Page 119 of A Deal in Darkness
ADRIANA
“Please talk about it?”
Enzo stares at me with eyes the color of darkness and the starlight flowing through them is dazzling. He's been watching me ever since we returned from Hell, concerned I'm not handling what happened down there. It’s been days and Enzo hasn’t taken his eyes off me, making sure I’m cared for in every way.
I shake my head and leave the sitting room. He doesn't follow as I retreat upstairs, finding an oversized sweater to throw on. He won't let me have too much time to myself and my time's already up when I emerge into his bedroom.
“We need to talk, Adriana.”
“What difference will it make?”
He smiles sadly and the boyish charm returns. He's stunningly handsome and I almost lose myself for a moment, forgetting that his beautiful exterior conceals a monster underneath.
“Maybe all the difference in the world.”
Enzo moves toward me and I turn away. He grabs my wrist and I don't fight him. There's no point. I always lose, no matter what I do. I'm resigned to this now I've realized the futility of fighting him. He's just too strong and I never stood a chance.
“Let's go somewhere, baby. We'll talk about whatever you want. I'll explain everything.”
He looks as desperate as he sounds. The timbre of his voice betrays his concern and, for a moment, I wonder if he actually cares. But then I remember that would require empathy—and Enzo doesn't know the meaning of the word.
“Fine.”
A smile lights his face and he pulls me to him. Clearly, he doesn't understand that fine does not mean fine. It means I'm saying whatever you want to hear to shut you up because I'm too tired to argue. I can't be bothered to lose another battle. I don't have it in me to make my wishes known.
“I hear you, baby. Even when you're silent.”
He picks me up like I'm a damsel in distress and I sink against his chest. The asshole purrs and I wish I didn't like it.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask, resigned to this.
“Wherever you want to go,” he says, carrying me down the corridor and through the door that leads to my place.
It's as beautiful as before. As serene and tranquil. As utterly different as the garden while still being paradise.
The sky is a shade of blue that's darker than midnight and stars shoot across it, dancing as they chart a course that is impossible anywhere but here. Cherry blossom falls and the trees are bursts of pink and white and the streams that flow beneath them are broken up by bridges connecting one island to another.
“This place is whatever you need and want it to be, Adi,” Enzo reminds me. “Take us wherever you want.”
He carries me along a path and I stare at the lily pads and reeds that adorn the gently running streams. Gravel crunches beneath his feet as we make our way through the garden. Its reds and greens of the garden contrast but don't clash, and there's balance here. A harmony in the opposition. Equal but opposite in their forces.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask.
Enzo dips his head. “Doing what?”
“This.” I tap his chest. “I've seen you, Amaymon. Why bother hiding it?”
He ducks under a branch and we make our way into the woods.
“I thought you would find this easier, Adriana. You prefer this form. The shock must be quite overwhelming.”
I shake my head, and he stops. Dead.
“I wasn't shocked, Enzo. Or frightened. Or appalled or disgusted or anything else you might be thinking.”
He stares at me in disbelief and for once he's going to accept I'm right.
“Not with you. The thing that attacked me was gross and the others were horrible.” I meet his gaze and refuse to back down. “Particularly the demon with the shiny robes. He was disgusting.”
