“You see?” Klara says with a triumphant smirk.
My eyes narrow. That comment sounds like one of many from a long-standing argument, but I am in no mood to decipher the meaning. Not when Alienor is still under suspicion of colluding with me to hurt the coven.
“What do you want from me?” I snap.
The grandmother bares her teeth. “Silence.” Her tone is as cold as winter and promises an eternity of torment. “I will set the pace of this interrogation.”
A shiver runs down my spine.
“Was this your plan all along?” the grandmother asks. “To manipulate Alienor into a magic-less state to render her powerless?”
My nostrils flare.
The grandmother is astute. I turn my gaze to Alienor, who stares at me through watery eyes.
How could I admit to her and in front of her entire coven that I wanted her dead? Not just dead, but I wanted her writhing beneath me, begging for more and more until I shattered the chastity curse with my claws and cock.
“Answer me,” she hisses.
When I remain silent, she turns to Klara, who carves another slice of magic into my skin.
“What was your plan for Alienor?” the grandma asks once more.
“I needed to break through the enchantment protecting her. I wanted to break through the curse.”
“How?”
Regret weighs heavily in my gut, pressing down on me even harder than the witches’ magic. I must guard my words.
If they discovered that somewhere during my quest for vengeance, I realized Alienor was not my wife, they would want to know how. They would want every detail of how she took me in her mouth and caressed my accursed cock until I spilled centuries of pent-up spunk.
My jaw clenches. No.
I could never besmirch the honor of a woman I have come to love. If I fail to defeat these witches, Alienor will be alone and in need of a family. I cannot let them cast her out.
“Answer my question!” The grandmother’s voice becomes shrill. “How did you intend to break the chastity curse?”
My throat tightens, the markings on my skin writhing with shame. I glance into Alienor’s pleading eyes. She wants me to tell the truth so her coven might show me mercy. She doesn’t understand that these witches do not know the meaning of compassion.
Her aunt makes another slash of magic across my face.
I grind out the words, “My curse was to be broken with Alienor’s death.”
The grandmother’s slow nod tells me everything I need to know about my fate. I will either not leave this house alive or they will transport me to their stronghold to draw out my torture.
She raises her brows. “And you stole her underwear because?”
“It was the only way to obtain relief under the chastity curse,” I mutter.
A few of the younger witches at the back snicker as though the agony and frustration a man ensures when his cock is imprisoned is a source of amusement.
I raise my chin and search out the faces within the crowd.
Let them laugh.
If they are foolish enough to return me to the grandmother’s house, I will be the one to make them scream.
“I’ve heard enough.” The grandmother flicks her wand and floats me across the room. “It’s time to take this scoundrel to our ritual room.”