Page 68 of Consumed By Fire

“I missed you, too,” I say, anyway, forcing another smile. I need to bide my time. I’m going to come clean to Igor, but I need it to be on my terms and I need to be ready for him. I suspect he isn’t going to like it. I’m afraid he will hurt me. I’m worried about my baby.

“I can’t wait for you to show me how much. You can start with a good meal.” He rubs his belly. “Come to think of it, I’m starving.”

I sigh when he goes into the living room. I hear the television come on. I get started in the kitchen. By the time I have finished cleaning all the dishes, the guys are yelling at the television. I put the meat on the grill and throw a couple of potatoes in the oven. I want to make a salad, but there are no greens in the house. There isn’t so much as a blackened banana.

There is more shouting in the living room. It sounds like human sports are playing. I’m not sure what the appeal is. All I know is that now is my chance to put a safety net or two in place. I take one of the sharp serrated knives out of the drying rack, and I run upstairs to Igor’s bedroom, shoving it behind the headboard. I change my mind and push it under the mattress instead. Right on the side so that it will be easy to get to but not too easy to spot. I pray that I won’t have to use it.

“Where are you?” Igor shouts from the stairs, which he takes two at a time from the sounds of it.

He enters the bedroom just as I’m pulling one of his shirts over my head.

Phew! That was close.

He puts his arms around me. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Me, too.”

He hugs me tighter, and I feel something hard against my belly. I know exactly what it is.

Noooooo!

“Let’s go eat,” I tell him. “The food will be ready.” I smile.

“It can wait five minutes.” He starts moving me to the bed.

“The meat is going to b-burn,” I stammer. “The potatoes, too.”

“I took the meat off the grill and turned off the oven.”

Dammit!

No!

Shit!

“I’m dirty. I really need a bath. I’m hungry, and I know you—”

He scowls. “Already with the excuses, Trin. You promised me no more excuses. It’s you and me now. We’re going to mate and be together. Once this baby is born, I’ll put another one in your belly. We’ll have a big family. We’ll be happy.” He sounds like he’s trying to convince himself as much as me. “You’ll see. It starts right here and right now. You need to show me that you meant those promises you made. That they weren’t just words. You can start on your knees.”

I hate him. I really hate him. I know that he knows I was lying to save Octane. I can see it all over him, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about me; he never did. I don’t think he cares about our unborn child. I need to stand up for myself. For my baby. I need to do it now. Maybe somewhere deep inside is the boy I once knew. I hope and pray that hate hasn’t completely corrupted his mind.

I shake my head. “No,” I tell him softly. “I won’t be doing that.”

“This is the start of the rest of our lives. It’s what I’ve dreamed about for so long. You and me. Us! Our future. There is a plan in place to bring down Arctic. He’s no good for our people. He wants peace. He wants to put an end to the war with the filthy Draigers.”

“That’s a good thing.” There is a pleading edge to my voice. “Peace would be a good thing, Igor. We could go back to living in harmony with the Draigers.”

“Bite your tongue, woman. It’s a terrible thought!” He shivers visibly, a look of revulsion on his face. “The male who is going to take over as king is a friend of mine. We’re working together to get him on the throne. The people will accept him. Once it happens, I will become the general. I’ll get a whole wing in the castle. I’ll make big money and be important. We’ll take down those filthy Draigers. All of them.”

He’s speaking like a child who’s been offered a whole bag of candy to do something naughty.

“It’s going to be amazing, Trin,” he keeps going, not listening to me. “I want you at my side when we kill all the Draigers. We’ll take over their island. The ground will be soaked with their blood. The Reds will shout my name.”

“What made you this way? You used to be sweet and kind.”

His whole body tenses. His eyes narrow and turn cold and hard. “My father was killed by the Draigers. My mother took her own life a month later. I hate those bastards. I hate everything about them. I want them all dead.” It amazes me how much like Octane he sounds…only it isn’t the same at all. Not even close. Octane would never hurt innocent people. He’s hard on the outside but soft where it counts. Igor is one big ball of hate.

“You do realize that not all of the Draigers are bad. There are women and children on that island. There are—”