I grunted, wishing this pain would stop, along with the indecision. “So you made me.”
He nodded. “So I made you. And I swore I’d be the most doting husband in the world.”
“We’re not married.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “No, we’re not. At least not in the eyes of the law. But then, you’re not a person in the eyes of the law.”
My grip tightened on the gun. The way he said it felt cold. Something I had never heard from him before.
“You kept me hostage.”
“I kept you safe.” The coldness now had a hard edge.
“You kept me away from other people. You were scared I’d leave you like she did.”
“And you did.” He glared at me. “The first chance you got, you fucked a stranger.”
My teeth clacked and I flinched slightly.
"How did it feel?" He took a step toward me. "Riding up and down on his cock? Moaning like a damn bitch in heat. Did you like his cock better than mine?"
A dark shadow pressed against my mind. "You were watching us?"
He rolled his eyes. "Dear, sweet, Lenore. So naive. Yes, I was watching you. I've been watching you the whole time."
"Of course you were." I shook my head. It should have surprised me, but after everything it just didn't.
"You've been trying to solve the mystery for months. Snooping around." He waved a hand at me. "All you had to do was move forward. Why couldn't you do that?"
"Cooper was right. You've been monitoring the phones. Blocking me out so I couldn't find the truth."
"The spell should have kept you in line."
"Fuck you." My chest tightened so hard, I fell from the chair. “Erik... what...”
“A fail-safe.” He pushed off the table and walked over to me. “Anytime you thought about betraying me or even lying to me, I know you felt it. That tiny bit of pain in your chest. An omen of guilt. The worse the betrayal, the worse the pain.”
“How did you—“
“Necromancy is a wonderful thing.” He knelt beside me and took the gun from my hand. “Which I know it surprises you, because I’m a man of science. But if I’ve learned anything, it’s that there’s room in the world for both.”
The pain kept me from replying. My heart pounded harder. Pain flourished.
“I thought I’d figured it out.” He stood and rubbed his chin. “Maybe when I fumbled for that moment. It shocked me. I never expected it to work. But it did, and you saved my life, Lenore.”
I laid down, my breath getting quicker. The shards of broken glass from the broken picture frame bit into my arms. But it was nothing compared to the tightness in my chest.
“But, Cooper…”
“The spell should have deterred you from even thinking about being with another man” Erik said. He sat in the chair, set the gun next to the keyboard, and typed in the password to his computer. “I must make sure not to get distracted next time. “
“Erik.” My fingers clawed at the ground, as if somehow I’d grip onto something that would save me. “Erik, please. If I saved your life, spare mine now.”
The keyboard clacked a few more times, and then he pulled a key ring from his pocket. He chose a small key and then unlocked the bottom drawer of his desk. He pulled out an old, leather-bound book with sigils and engravings. A picture of it had been in his files, so I knew exactly what it was.
The Necromancer’s Handbook. At least that’s what he had called it. What it said on the cover, I did not understand.
The pain intensified again, and I cried out. It felt like something heavy sat on my chest. Like my heart was too big to fit.
“I know it hurts.” He spun in the chair and came over to me. “I’m glad it does.”
My back arched off the floor. Dark appeared under my skin, black and inky like a poison—or death coming to reclaim me.
He watched me curiously for a few moments, his head tilted. Then he sat on the floor and lifted my head into his lap, stroking my hair softly. It became hard to breathe. My body jerked involuntarily.
“Shh,” he said. “It’ll be over soon.”
My hands flopped on the ground. My eyes rolled back into my head. I didn’t want to die. Not when I had never had the chance to live.
Erik’s eyes were back to the calm, sweet eyes I remembered. It was soothing. I got lost in them. Instead of going fast, my heartbeat slowed. Even though I couldn’t breathe, I no longer panicked. Darkness tinged the edge of the world. Erik stroked my face. My arm fell to the side, resting on the cold floor, as my body relaxed.
And a large shard grazed against the skin of my fingers.
The will to live surged back through me.
I gripped the glass and swung. Erik screamed as it sliced through his cheek. I pulled hard. Blood poured from his face, splashing against mine. Adrenaline coursed through me, and my heart gave a hard boom. I pushed up from the floor and grabbed the gun. Erik still held his face, screaming and cursing for the half Glasgow smile he’d just received.
I pointed the gun at him, half hunched over, running on raw determination and survival instinct.
“Reverse it.” I all but croaked. The black vines all but covered my arms now. "Reverse this. Now."
He glowered at me. It was a mixture of betrayal and anger, etched in every line of his face.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked. “Why couldn’t you just be devoted to me?”
Maybe if he’d given me the free will to choose, I might have been. Instead, he’d tried to turn me into a prisoner because of his fear.
“Reverse the damn spell!” I screamed. To prove my point, I shot the gun an
