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Darkness swallowed every last shred of his playfulness. “If you’re insinuating something, Detective, say it out loud.”
“Do I even need to? You killed Benjamin Castile, and then you constructed some sick scenario where you got to feel like the hero. The good person trying to find a killer. All so you could see me run around like a little puppet, while you pulled the strings like a psychopath. Is that what you did to Benjamin as well? Gained his trust and then tore him open? Was it all for the sick thrill? Or did you actually convince yourself that you’re the good guy?” I demanded, voice cracking at the end.
Razai didn’t so much as blink. “I have no problem taking responsibility for the manipulation. Though I can’t confirm or deny psychopathy. I’ve never been tested.”
My teeth clenched so hard, I thought they’d crack. Even now he led with sarcasm? After murdering a man and playing everyone for a fool?
Not to mention playing with my stupid, idiotic heart. He’d flirted with me. Kissed me. Lured me into a false sense of safety, all while toying with my life.
The last of my power boiled to the surface—along with my disgust—still slightly enhanced by the dregs of the elixir. Without another thought, I speared it into the demon with all my strength.
The attack was strong. I felt the weight of its force in my soul. Even still, it buckled against an invisible barrier. Useless.
And so, I tried again, pulling even deeper inside of me, even more than I ever thought I had. I smashed my magic into him, hurling it and crushing it as hard as I could. Maybe, just maybe, I could break him down—
“You’re wasting your energy,” he informed me. “But keep going if the tantrum makes you feel better.”
With a strangled cry, I charged forward, fist curled, and drove it toward his stomach.
Razai blocked me lazily, twisted my arm, and pinned it behind me. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you manners?”
I grinned. “She did. But the angels taught me to lie.” I knew he’d block my obvious punch. Besides, it wasn’t as though my little fist could actually hurt him anyway.
That’s why I’d palmed my small blade in my other hand before coming at him. Razai still held one arm in a manacled grip as I drove the knife toward his gut.
His eyes widened. The point pressed into his shirt. I felt the fabric tighten and break open, then the blade sink into—
A hard knock interrupted my momentum, and then he caught my hand. One hard turn to my wrist, and the blade fell to the grass.
“You’re done playing, love,” he whispered in my ear from behind, yanking on my restrained wrists a little too rough.
“Not even close,” I gritted, jerking against his hold.
“I see,” he said with a chuckle. “I suppose you are going to need that fighting spirit. It’s good. But you’re better off saving your energy.”
“Why don’t you let me go so I can practice? Stay really, really still this time.”
“You’re not ready to play with fire tonight.”
“As far as I’m concerned, everything’s already in flames.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” he purred. There wasn’t any confusion over what he meant. Though Razai didn’t purposefully grind against me, the hard, intimidating length of him pressed into my ass like a threat.
And a promise.
Heat filled me—completely against my will, mind you—and I spent a few heavy seconds cursing my own body. “You can think about it next time you fuck yourself. With the cactus,” I emphasized, still trying to jerk out of his hold.
Razai took my elbow to his ribs with a grunt but only tightened his hold even more.
I struggled harder, yanking and pulling, knowing bruises already circled my flesh. My raw voice broke. “Why lie to me? Why help me collect clues? What the fuck was the point of any of this? Because if you’re not going to explain anything, then just kill me already.”
A part of me hoped Clave would take pity and help. But, no. The beautiful professor looked on with an absent stare while my life hung in the balance.
Razai’s palm cupped my throat, fingers squeezing harder, harder. His muscles were so tense, he felt like a stone cage.
My heart pattered against my ribs, reminding me of the fate I’d been trying to hide from all these years. This was the truth of all my risks.
It didn’t matter that Razai was a demon and not an angel. He was still a pure-blooded immortal of the highest degree. And he had me in his clutches.
