Drown Under Earth - Shadows of the Night 3

Chapter 61

Hi,

another busy week. And another chapter with a major jaw-dropper. :-) Did any of you suspect anything? Any ideas about what could happen next? Let me know!

Thanks for reading!

Lara

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Chapter 61

His gaze was above and beyond anything human. Alexander was staring at me, as if he could read my every thought, my every emotion.

For once, I was open about what I really thought. I believed he’d stop with the mind games. I was wrong. We were in one.

And if I lost my head right now, it could hurt me worse than a headshot.

If words could truly hurt more than actions, I did not have them. I was too exhausted, too washed-out and empty by the sudden absence of adrenaline. All that was left was the bitter smack of anger.

I’d been taking great pains to keep our master servant relationship a secret. From Brown. From the Circle. From my friends… From Andy. By telling Andy I was staying with him, Alexander practically shoved the truth I’d been trying to hide for so long into Andy’s face. Andy wasn’t stupid. He’d put two and two together and come up with answers I’d refused to give so far.

And what did Alexander do it for? His ego?

Yeah, it was a big part of it. But there was something else. I was Alexander’s human servant. He had made it abundantly clear that his servants were not to fool around with anyone of the opposite sex. Or, now that I thought about it, I believed the original wording was ‘anyone else,’ which would include non-gender-crossing-sexual activities too. A snort worked its way up my throat, died away before it could come out. Did that also apply to his other human servant Jack?

Smooth way to come out of the closet, Alexander.

Not that it mattered. Sex and romance weren’t what this was about. To the contrary, it was all about possession. Staking his claim and making sure that I knew he was the one in power. Alexander didn’t give a flying fuck about me. I was a human servant – a tool and an asset that could be helpful to varying degrees. A human servant was supposed to-

“You should be very careful, little witch.”

Alexander’s voice cut through my thoughts like a naked, two-edged sword. My eyes snapped to his face. He was standing in front of me, closer than before – far too close and far too big.

“A majority of the human population walks through their short lives without even knowing what it is they desire,” he continued. “They envy those who know and are not afraid to take what they want.”

The lingering, dark streak of silence in his voice had me go still.

“Indecision stems from cowardice and not knowing oneself – something you should be very familiar with. Do not condemn me for who and what I am. Do not act as though I breached the terms of our blood contract. I did not. It is you who refuses to acknowledge its existence in the first place. It is you who refuses to accept what is real.”

My hands curled, fingernails digging into the cushioned couch. The plush velvet felt like warm dirt. Enough was enough.

“I’ve been smacked upside down with your so-called reality more times than I can count in the last few weeks! And let me tell you this: Yes, I’ve had it up to here with dealing with reality, but I’m not stupid! You should know best that there’s more than one truth and one reality,” I snapped. “Besides, I know exactly what and who you are,” I added.