“She’s always looking back, with regret. She made a mistake, leaving, and she knows it. I do hope you won’t be painted that way, Sunny.”
She looked at the painting again, assessing the implications. Could the other men and women be failed apprentices, the depth of their delineation representing the time spent with him?
He stood by, apparently waiting for her verdict on his masterpiece.
“It’s a vivid work, and clearly Raven’s Landing.”
Fox preened.
“It would benefit from a smidge of forest, or evidence of the meadows,” she quickl
y added.
A thought turned over in her mind. “You’re not big on nature, are you, Fox?”
“Women’s nonsense.” His smile tightened.
Aha! Now she was getting somewhere.
No wonder he came across as such a weirdo. Even she knew nature was at the very core of those who were magical. If he despised nature, he was effectively an aberration amongst magical folk. It represented a chink in his armor, she realized, and clung to the revelation.
Now she’d seen a chink, she felt stronger.
As long as she kept him from sensing the coven, she’d carry on chipping away at him. Maybe he already knew they were there outside and was enjoying an audience. Maybe he’d set his hell hounds on them. She couldn’t risk the resources to figure it out for sure. All she could do right then was keep his attention on her. “Maybe I can inspire you to add more detail?”
She put out her hands, palms facing up, and channeled her emotions about nature, forming an image of trees and meadow flowers in the palm of her hands.
Fox glanced at her image with disdain. “You seem intent on flexing your magical muscles.”
“The novelty, I guess.” Sunny shrugged, allowed the image to dissolve, and followed when he walked back to the table, attempting to block his view of the window as she did so. There was, however, no longer any sign of life, and the bar seemed to be propped at a slight angle.
He gestured at the table, where the parchment still rested. “Sign the contract.”
There was no way she was even picking it up, let alone signing it. She opted for a different strategy. “Why do you feel you have to trap people here? Especially when they come willingly?”
He flinched. It was barely tangible, but it happened. His lips twitched and his eyes flickered.
Oh yes, she’d touched a raw nerve there. He didn’t like the fact she’d figured his game. It gave her strength and she had the urge to do battle. So she didn’t leave it there. She pressed on. “I just don’t get it. I came here willingly. Why the steel bars? It’s hardly going to make me feel relaxed and content enough to learn from you now, is it?”
“I like to be in control.”
“I’ve heard that about you.”
“I bet you have.”
In that moment, she really did want this fight. She might regret pushing it forward, but she was done playing the simpering maiden for him. She’d followed her grandmother’s advice on how to get entry to his fortress. She’d followed Celeste’s advice on how to make him trust her. But now Sunny was thinking on her feet, striding out on her own, forging her own path.
“Women are notoriously difficult to control,” she commented, “even those with a submissive nature.” She paused and offered him a wily smile. “Are you really man enough to control a woman like me?”
He lifted his chin. “You’re here, aren’t you?”
“I came of my own accord.”
“So you believe.” He smirked, but he didn’t look quite so sure now.
“No, really I did. I’m enjoying this game. It’s fun.” She meshed her fingers and cracked her knuckles. “There’s something you don’t know about me, Fox. My blood is only half Raven’s Landing blood. The other half comes in part from an ancient tribe who had their own little...rituals.”
His eyes rounded as he took in her meaning.