The door had barely closed behind Elarliya when the expression on Merek's face shifted... slowly, strangely, like a crack spreading through stone.
Then he laughed.
A low, sharp laugh burst out of him as he dragged a hand down his face, shaking his head.
"So silly," he muttered to himself, still smirking. "What a witch…"
He wasn't angry. Not even close.
He was entertained.
He had never met anyone like her. The way she snapped, the way she hid her cruelty behind that sharp tongue, the way her eyes burned like she wanted to peel his skin off every time he touched her.
He loved it.
He loved her... not in the soft, romantic way other men fell in love, but in the twisted, obsessive way a monster admired another monster.
"She thinks she can fool me…" he murmured, licking his teeth. "But I like her. I like her a little too much."
His smile darkened.
"But business is more important right now."
