Page 75 of Broken Souls

He doesn’t say anything, and a part of me hopes I hit a fucking nerve there, that I hurt him just a little. But a bigger part of me already regrets the words.

What a fucking fool I am.

He can torture me as I scream, but I flinch when he looks hurt. Pathetic.

Shaking my head, I aim the wand at my hand. “Iactus,” I say softly, then hold my breath. For one second, t–

White light glows from the tip of the wood, and I exhale harshly. The burn fades under new skin. As soon as I heal both hands, Varius grabs the wand and chucks it away, then bends down to place his shoulder in the middle of my chest as his arms come around me. He straightens, slaps my ass when I try to wiggle off him, then heads for the door.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I ask as I resist the urge to bite him. He likes it when I do that.

“I’m tired, so I’m going to bed.”

“Not with me you’re not.”

He shrugs. “You don’t want to tell me what you want me to do, so I’m just going to do what I want with you.”

“You’re a fucking neanderthal!”

“Says the one hissing at me like a feral cat.”

“Fuck you! In what fucking world would I not be pissed after youtorturedme! You do not get to piss me off by hurting me and then get pissed that I’m hurt and pissed off! That isn’t unreasonable of me – of fucking anyone, you fucking turdstain. The onlyunreasonablething I’ve done is not pack my bags and left before you even got –”

He swings me off his shoulder, then pivots and pins me against the wall. His eyes narrow as he ducks his head and growls, “You eventhinkabout leaving me, little monster, and I’ll kill everyone who hides you, everyone who saw you, just the tiniest fucking glimpse, and didn’t report back to me about where you were.”

I snort. “You can’t know who saw me if they didn’t tell you.”

“Then I will kill everyone in every city you pass through.”

“You’re delusional.”

His forehead presses against mine, and I am suddenly aware that we’re on the stairs leading up to the second floor. It’s dark, well into the night, and no one seems to be out, but we’re not hidden away in a room. We’re not protected from the eyes of his brothers. My eyes flicker back and forth across his, trying to see what this means, but then I stop. Look away.

I can’t keep searching for things that aren’t there. Can’t keep fooling myself into thinking he cares about me, seeing the little signs that mean he does.Fool me once...and I end up strapped to a chair and my magic ripped from me. Fool me twice...

“I fucked up, Micha,” he says softly. “When Talon told me you were the one who helped Antonio take Khalid, I didn’t believe him. So I forced Leno to wake Mother up from her coma.”

I swallow, remembering how badly her body was ripped apart by the werewolf alpha. She must have used so much magic to heal herself, used so much more to heal me. I saw the toil it was taking on her as she kept our child from bleeding out between my thighs. The more magic a witch uses, the more exhausted they become. And when they get too tired to protect themselves from the backlash of magic that occurs with every spell, then it starts to destroy their organs.

Sau lost a kidney, maybe more. The last I saw her, she needed a cane to move about. She will regrow them in time, but every bit of magic she uses before that happens, the more organs she will lose. Use too much, and it’ll kill her. Then, of course, there’s her curse. How many years has she lost in the past twenty-four hours? Will she even live long enough to see her grandchild?

“She told me you kissed Antonio,” he continues tightly. “And I fucking lost it. I’m sorry.”

My throat works wordlessly before I push out the words, “Sorry isn’t good enough.”

“So tell me what is,” he demands as he steps away from the wall, and my hackles start rising all over again.

“I told you I’m not telling you shit.”

“But if you know what I can do,” he says, frustration bleeding into his words, “then why not tell me so I can do it?”

“Because that’s just me fixing it! That’s me cleaning up your mess. Making things right. Putting in the effort –”

“I’ll be putting in the effort. I’ll be doing them! You need me to bring you flowers and chocolate, just tell me what kind and I’ll –”

“Flowers and chocolate?” I screech as he opens his door and steps inside. Then he kicks it shut behind him. “That’s what you think I need to forgive you for taking my magic from me? For looking me in the eyes while you stabbed me over and over again? Flowers and chocolate!”

“I don’t know because I’ve never apologized before!” he roars. “I am running fucking blind here, little monster, and I’ve had a long day –”