Page 28

“Oh, please do,” Ambrosius purred as he touched the corner of his lip. He could feel the small cut from his teeth inside his mouth. “I had no idea howviolentyou could be.”
She blanched at that, and Ambrosius found it slightly disappointing. Gwendolyn drew her arms in, folding them below her chest, as if that would stop her from striking him again. She stared at him expectantly until Ambrosius let out a sigh.
“Why don’t we take this to the main area, hmm? Much more comfortable for conducting business.”
Gwendolyn reluctantly followed him back to the room they had first met in. At least, Ambrosius approximated it to be the original room. Things had changed since she had last been here, and business was booming. Just that morning, the walls had been painted a dull eggshell beige with an awful texture.
Ambrosius gestured toward the love seat, and once she dropped into it, he immediately sat beside her.Much closer than what was necessary as she bumped into his shoulder, but she didn’t protest further than a near permanent glare.
He could work with that.
“Would you like some tea?” he asked.
The question caught her off guard, but Ambrosius was used to that. Most humans didn’t notice the subtle shift in the Antiquarium, and Gwendolyn was none the wiser. Manifesting on the other side of her was a side table, quickly followed by a tea set. Cups were already poured, sugar and cream already added, as Ambrosius liked it.
Gwendolyn didn’t notice until he reached across her. He felt her tense, felt her raise her hand, readying an attack if he so much as made the wrong move. He smiled as he produced the tea saucer, resting it in his lap. He took a sip of the Earl Grey tea as Gwendolyn stared at the cup suspiciously.
Business it was.
“You have questions,” Ambrosius began as he set the cup on the saucer.
“A fuck ton.”
“Lucky for you, I have answers.Butnothing is free as you learned recently—” oh, he could get used to the fire in her eyes. “So, we’ll have to do a little give and take.”
“Meaning?”
“I’ll answer your questions, if you’ll answer mine. Sounds fair, hmm?”
“Right, just like the doll was fair?” she replied sardonically.
Ambrosius gave her a knowing look. “You didn’t have to say yes, my bittersweet. That deal was entirely onyou.”
A partial lie, Ambrosius could admit as much. But unless she asked, he wouldn’t volunteer that information willingly. Gwendolyn wasn’t happy with his answer, though she rarely showed any signs of happiness outside of her initial reaction to the doll. However, she was smart enough to know that she was clearly at a disadvantage, as she let out a tired sigh.
“Fine,” she murmured. “But no sidestepping. No dancing around my questions.”
“Agreed,” Ambrosius replied. “Well, go ahead. Ask your question.”
“What is the doll?”
His instinct was to evade the question altogether. Ambrosius didn’t have to answer any of her questions if he were honest with himself. He was the one who held the cards, the one who knew where all the strings went. But Ambrosius was as curious as he was chaotic, and on a whim, he decided to answer as honestly as someone like him could.
“Ah, yes, the doll…” Ambrosius sipped his tea. “The doll is a physical representation of the contract between us.”
Simple, honest, and no dancing around her question, as she requested.
Naturally, that wasn’t enough for her.
“A—it’s awhat? What contract?!”
“Uh-uh,” he tsked. “Remember the terms of our exchange, Gwendolyn. I believe it’s my turn.”
“How—ugh!”
He eyed her as she leaned back into the cushion in defeat. Her mouth—all pinkish brown and pursed—was an intriguing bit of pulpy flesh. Ambrosius would havelingered there if Gwendolyn hadn’t finally reached over to snag her own cup of tea. She took a sip, made a questioning face, before setting the saucer back onto the tray. He imagined she just needed something to ground her, which helped inform Ambrosius exactly what his next question should be.
“Gwendolyn…” he sighed. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re hiding under your little hat.”