Page 25 of The Horned King

With a wave of his hand, he urges me on, "Proceed."

I stalk further into the room, pointing at the guilty party. "You set me up. Insisted we go to the fucking market, all to have some strange man attack me."

He sits back further in his chair, sinking into the black velvet and kicking one ankle over the opposite knee. "And why would I do that?"

I scoff, "To kill me, obviously."

He raises a brow. "I could have done that the moment you arrived."

"Well, yes, but—" I begin, struggling to remember why I was so convinced he was behind this.

He waves his arm, gesturing to me to sit. "I could have done it at dinner, too. In fact, I've had countless opportunities to do so since you've been here. And believe me, I've killed for far less than the attitude you've spewed at me every chance you get. Including now, I might add."

I plop myself into the seat across from him, searching for my carefully prepared arguments from before the terribly long journey down to this dark corner of the castle.

"No. N-no," I tell him. "You could have, but then you'd be held responsible by my country for my murder. You would be starting a whole war."

"If you die while you have even one toe on my soil, I'm held responsible for your murder." He stands, looking as restless as I feel. "Why would I waste my time hiring a killer, especially one who couldn't even get the job done properly?"

My jaw drops at how crudely he speaks of my possible death. Like he's almost disappointed that my attacker failed at their mission.

"Furthermore," he adds, walking around the massive desk and coming far too close for my liking, "that man killed seven others today in his attempt to get to you. I would have saved myself the hassle and my people much heartache had I just taken care of you myself, assuming that was my goal." He leans against the desk near me, towering over me and making me feel so incredibly small in the face of this fearsome man.

I glare up at him. "All part of the plot. No one would suspect you would kill your own people just to rid yourself of me."

With a boisterous laugh, he argues, "Yes, they would. Because yes, I would. I would murder a handful of my own citizens if I needed to neutralize a threat. As I told you earlier today, I'd rather not." He shrugs. "But it really wouldn't bother me."

All the steam I had in my head storming down here escapes, leaving me with nothing but one last argument, one I already know will fall flat, but I have to say it anyway. "Maybe you'd rather the blood not be on your hands."

A smirk graces his face, making his beauty into a cruelty I'm not sure I'll ever recover from. He leans slightly towards me, crowding me further into my chair with his infinitesimal movement. "I don't think you understand, my Elva. Perhaps I haven't made it clear enough. I love getting blood on my hands. I relish it. If I wanted it to be yours, nothing would stop me."

"Oh."

"And, in fact, I have a vested interest in keeping your blood right where it belongs." His tone suddenly lightens, letting me breathe again. "Which brings me to what I am going to do with you going forward."

Trepidation fills me as I watch him, my mind swimming. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he sighs. "Someone is trying to kill you."

My brows furrow. "But your guard took care of him, I thought."

"Yes, but he was just a hired gun." He runs a hand through his jet-black hair, and against my wishes, I track the entire movement. The way his arm ripples and moves his blue shirt, the way his waves bounce back when he releases them, even the way his chest and shoulders raise as he takes a breath.

Wait. "How do you know he was hired?"

"I asked him." He smirks again, leaving no question about whether or not my perusal was obvious.

"You... asked him. After your guard..." I swallow.

"Killed him, yes."

I know I shouldn't ask. Shouldn't let my curiosity get the best of me. "You can do that?" Fuck.

"I can." He grins, silently inviting me to ask more.

"How?" Godsdamn him.

"If I can resurrect a body before it's been dead for long, they function pretty normally," he explains. "If it's fast enough, they might not even know that they're dead. Then I can control them, speak to them, whatever I need."

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