Page 102 of Death is My BFF
We were both quiet for a while, looking at one another. I stared into the never-ending void of his face, searching for any sight of Alexandru. For the man, and not the monster.
“You look different without all that makeup around your eyes,” he said in an oddly quiet voice.
“At least I show my face,” I snapped, insecure if what he’d said had been a compliment or not.
His demeanor turned cynical again. “I’d watch how you speak to me. That way, when I punish you for what you’ve done tonight, I’ll go easier on you. Tell me what you learned at the Crossroads.”
“He showed me the truth about you,” I said, since there was no point in keeping it all to myself. “I watched you . . . change. Ahrimad gave you his power because you killed him in the arena. You killed the person you hated the most. You killed Malphas, too, but you were devastated after what you’d done, you were grieving him like you’d made a mistake—”
“I didn’t ask for your analysis.” He towered over me, scary and unstable. The moonlight curved through the window as if storm clouds had shifted past the moon, outlining Death’s menacing black silhouette even more. “There are parts of my past you will never see, parts you wouldneverunderstand. If you think I owe you my life story, Faith Williams, you are sorely mistaken.”
“You lied to me,” I said hoarsely. “Why lie to me to such a degree? Why take me on a date? What was the point of it all, Death?
Why do you hide behind that cloak?”
He didn’t respond. I hated when he said nothing. At least he’d chosen not to lie.
I thought of my parents, how they were probably still frozen in the kitchen. Running for my life right now was out of the question.
I’d seen how fast he could move. I was trapped. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t either.
“You owe me an explanation,” I said, forcing back a surge of emotion in my throat. “For once, just tell me the truth!”
He tilted his head to the side, and I could feel his hidden gaze skimming my furious features. “I haven’t shown a mortal my identity for centuries. Not until the moment I take their soul.”
“Why?”
“Your kind is not worthy of my beauty, for one.”
I laughed in a humorless way, although on the inside I pitifully agreed with him. I could barely get used to his smooth, velvety, accented voice. His voice alone unarmed me in a frightening way. If he still looked anything like Alexandru, he would be deliciously attractive, a Roman god, and his effect on me would only get worse.
Regardless, his answer was shady. I knew there was more to the hood, more to him and why he hid from me still, or maybe keeping me in the dark was all part of his twisted little game.
“Only a heartless monster would do what you did to me,” I said, and I wanted to shout it a second time at the top of my lungs. “But
I’ll admit it, you’re damn good at manipulating. A real pro. Really fooled me with the Carrion Angel story. Is that what your massive ego wanted to hear? Leave. I want you gone. Get out of my house!”
My hands smacked into his chest to push him back, but it was like punching an impenetrable wall. “Ihateyou!”
“You don’t hate me,” he murmured. “You only wish you did.”
I glowered at him, teeth clenched tight. “Don’t flatter yourself.
The only reason you’ve tried to get closer to me was either to gain my trust, or just mindfuck me. Those aren’t exactly attractive qualities in a man I’d check off on a crush quiz in a magazine.”
“I need to know what else was exchanged between you and the warlock,” Death said in a gravelly tone. “Either you’re going to tell me everything you’ve seen from my past, including the pieces from the warehouse, or I’m going to tear it out of you.”
“I know why your eyes are sensitive to light,” I said.
“I think you should get your hearing checked.”
“Only afteryousee a therapist.”
He released another growl, reminding me of the frightening creature he was. Whenever he made that noise, I fought the innate urge to run and cower behind something. Once again, I tried to picture the monster beneath the hood, questioning if he even resembled a human anymore.
“Take a peek, princess,” he purred. The hairs at the back of my neck stood up. Had he read my mind again?
I inhaled as deep of a breath as I could and stood my ground. “A wild animal injured your eye all those years ago.” Cautiously, I started walking around him. He tracked me like a hawk, his shoulders rigid as if he were prepared for anything. “That’s why you wear the hood, isn’t it? That’s why “David Star” has to wear sunglasses. Becauseyousuffer from chronic photophobia. You even have a scar over your lighter green eye to prove the permanent damage . . . ” I traced the skin on my eyebrow to my cheekbone. “I saw it in your memories twice. Painted it on my canvases too. Your younger self said a wild animal damaged it.”