“How? Why did he come here? How did he know about Tammy?” I am just so confused, the questions just keep pouring out.
Dorian’s expression darkens to one of violent contempt. “Fucking Aurora. I told her not to involve him. I told her I would find a way. Her affections for that boy…” He shakes his head angrily. “She deceived me. She will pay for her misdeeds.”
“But Dorian, she did it for Jared. Maybe she really does care for him and got scared? He came to fix Tammy. He came to help. Why?”
It would make more sense if I already didn’t know that he was a murderous tyrant. And to think I was dreaming about him? Desiring him? Even in the market earlier, I was drawn to him. I don’t get it. Why? How could I be so...attracted to someone like him?
“I don’t know. Get under my skin. Insult me. Provoke me. See you. Take your pick,” he shrugs. He assesses the confusion and fear etched in my face and eases me back down onto the bed, laying next to me. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I won’t let him hurt you. You are safe, little girl.”
I nuzzle into Dorian’s arms, letting my head rest on his firm chest. “How did he know who I was?”
“He knew when I knew, baby,” he coos. Right. His curse, his inability to lie.
“But he looks so…young. Too young to be your father at least.” Yeah, he’s got a few extra years on me, but he and Dorian look more like brothers than father and son.
“One of the benefits of killing for your own personal gain,” he remarks.
“Is he going to kill me?” I whisper meekly.
“No. He won’t get his hands dirty. Not with something so…high profile. No one wants to be known as the one who slaughters the Dark Light, the savior of the Light Enchanters,” he says sardonically.
I lift my head to look at him with question in my eyes. “Huh? Is that what I’m known as?”
Dorian shrugs. “It was just always assumed that that’s the way you would go.”
“So you thought I’d align with the Light?” Again, Dorian shrugs, looking impassive. “Dorian, if you thought that, then you knew you’d have to kill me.”
Dorian shakes his head sternly. “No. I would not have done it. I can’t.”
“But if you didn’t, then they’d kill you! All this time, you were prepared for them to murder you? Were you even going to tell me?” I can’t believe it. Dorian felt he was playing a losing game yet he continued to act as if everything would be fine. He made me believe that we could potentially survive this together.
Dorian looks at me, refusing to answer my questions, and I know my suspicions are true. He was willing to die for me. I knew that we would face adversity, and with the annoying messages from the Dark, I figured I could fool them somehow, make them believe I’d side with them. I never imagined that Dorian’s death was already in the works.
I bring my head back down to his chest, letting the sound of his heartbeat soothe my troubled mind. “What did he do to me? Why did he make me…feel that way?” I whisper after a few silent minutes.
“He got inside your head. He planted the seed; played to your desires, your aspirations. Your insecurities. Made you want him.”
“But I don’t!” I state fervently. At least I think I don’t. Even before the dream, in the supermarket, I was intrigued by him. God, I’m so confused!
“It’s okay. Seriously. He is very charming. Women are instantly beguiled by him. He is the epitome of sophistication and class,” he says thoughtfully. Dorian’s face then transforms into something terrifyingly vile and imperiling. “I fucking hate him.”
“You don’t mean that, Dorian. He’s your dad. And to be honest, you are not unlike him.” I instantly feel Dorian stiffen and I know I’ve struck a nerve. “Other than the evil, coldhearted dictator part, of course. You are extremely charming and gorgeous and fascinating, Dorian. I wanted you the moment I saw you. And you still take my breath away every single time I’m with you.”
Sheesh. I am definitely still drunk. I am way too loose with the lips.
I feel Dorian shift as if he’s shaking his head. “But his power…he has abilities that I don’t possess. He likes it that way. He keeps us all beneath him so there is never a chance that anyone would ever challenge him. And those who have been stupid enough to try have never lived to tell about it. He gets whatever he wants, no matter the cost, no matter who he destroys in the process. Women love him; men fear him.”
“But I don’t love him, Dorian. I don’t even like him.”