Mask of Deception and Sacrifice by Callie Thomas

Author:Callie Thomas [Thomas, Callie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-21T18:30:00+00:00

The Arrangement

“Her? Dine with you? Absolutely not,” Hanson roared. “After what the king did to her, she needs to recuperate. She’s been through enough.”

Zee’s grip tightened and he spun me around, glancing at the stains on my gown. “Blood. Why are you covered in blood?”

As I opened my mouth, he cupped my face, bringing me close. Not in anger, but in fear.

“Don’t. Lie.”

“He offered me a position on the castle staff.”

“And you took it?”

“No.”

“So he was furious and took it out on you? And . . . you glamoured it, didn’t you.” He pulled away from me, his brows lifting. “You said you wouldn’t trick me.”

“Tricking and protecting are two different things.”

His breath caught. “You’re protecting me? Why? Talk to me.”

“The king wants to force you to do something, and I don’t want to be the reason why you do it.”

“What did he say about me? Did he tell you who I am?”

“No, of course not. And just so you know, I’m not worried about that. Whatever you did before, that was in your past. Being punished like this, locked away your entire life, it’s truly unforgivable.”

“Let the girl go,” Hanson commanded in the distance.

As I turned to the voice, Zee grabbed my hands and pressed them to his chest. “How can I let you go after you said that to me? How can I live in the darkness now that I have seen‍‍—now that I’ve felt the daylight? Stay with me, little sparrow.”

“I know you can hear me. If you don’t release her, we will be required to come in and take her by force,” Hanson snapped.

The temperature in the room dropped. A darkness so thick I couldn’t even call it a shadow rose up like a wall behind him. It blocked the meager light streaming through the windows. Menacing, it reached the ceiling, the sudden movement extinguishing some of the candles around us.

“You will not touch her.” A simple command laced with deadly threat.

“Emergency procedure,” Hanson whispered, and the peephole slammed shut.

Zee grinned, a cool line cracked across his face. “I love it when they play games with me.”

“Zee . . .” I blinked at him.

He slid his eyes to mine, nothing like himself. “When they’re gone, it will be just us. You’d like that, yes?” He picked up a strand of my hair and rubbed his thumb over it. “I know it’d please me. Very much.”

“Look at me. Control yourself. You don’t need to hurt anyone.”

“But that’s how people listen to me.”

I put my hand on his chest. “I heard you without it.”

Something glistened in his eye. “So you did. Because we’re the same. They, on the other hand, aren’t like us.”

“Us?”

He picked up my hand and brought it to his lips and kissed the back. “Follow me. I want to make sure you’re safe.”

“If I just left, then‍⁠—‍"

“Those idiots strike first and ask questions later. They’ll probably wallop you before you can walk out the door.”

Draping my hand on his arm, he led me to the dining room.

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