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I gave Rasmus the same look I gave Fiona when she tried to convince me her father still loved me. “Do ya think I’m surprised that ya trust Jack’s words more than mine?”

“We’re not trying to trick you. Why are you so suspicious? He’s telling the truth.”

“Well, I think it’sexactlylike that, and I will not be further debating the matter with someone wearing blinders. Go get everyone to agree to the whole deal, Rasmus, so I can help ya. I want it all, free and clear. Do not betray me.”

Rasmus narrowed his eyes. “Or what?” he demanded.

I leaned toward him. “If ya betray me like Jack did and tell the council that I can leave this place on my own, I will make sure the demons aren’t the only problem ya have. See? I can make threats too. I want my life back, and ya’ve given me a high road I can use to walk out of here. Ya know what I want. Be my hero and I’ll be yer heroine.”

He lowered his gaze from mine and rubbed his throat as he stared at me. “I get why Jack believed you could help us.”

I rolled my eyes. “And just so we’re clear about everything, Jack gets nothing at all from me in this deal... or ever again. He married a kind witch, got a wife eager to please him, and a caring mother for the child we made together. He willingly threw me and that life away. Jack knows absolutely nothing of what I’ve become since he put me here or what I want out of life these days.”

Rasmus scrubbed his jaw. “Jack still loves you, Aran. He tells everyone that all the time. Maybe when you see him again things will be clearer.”

The irony had me chuckling and made me roll my eyes. “Yes, my husband loved me so much that he betrayed me and left me alone here—all for denying him the privilege of killing the creature who saved his life.”

“He’s living for your removal from this place. Everything he does is working toward that goal.”

I held up a hand to stop him before I got mad enough to shut him up. “Believe his lies if ya want, Rasmus, but I’ll not be doing so. What Jack should know by now is that I intend to divorce him first chance I get. If he’s planning a reconciliation, he won’t be getting one. He doesn’t deserve me anymore. And I deserve better than him.”

Rasmus shook his head at my answer. How was I less believable than the man who betrayed our marriage for his job?

“Look, if we end up working together on yer demon problem, ya’re going to have to accept that I’m telling ya the truth. Maybe Jack’s fantasy of me pining away for him soothes his ego and assuages the guilt he felt about his betrayal. All I can say is that the love I once felt for Jack died the moment he gave yer bloody council woman my family property. He betrayed me and my Da. That’s not something I can ever forgive Jack for doing.”

“Jack won’t return the amulet because he thinks your family heirloom will give you too much power. He fears it will ruin your life.”

I laughed at that, but it wasn’t truly funny. My heart was still broken over Jack’s theft. “The Dagda Stone is a family gift I was tasked with guarding for the rest of my years on this Earth. I was supposed to do a ritual to bond with it, but Jack was afraid it might change me as a wife and mother—or so he said. I put off the ritual thinking one day Jack’s faith in me would show him the truth of my power. These last seven years without him have made me realize I put off many things for him. Jack was afraid of my power because I have never allowed him to control me or it.”

“He was your husband. Don’t you think he had a right to worry about you?”

I shook my head. “No, and I don’t know why I’m even speaking to ya about the matter. Ya weren’t the one who married him, so it’s none of yer business.”

“Explain to me how Jack was wrong in what he did.”

I lifted both hands palm up. “How could my magickal growth be a problem for a man who professed to love me as I was when we met? If ya truly love a person, don’t ya by default believe the best of them instead of the worst? No, Rasmus, I’m done with Jack. In fact, I’m done with all men. But that won’t keep me from helping ya solve yer problem if ya get the council to agree to everything. Like I said, mine is an all-or-nothing offer.”

“In the years I’ve known him, Jack has never said a single word against you. All his stories have been flattering. All he talks about is how wonderful his life will be when you get out of here.”

I snorted and looked away from the fool. “And yet Jack never visited the wife he told you he loved so much. Nor did he apologize for leaving me here to rot. That’s strange behavior for a husband who says he loves his wife, don’t ya think?” I blew out my breath. “Have ya ever been married, Rasmus?”

“Not that I remember.”

“With the Goddess as my witness, I promise ya that Jack’s stories about me haven’t been true since Fiona was a small child. He’s living in denial if he thinks otherwise. Don’t be raising his hopes when ya get home. Whatever delusions Jack harbors, I refuse to be a pawn for him to move around on his demon hunter chessboard. If I help ya, I’ll be working alone and reporting to someone other than Jack. Ya need to add that to the deal because I’m not giving Jack another moment of my life.”

“I’d have a better chance of getting everything else but that. Jack is a Marshal now. He makes his own calls about who people answer to on jobs.”

“Marshal? When did that happen?” The truth hit me in a flash and I rose to walk it off. “Of course—theypromotedJack because he incarcerated his own wife. I’ve been such a fool for that man.”

I turned my back to Rasmus. Just when I thought the knife couldn’t be shoved any deeper into my back, I discovered I was bleeding and in pain again.

“Aran, it’s not as bad as you’re thinking. He never meant your incarceration to last more than a year. Everyone assumed you’d do the right thing for Jack’s sake.”

That was because Jack saw himself as the victim instead of the wife he’d willfully betrayed.

I hung my head. “Yer words are nothing but wisps of empty air, demon hunter. Get out of my sight and don’t return until ya can promise me everything.”

ChapterFour