Iniquitous (The Marked #3)(17)
“No. But it’s a start.” Without casting another glance his way, I picked up my fork again and dug in. The minute the food touched my tongue, my eyes doubled in size as the savory fish melted in my mouth.
“Good?” he asked, laughter twitching the corner of his lips.
“Um, try insanely good,” I said as I took another bite and then pretty much didn’t stop taking bites until the entire plate was wiped clean.
“Heavens, angel. I’ve never seen anyone eat that fast in my life.”
My cheeks prickled with heat, but that didn’t stop me from contemplating licking the crumbs off the china. “I’m still hungry,” I admitted.
“Fret not, love. A second course is on the way,” he said with a wink. “I suppose you should get it in while you can.”
“Don’t worry. I plan on it.” I put my fork down and crossed my hands in my lap in an effort to restrain myself from doing anything else that would further embarrass the crap out of me.
The swinging doors flapped open again, the sound of it sent a flutter of excitement through my stomach. That is, until I looked up and saw Engel instead of Lucy with my second course. Talk about a lunchbox let down.
“Good evening, Princess. Dominic,” nodded Engel as he walked into the room with a handful of his dead cronies.
“Engel.” Dominic nodded back to him as I scowled in silence beside him.
“I trust you’re enjoying your dinner,” said Engel as he moved towards the opposite end of the table as though he were getting ready to host our little party. The one no one invited him to. He pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Actually, I just lost my appetite.”
He clicked his tongue at me. “Careful now, Princess. You may just find yourself back in your cell and tongueless if you don’t learn how to control that mouth of yours.”
My retort quickly died in my mouth as I remembered how easily he split Damon in two.
“Contrary to what you believe, I am not the bad guy you’ve made me out to be in your mind.”
“Are you deranged?” My mouth quickly popped off before I could think twice of it. “You’re holding me prisoner. You’re draining my blood every day—all day, just so you can force me to hand over the one thing that’s keeping me alive right now! How is that NOT the bad guy.”
“Well, it could be a lot worse,” he answered calmly, bringing his hands onto the table.
“Really? How so?” I asked and then glanced at Dominic who was quietly watching our exchange.
“You could be with the Dark Legion instead,” he said, binging his fingers into a bumpy steeple. “You could be responsible for raising the biggest evil this world has ever seen.” He blinked slowly as a small smile formed on his dark lips. “You could be home…being hunted by your friends and dearly beloveds, never knowing which day will be your last day.”
“Nikki. Is. Not. My. Friend.” I was clenching my jaw so hard, I nearly cracked a tooth.
“Yes, that much was evident,” he said, chuckling as he glanced back at the bald bag of muscles standing behind him. “I was referring to the members of your Order. Your dear uncle. The ones who were supposed to protect you.”
“I never involved him in any of this,” I pointed out, desperate to keep some of my dignity and a sense of control.
The truth was, after I discovered my true bloodlines, I wasn’t sure who I could trust. And that included everyone in The Order. Dominic had made it clear that if they found out what I really was, they wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate me, and even though I didn’t want to believe him, I couldn’t completely rid my mind of the possibility either.
“And what makes you think he would’ve done anything to help you if you had? Do you think they are that much different than I am?” He laughed gruffly as though the joke were completely on me. “Make no mistake, child. There is no such thing as the good guys anymore. Not in this world.”
“That might be true, but I’d chance my luck with him over you any day.”
“You already have, child. And if I recall, it didn’t go very well for you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I grumbled defensively.
“Don’t I? Then riddle me this, child. Who exactly do you believe attacked you in the woods that night? It certainly wasn’t one of us, was it?” He spread his arms wide and looked around at his men before settling his eyes back on me. “Then again, I’m sure you’ve already realized that all on your own, haven’t you?”
“Not really,” I lied. Frankly, I refused to give him the satisfaction. I wasn’t about to let him walk away from here with the delusion that he was anything more than a calculating monster. “It could have been anyone.”
“Not anyone,” he corrected. “Only those who weren’t aware of your possession of the Immortal Amulet.” A skeleton of a smile creeped across his pale face. The sick bastard was basking in this.
“What the hell is your point, Engel? That I can’t trust anyone? News flash. I already know that.”
“Just making an observation, child. It seems to me that you have a lot more to lose going home than you do staying here. Perhaps if you learn to embrace our way of life, you may find a home for yourself amongst us. It would please me to no end to have a being such as yourself by my side.”