Death is My Frenemy Rewritten (Book 3 of the Rewritten Death Chronicles)

Chapter 5: Blindfold

His scowl turned quickly into a glare. "Normal people, normal people, do not react like you are right now. Not after what my father spoke of and not after my lack of denial of everything he said. The truth is, my leg was not just pinned beneath a chariot. It shattered completely beneath the weight of the wheel, and I had to lift it off of me by myself. Days later, I was walking perfectly fine. It does not stop there. My strength surpasses any human man you have encountered. I am so strong I have to be mindful of it, or I could a crush a person's hand with the slightest movement. And you are right, I can move fast. You could blink and I would vanish."

That's exactly what I'm afraid of.

"Would you like a trophy?" I asked sarcastically, and his golden eyebrows went up. "I haven't run out that door. I'm not planning on it, either. I told you, I'm looking for somebody, and that's all that truly matters to me. Your secrets are safe with me. Honestly, I don't care about what you are."

Alexandru ran his hand over his jaw. "Well, I don't have time to look for your person. Your time is wasted here, so it is better you forget you ever met me."

He stepped toward me with his hand outstretched and a sudden burst of fear made me step away from him.

"Are you just going to listen to everything your father says for the rest of your life?" I demanded of him.

He looked as though I had slapped him and formed another welt on his cheek. "Believe me, this life is not what I want. But I have been told it is my destiny by thousands in Rome. One day, I will look back at all of this as an honor."

I gazed at him steadily. "I doubt you will."

"Then so be it," he replied. "As my father has made it clear tonight, I have no control over the gladiating games."

"You won't be his pawn forever," I said, wanting nothing more than to cheer him up with hope. "One day, you will be free from all of this, free from him–"

"How do you know?" Alexandru exploded, and my heart clenched. His eyes were gleaming with wetness, and I could see the tremble in his face as he desperately tried to keep it together. "Whatever I am, I still have humanity in me. My father has none. He is empty and cold. I can break, while he is unyielding. If you do not fear me, then you should fear my father. You should want to forget him, so he forgets you."

I wished there was a way for me to make this right. To make him feel like he was still in control, but all I didn't know what to say.

"Tomorrow, I will wipe your memory of this," Alexandru promised, "and you will start fresh on your journey to find your friend. Be grateful for this. It is a gift to forget."

The anger his casual statement had caused me made my blood boil. "I'm not going to let you erase my memories."

He gave a sad smile. "As if you could stop me."

After a long moment of silence and Alexandru looking out over the pool where his father had departed. Suddenly, my stomach gave a great embarrassing gurgle of hunger.

Alexandru turned his head to me with a sigh. "Supper will be ready soon. Are you hungry?"

I kept staring out into the pool with my arms crossed over my chest.

"You're angry," he said, stepping closer to me.

I turned my whole body away from him. Of course, I was fucking angry!

Alexandru growled something crude under his breath. I could hear his heavy steps as he strode out of the courtyard. "Women."

In the silence of the courtyard, my stomach burbled again with hunger. As angry as I was that he planned on wiping my memory, I was absolutely famished. So, I did eventually leave the courtyard to find him in the house.