“The ring, Pie. I need the ring.”
“You can try, if you like, but the ring won’t come off.” I regret those words even as they are leaving my mouth. Because he reaches for my hand.
I want to pull back. But I force myself to hold my ground. He has power, yep. That’s true. But he doesn’t have power over this. This is my power. And I want him to know that.
So I don’t even shiver when he holds my hand in his and tries to pry the ring off my finger.
It doesn’t budge.
“Hmm.”
“Yes. Like it or not, this ring is mine. And there is no way you can get it off. But trust me, if you could, I would let you. Because then I’d be free of all these curses and magic.”
His eyes flash. “And then you wouldn’t be mine? Is that what you think?”
I shrug. Because I wasn’t really thinking that. I was thinking about Pell, and the sanctuary, and how he can walk through the gates now and look like a human in a human’s world. But I’m stuck there, being a monster in a monster’s world. And it’s all very unfair. Like the fricking universe is conspiring against us.
“Talina’s latest report said you were progressing.”
“Progressing?”
“With your spelling?”
Oh, shit. She’s his little spy.
“Pie.”
“What?”
“How do you feel about your progress?”
“Who cares what I think? I don’t know anything. What did Talina say?”
“It was a written report, so she didn’t say anything. But she mentioned—” He reaches over to his desk, grabs a folder, opens it up, and scans the contents. “Here we go. Yes, she was raving about your first attempt. ‘A wood, a buck, a nymph, and stone. A way into a satyr’s home. A door appears, the nymph walks through, and now their lives begin anew.’” He looks up at me, beaming. “It’s very good.”
“Umm… thank you?” I don’t know what else to say. He went from dark and evil to… smiling and… what? Proud?
This whole meeting feels like… abuse.
“What was this spell for?”
“To get into Pell’s tomb.” Tarq just stares at me, so I go on. “So we could sleep together in his forest.”
If I was hoping that would—what? Piss him off? Make him jealous?—well, it does neither. He just looks excited. “Did it work?”
“Yep. It worked. We had a very nice time last night.”
Tarq smiles at me. “I’m glad.” Then he holds up the written report. “This is a very good start, Pie. A very good start. I’m extremely pleased. This afternoon, we will meet the queen. But today. Today, I would like you to work on opening another door. One for me.”
“Which door?”
He ignores my question. “I have a list of key words I would like you to use.” He removes a small piece of paper from the file and offers it to me. “They’re on here. I like what you did with that first line. ‘A wood, a buck, a nymph, and stone.’ It’s so close. But not quite what I’m looking for. So use these words for your first line instead. And please have something ready by the end of the day. I’ll stop by the lab after lunch.”
I take the little piece of paper and tuck it into the front pocket of my bag. “You’re the boss.” Then I hike my bag over my shoulder, turn, walk to the office door, open it up, and leave.
And this time he lets me go.
As soon as I enter the hallways, they begin to change. I picture my lab, fully expecting to be taken somewhere I don’t want to be, but after I turn the first corner, there they are. The double doors to my lab.