Page 21 of Hateful Prince
“Back up, Casanova,” Cain said, tying him up in strands of shadow.
“Oi, you villain. I’m only trying to help our girl realize her full potential. Let me go.” Cas struggled, but the wispy shadow tendrils were stronger than they appeared.
“Let me get a handle on the latest developments first, okay?” Dahlia said, with the hint of a smile.
Hook lifted his hands. “All right, it’s not a no, which means it’s an eventual yes. I can work with that.”
“Your logic is flawed,” Tor grumbled. “It’s not a yes until it’s undeniable consent.”
“Oh, it’ll be undeniable once we get there. It’ll be a resounding, ‘Oh yes, Caspian.’ Everyone will know.”
“That’s enough from you,” Cain said, muzzling Caspian with a gag made of shadows.
“Hmm, he’s practically tolerable this way,” Tor said, sitting on Dahlia’s desk.
Dahlia’s shoulders slumped, and she heaved a weary sigh. “It’s great that your magic dicks are helping me get more powerful, but what’s the fucking point of it all?”
“Fate?” Tor said.
“Destiny?” I tossed out.
“Isn’t that the same thing?” she asked.
“True love.”
We all went silent at Cain’s softly spoken statement. There was no question in his words, and they sat heavy between us.
Dahlia was the first to break the silence, her laugh stilted and awkward. “Love and ghosts, huh? Sounds like a recipe for a great time. Just my kind of happily ever after. Not.”
Cain’s grunt of displeasure pulled my focus to the towel-clad man. He looked down at the puppy in his arms and muttered, “Just because she can’t admit it doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
Wanting to spare my mate from another uncomfortable moment, I spoke before she could. “You’re not the only one gaining power, gem.”
“He’s right. I’ve never had more control over my beast. You gave me that.”
“The same goes for my dragon. And if the way Cain has been talking is any indication, you’ve brought things out in him too.”
Dahlia stood and began pacing in the small space left in the room. We really needed a bigger place if all four of us were going to be spending time with her together with any regularity.
“That’s great, but why do I even have power? What is my purpose?”
“Purpose?” I asked, flabbergasted. I’d never questioned why I had a dragon. I simply did. It was irrefutable.
“Yeah, my purpose. You know, my hero’s journey. My raison d'etre. True love is great and all, but my reason for existing cannot just be to fuck the four of you. Especially not with power like this. It has to serve a greater purpose. So what is it? I’m not exactly saving lives over here. If anything, it seems more likely I do the opposite.”
“You saved me, beauty.” Tor’s voice was soft, and if her little gasp was any indication, she hadn’t expected that.
“Perhaps it’s not lives you need to save, darling.” When the fuck had Hook gotten free of Cain’s shadows?
Dahlia blinked and turned her attention to the pirate. “What are you talking about?”
“You speak to the dead. Lost souls. You’ve been given a connection most people don’t ever have.”
“So... I should help them? They come to me for help,” she said, understanding dawning. “I need to talk to them.” She smacked her palm on her forehead. “Duh, of course I do. That’s literally the premise of every medium show ever. It’s the damn ending of my book.”
“Spoilers!” I blurted. I was still working my way through her backlist.
“Sorry, handsome. It’s unavoidable at this point. But I understand what I have to do now.”