much.”
“I like you very much under my control, but that’s about it. What shall I do with you, Aenor?” His silky voice skimmed my body.
I straightened. “Was it you? Is that what this is all about?”
He shook his head slowly, and his sensual smile took on a more sinister curl. “No, not me. The person you drowned is still there, still tormented. You did that.”
I swallowed hard. So that was what this was all about. “You want me to find him?”
Amusement danced in his eyes. “Are you leading this interrogation, or am I?”
“This is the interrogation?” I asked. “I’m just standing here. I thought a man with your reputation would be a bit more brutal. No electrocuted nipples?”
His gaze flicked down to my breasts for a second. “Is that disappointment in your voice? I’m sure it could be arranged, if you really desire it.”
My cheeks heated. Honestly. Why couldn’t I have said earlobes?
“No thanks, I’m trying to cut down,” I said brightly, forcing a smile. “So who was this person, then?”
“And there you go again, leading the interrogation.” He arched an eyebrow.
His piercing gaze now gave him the look of a predator sizing up prey. “But I am most curious, Aenor. You don’t know who you trapped, and yet you did it anyway?” Shadows slid through his eyes. “Seems wantonly sadistic.”
Of the many things I had expected when I woke up this morning, being accused of sadism by the devil was not high on the list.
“They wouldn’t tell me the man’s name,” I said. “Only that he wanted to destroy Ys, and perhaps more. I don’t always trust other people’s prophecies, but I did my own spell. A what if spell. They’ve never been wrong. And I saw what would happen if I hadn’t helped bury this fae. Charred bodies would have filled the streets of Ys. Life would have died in the ocean around us. Which brings me to another point—are you trying to raise the Fomorians?”
“Do not try to distract me, pet.” His voice was a sharp blade. “You have seen that I can control your mind, and I will the second I need to. I will punish your insolence if I must, and I will enjoy doing it.”
I bit my lip, an idea already forming in my mind. On the one hand, I didn’t want to lead him to this driftwood cage. If I did, Salem and the imprisoned fae could burn the world down together, or whatever he had planned.
On the other hand, I had to get him to the Merrow. What if I made him think this was all his idea? I just needed Salem to think he was extracting this idea from me against my will.
I clenched my jaw, giving him a resolute look. “I’m not telling you how to find this friend of yours. I’m certain destruction will only follow. I’ve seen it. You’re going to try to burn the world.”
“Aaah, Aenor…” His voice was a seductive breeze that wrapped around my body. “The princess still thinks she’s in charge. How delightful it will be when you realize the truth. It is a wonderful thing to see a beautiful woman’s spirit break.” He stood straight, stalking closer to me, his movements slow, lazy. “Tell me, Aenor. Do you know where to find my friend?”
I actually didn’t, at least not with any precision. And that was damned lucky, because I had a feeling the moment he got what he wanted, I’d be dead.
“No.”
“We’ll see about that, Aenor. We’ll see what you really know when I force it out of you.” He took another step closer, and ghostly flames seemed to burn around him. His eyes grew brighter, gleaming like a riotous sunset.
I held his gaze, transfixed by him.
“You felt what I could do earlier,” he purred. “I nearly forced you to cut your own wrist open. Now I need you to tell me what you actually know. Compelling you to answer some questions won’t be difficult. You will bow to my control.”
His magic boomed around me, pulsing through my blood, and I felt him claim my mind.
9
Salem
I slowly crossed back to my desk, leaving her waiting, wondering what I’d do. Right now, my will had gripped her mind, and all she could do was stand there. Waiting.
And I was in no hurry to alleviate her sense of anticipation.
My cat, Aurora, rubbed against my legs, her loud purrs rumbling through the room.
I stole another glance at the morgen, her damp blue hair draped over her shoulders. Her beauty distracted me. And there was something about her scent I found disturbingly alluring. She smelled of sun-kissed sea air and wildflowers. And under that, something unique to her that drew me inexorably closer—something wild that I wanted to tame.
I pushed the errant thoughts from my mind.
From a drawer in my desk, I pulled out a bottle of 1858 cognac. I liked Aenor’s eyes on me, knowing that I controlled her. I delighted in the sound of her heartbeat racing as she watched me. The scent of her fear warmed my blood.
The subjugation of a mortal foe tasted sweeter than brandy.
With an unhurried pace, I poured the cognac, then I let heat pulse from my palm to warm the glass. I took a sip, savoring the ancient, rich flavor—a rare bottle from before the best vineyards had been blighted.
In the cold ash of my soul, an ember burned. My heart rate seemed to be responding to Aenor’s racing pulse.
Now this was a deeply unfamiliar feeling. Or more like a long-buried feeling, something left dormant in my mind for eons. It was like discovering a sensation lost to evolutionary history.
Was it the sense of victory making me excited?
I turned back to her, sniffing the cognac as I eyed her over the rim of the glass.
She stood, immobilized, waiting for my commands.
I stalked closer to her, watching her chest rise and fall faster at my approach. A little bit of panic began to take hold of her. Seawater dampened her top.
Once, long ago, I would have tortured the answers out of her, just like she said. I would have sunk my teeth into her perfect skin, delighted by her screams. Maybe I’d lost my appetite for such worldly pleasures, but evil deeds clung to a man like smoke. I’d never rid myself of the stench. Aenor could sense it on me, and it was making her panic.
I took another step around her, my gaze sliding over her damp clothes. I didn’t delight in sadism these days. When I’d finished with her, I’d kill her fast. I should have done it long ago, but some insane impulse had stopped me from hurting her.
I let my magic beat from my body, invading her mind. Right now, she’d be hearing the drums of my enchantment magic pounding louder in her blood. I watched her back arch as my magic began to overtake her completely. She was glaring at me, pure hatred in her blue eyes. It seemed like a challenge I wanted to take on—just try to tame me.
I hadn’t desired a woman in eons.
Except now.
My gaze swept down over her body, taking in her small waist and the perfect curves of her body. Her clothes clung to her. That was when a different sort of impulse ignited my mind.