Shadow appeared to be talking to it.
Right, because they were likely old friends.
Except they seemed to be arguing.
Maybe I’d get to watch the stone creature flay my “intended” alive. Mmm, I’d enjoy that very much. Warmth began to stir inside me at the thought, my initial terror subsiding beneath a much more violent wave.
As long as he didn’t keep me down here for long, I’d be fine.
Which meant I needed to pull myself together and find a way out. Not an easy feat considering he’d locked the door.
What kind of idiot willingly puts himself in a dungeon?
“A smart one,” Shadow replied.
My brow furrowed. “Did I ask that out loud?”
“No, but you practically shouted it at me.” He winced and collapsed onto a pile of pillows on the obsidian floor.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
He tapped his head. “Use your mind, princess.”
Yeah, because you’re so great at using yours, I thought sourly.
He snorted as if he heard that.
Then I realized what he meant.
“Ohhhhh, no. You are so not in my head.” I’d have a colossal headache otherwise.
“No, I’m in your blood, Princess Flower,” he replied, sounding exasperated. “Seriously, do you not study the mating of other cultures where you’re from? Because I had to take an entire semester on your weak kind last year, and while it’s proving to be useful now, it bored me near to death.”
“We are not weak,” I countered. “And for your information, yes, I took one class on fae politics. You want to talk about boring, that course takes the lily cookie.”
“Lily cookie?” he repeated, arching a brow. “What the fuck is a lily cookie?”
“I thought you studied my kind, Shadow. Perhaps you missed that chapter in your book.”
He snorted. “Whatever.” He stretched out his long legs, crossing them at the ankles as he relaxed further into his makeshift bed. “We’re going to be here a while, princess. Best get some rest before the Council delivers their verdict.”
Sleep. Yeah, that was going to happen.
Even with him giving me the bed—a gesture I refused to evaluate—I would never be able to sleep down here. Not with him lurking so close. Or that stone gargoyle hanging out in the corner.
I met the creature’s red eyes and flinched.
As a product of the earth, I should be able to command him.
But the source refused my call just as it had since I arrived in this hell.
“What if I have to use the restroom?” I asked, looking for a way to leave this cell.
Shadow pointed at a bucket in the corner. “Enjoy.”
I gasped. “That’s unacceptable.”
“What’s unacceptable is you still talking. I said it’s time to sleep.”