journey, I would have given her the book. I would have made a deal with the Dominions to bloody the whole world. I still thought about doing it, right up until the end. "
"What happened?"
"You. I used you that first night because I wanted sex, so I gave you drugged wine. I needed someone to stand next to me at Madame Cinders, so I took you along. I needed someone who knew Hell, so I dragged you into something that could have killed you a thousand times. And I wouldnt have blinked if it had. Every time you gave me something I needed, I was ready to cut you loose. I was stringing you along because I knew how. "
"If you came back all this way just to call me a sucker to my face, mission accomplished. "
Shrike came closer, resting a hand on the bikes throttle, not touching him.
"I kept waiting for you to bolt. I kept waiting for you to catch on and sell me out. Betray me. But you wouldnt. At first I thought you were playing a game, angling to get the book for yourself. Then, I decided it was simple self-preservation. You wanted to get out alive and get the magic to restore your precious ignorance. But you kept not betraying me. You kept…?" She hesitated.
"Caring about you?"
"I told myself you were trying to manipulate me, but you gave the book to Madame Cinders to save my father. Then you destroyed the book, and I knew youd never tried to deceive me. I would have killed anyone to have the power in that book. You already had it in your hands and you threw it away. I know you wanted to save your world, but I think partly you did it for me. "
"You know I did. "
She looked way and frowned. "And I couldnt bear that. I couldnt look you in the eyes after
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