“What’s wrong?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Don’t want to get into it,” I mumble.
Damon nods. “So that’s it, huh?”
I narrow my eyes. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll ask Sage for help, but why won’t you ask me? Don’t you think I’m in a unique position where I might actually be able to talk to the demon and get somewhere versus Sage having to just tail the guy and observe him?”
“You were eavesdropping,” I accuse.
“I just don’t understand why you won’t ask me for help with Zoth. That’s all.”
“And you only know that I asked Sage for help because you were listening in on a private conversation.”
“It’s hard not to overhear people when they’re shouting.”
I grit my teeth. “We weren’t that loud, and you weren’t nearly close enough to have overheard without using magic, so don’t pretend otherwise, Damon. As for why I didn’t ask you… Maybe I’m reeling from the fight I just had with Sage. Maybe I hadn’t gotten a chance to yet, but you jumped down my throat without giving me time to. Or maybe I decided I’ll just handle things myself.”
“Like you always do.”
I shrug and put a hand on my hip. “What’s the harm in that? I get things done.”
"I'm not going to say that the way Sage treated you was wrong. We both know it was so we'll leave it at that. The meaning behind the words… You can't deny that sometimes, it's better to do things in pairs or small groups. Just to be safe."
“I don’t think I have any reason to fear Zoth,” I protest.
"You didn't think you had any reason to fear Thistle either and look how that turned out."
“This is different,” I argue.
“Is it? You’re worried that a demon is, what, using your sister? Is that your concern?”
“I… Yes,” I admit.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a half-demon help you with this?”
“Maybe, but maybe I think it best to just go about things alone.”
Damon nods a few times and looks over my shoulder versus at me directly. "You keep doing that, and that's how you'll end up, Rosemary. You'll be all alone."
I swallow hard. “Why does that sound like a threat?” I whisper.
“Damn it, Rosemary, it’s not a fucking threat. It’s a sad reality, a reality I don’t want you to face, but think about this. Sage and I both are trying to protect you.”
“From Zoth?” I cross my arms. “He won’t hurt me.”
“Because he cares for your sister? But then why do you want to go after him after in the first place? Oh, yes, because you don’t trust him, and you’re worried he’ll hurt her.”
I say nothing.
“And that’s not even to talk about who we are trying to protect you from in actuality.”
I narrow my eyes. My stomach twists, and I really don’t want to hear what he has to say. I hate that I fought with Sage, and now, I’m fighting with Damon. Today is turning into one of the worst days ever.
“We want to protect you from you,” Damon says, his tone turning softer, gentler from his harsh, bitter one moments ago. He’s turned off the sarcasm and turned on a low heat that should warm me with his compassion but instead reignites the fire of anger burning hot throughout me.
"Protect me from me. As if I'm a child who doesn't know any better. Forgive me, but no one suspected Thistle, am I right? Certainly not the guards or any of the official investigators of the murders. In fact, I'm pretty sure they suspected you. I never did, not for one second, and I defended you. I knew you were innocent. Just because I was blindsided like everyone else—everyone else including you!—doesn't mean that I'm naïve and foolish."
He opens his mouth, but I’m not done.
“I don’t want to have to deal with judgment from you or from Sage or anyone else. That’s not right, and it’s not fair.”
“The world isn’t fair.”
“Don’t I know it,” I say bitterly. “I know better than most.”
“You try too hard.”
“Try to what too hard?” I spit out.
"You want to change the world for the better, and it's admirable. I won't deny that, but the world is always going to push back. There can't be good without evil. There can't be light without dark."
“My sister doesn’t need more darkness in her life.”
His eyes flash darkly. “Are you truly worried about your sister? About her heart? Her soul? Or are you more concerned by the fact that her boyfriend is a demon?”
I gape at him. “Do you honestly think that his being a demon is the issue here?”
“Why do you think that he isn’t good enough for her?” he challenges, lifting his chin.
"I saw them together. She adores him, but he doesn't pay her much attention or affection or anything. She's like a puppy dog, begging for him to throw anything her way, and I just… He's using her. I don't know why or for what, but he is. I know he is, and—"
“Some people like to be used,” Damon says softly.
“No.” I shake my head vigorously. “No, Bay wouldn’t degrade herself—”
“She’s ‘degraded’ herself by dating a demon, hasn’t she?” he mocks.
My nostrils flare. “You’re putting words into my mouth.”
“I’m just voicing your thoughts aloud.”
“Because you can read my mind.” I scowl. “Do you honestly think my issue stems from his being a demon?”
“You tell me,” he says coolly, suddenly acting indifferent, as if he doesn’t care anymore.
“That’s not the issue at all!”
“If she were dating a fairy—”
“She’s not, and playing the ‘what if’ game won’t help any. Just stop, Damon. You know how I feel about you—”
“Do I? Honestly, sometimes, Rosemary, I question that. I question what I mean to you, what Sage means to you, and then I just stop.”
“Stop what?” I murmur, dreading the answer.
“Stop forcing myself to care so damn much,” he growls.
“And what does that mean?”
“We aren’t dating, and even if you could claim in some way that you’re dating both Sage and me, we wouldn’t be
