the event that I should need to navigate it under duress at some point.”
“Sure,” he mocked, stepping around my shoulder to stand before me, thereby blocking out the sun. “That seems a convenient excuse.”
“I did not know that was your room. Now that I do, I will be certain to avoid it at all costs,” I retorted. “I shall leave you to whatever it was you were doing.” When I turned to leave, he caught my arm. His grasp was firm, but not uncomfortable.
“Running away so soon?” he asked, a mischievous look on his face. “You’re already out here; maybe we should get to know each other a little better. I think we’ve been off to a rather rocky start.”
“I know what I need to know,” I replied. My response did nothing to derail him, so I tried another approach entirely. “Actually, there is something that you could familiarize me with.”
“Really?” he replied, curiosity overtaking his tone. “And what would that be?”
“Kierson—you saved his life once. I want to know from what and how.”
He tensed at my words, his grip on my arm tightening. His lips pressed together in a straight line, erasing any amusement his face had displayed earlier. My inquiry had affected him.
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to, new girl.”
“I ask such questions because I want the answers they hold.”
“Who told you about that?”
“Unimportant.”
“Well, I can see that whoever did wasn’t interested in letting you in on all the details.”
“They all left before they could.”
“Ha,” he laughed, letting go of my arm and turning away from me. “They weren’t going to tell you shit. Those assholes knew exactly what they were doing, which means it wasn’t Kierson. He’s too dumb to have thought of that. Casey doesn’t give a shit—there’s nothing in it for him to tell you. The only way he would have served me up is if he could have sat back on that fucking sofa and watched the chaos play out in front of him. No, this has Drew or Pierson written all over it.”
For whatever reason, my question had rattled the fallen one. He continued to ramble on, muttering to himself about exactly whose ass he was going kick for alerting me to something he apparently viewed as confidential. Uninterested in his rant, I retreated back to the window into his room. It was plain that he had no intention of telling me what I wanted to know. Why no one would remained a mystery.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, stopping me just short of my escape with his words.
“Inside.”
“No, I don’t think so. Not until you tell me why you asked that question.”
“I asked because I knew you would not answer. You were as forthcoming as I expected, which only further cemented my opinion of you. There is no point in us chatting. It will change nothing. I just wanted to illustrate that point to you, given that you seem oblivious to it.”
< Uninteresth="7%" align="justify">His eyebrows rose momentarily. My explanation surprised him.
“Well played, new girl.”
“You are not the only one well versed in games, fallen one.”
The surprise washed from his face instantaneously.
“Careful, new girl,” he warned, moving quickly toward me until he loomed above me as menacingly as the worst of the Underworld. “You don’t want me to make this more than a game.”
I saw no reason to respond. Instead, I turned around to continue my exit, stepping through the open window without looking back. He would stay true to his words or not. Either way, I had made my point: I was not a toy for him to play with.
As I made my way through his room, he made no attempt to follow. I had not paid much attention when I originally entered, the spiral staircase occupying most of my focus, but as I walked through, I couldn’t help but notice how surprisingly pristine it was—clean, neat, and orderly. Everything that he was not. It seemed strange that someone who cared about nothing other than
“Sure,” he mocked, stepping around my shoulder to stand before me, thereby blocking out the sun. “That seems a convenient excuse.”
“I did not know that was your room. Now that I do, I will be certain to avoid it at all costs,” I retorted. “I shall leave you to whatever it was you were doing.” When I turned to leave, he caught my arm. His grasp was firm, but not uncomfortable.
“Running away so soon?” he asked, a mischievous look on his face. “You’re already out here; maybe we should get to know each other a little better. I think we’ve been off to a rather rocky start.”
“I know what I need to know,” I replied. My response did nothing to derail him, so I tried another approach entirely. “Actually, there is something that you could familiarize me with.”
“Really?” he replied, curiosity overtaking his tone. “And what would that be?”
“Kierson—you saved his life once. I want to know from what and how.”
He tensed at my words, his grip on my arm tightening. His lips pressed together in a straight line, erasing any amusement his face had displayed earlier. My inquiry had affected him.
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to, new girl.”
“I ask such questions because I want the answers they hold.”
“Who told you about that?”
“Unimportant.”
“Well, I can see that whoever did wasn’t interested in letting you in on all the details.”
“They all left before they could.”
“Ha,” he laughed, letting go of my arm and turning away from me. “They weren’t going to tell you shit. Those assholes knew exactly what they were doing, which means it wasn’t Kierson. He’s too dumb to have thought of that. Casey doesn’t give a shit—there’s nothing in it for him to tell you. The only way he would have served me up is if he could have sat back on that fucking sofa and watched the chaos play out in front of him. No, this has Drew or Pierson written all over it.”
For whatever reason, my question had rattled the fallen one. He continued to ramble on, muttering to himself about exactly whose ass he was going kick for alerting me to something he apparently viewed as confidential. Uninterested in his rant, I retreated back to the window into his room. It was plain that he had no intention of telling me what I wanted to know. Why no one would remained a mystery.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, stopping me just short of my escape with his words.
“Inside.”
“No, I don’t think so. Not until you tell me why you asked that question.”
“I asked because I knew you would not answer. You were as forthcoming as I expected, which only further cemented my opinion of you. There is no point in us chatting. It will change nothing. I just wanted to illustrate that point to you, given that you seem oblivious to it.”
< Uninteresth="7%" align="justify">His eyebrows rose momentarily. My explanation surprised him.
“Well played, new girl.”
“You are not the only one well versed in games, fallen one.”
The surprise washed from his face instantaneously.
“Careful, new girl,” he warned, moving quickly toward me until he loomed above me as menacingly as the worst of the Underworld. “You don’t want me to make this more than a game.”
I saw no reason to respond. Instead, I turned around to continue my exit, stepping through the open window without looking back. He would stay true to his words or not. Either way, I had made my point: I was not a toy for him to play with.
As I made my way through his room, he made no attempt to follow. I had not paid much attention when I originally entered, the spiral staircase occupying most of my focus, but as I walked through, I couldn’t help but notice how surprisingly pristine it was—clean, neat, and orderly. Everything that he was not. It seemed strange that someone who cared about nothing other than
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