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I shrugged. “Ruin told her to leave. She can’t hunt us here.”
Fane’s head tilted as he gave me an incredulous expression. “You don’t really believe she’d give up that easily, do you?”
Doubtful.
I toyed with the edge of the sheet, twisting it in my fingers. Ruin’s house was probably the safest place for me, but what about Fane? My pulse rose as I pictured droves of demons attacking him, leaving him bloody and broken.
His low chuckle broke me out of my uneasy thoughts. “You’re worried about me. That’s so sweet.”
My eyes narrowed. Why didn’t I ask Ruin to teach me how to block him?
Of course, that would entail me explaining the extent of this bond to the demon lord, and I’d rather no one know just how deep and strange this thing was.
“Good choice,” Fane said, moving closer and leaning his shoulder against the wall. “The fewer people that know about it, the harder it would be for them to use it against us.”
I cursed. “Stay out of my head, Maverick.”
“It’s impossible when you’re practically screaming at me.” He pushed off the wall and trekked to the right side of my bed, all the humor vanishing from his face. “Your nightmares wake me most nights, but tonight’s was bad enough to bring me to you. So if anyone’s to blame, it’s you.”
I shoved the covers off and stood, so he wasn’t hovering several feet over me. “Maybe if you taught me how to block you, this wouldn’t be happening.” I poked his chest, and my finger met hard muscles instead of air. “Better yet, you should have let me die instead of biting me. Then you wouldn’t be a hostage to my fucked-up childhood, and I wouldn’t be Lord Ruin’s prisoner.”
Fane removed my finger, even his ghostly touch scorching. “You look mighty comfortable for a prisoner.” His gaze dipped to the cream and gold silk pajama top and tiny shorts I wore, courtesy of the demon lord.
Of course I wasn’t wearing a bra, which was ridiculously obvious, especially with Fane’s stare burning me. Images of us in Logan’s house that last night in the Underworld seeped forward. I could still taste Fane and feel his hands all over me, his fingers inside of me, teasing me until I nearly surrendered everything to him.
My molars ground as I pushed the memories away, letting the anger take over. “I hope whatever you got from Ruin was worth it.”
His nostrils flared, and the tattoos twitched like his beast form longed to break out. “You have no idea.”
“Go to hell, Maverick.” I spun and marched toward the door, yanking on it.
It was locked.
“See?” I pointed to the door. “Prisoner.”
Not for long, though.
I snatched the bobby pins I found in one of the drawers and lowered to my knees, working the lock.
“You really think you can just jimmy this door and walk right out of here, don’t you?” Fane loomed behind me like a daunting storm hovering over the horizon.
“I guess we’ll find out, but I’m pretty good at sneaking around.” A click echoed as the lock disengaged. “Told you.” I opened the door and peered into the empty hall. No guard.
But before I stepped outside, my conversation with Ruin returned. He’d never help me sever this bond with Fane if I left. And I would never be free linked to the demon shifter.
I cursed and shut the door, resting my head on it.
“What are you doing?” Fane jerked his hand toward the door. “This is your chance to get out.”
“I’d rather stay.” I turned and crossed my arms, the wood cool against my heated skin. “I made a deal with Ruin.”
Fane’s eyebrows slammed together, his cheekbones sharpening. “What kind of fucking deal did you make with him?”
“If I stay here, he’ll help me find a way to break or block our bond.”
The demon shifter’s head yanked back. “You’d really trade your freedom for that?”
I scoffed. “What freedom? I’m either tied to him or tied to you. Ruin seems like the better option.”
