Page 43 of Once Upon a Fable

It was inevitable.

It was human nature.

It was the oldest trick in the goddamn book.

It had also been used against me far too many times to count.

And I won’t let it be used again.

“Gemma Ashford. But everyone calls me Gem.”

“I don’t care.” Dropping my gaze to my plate, I snatched a strawberry and shoved it into my mouth. First, I would eat. And then, I would kill.

She was nothing more than a creature caught in my snare with a broken leg and a bloody hide. I was doing her a favor. She’d thank me for—

“What’syourname?” she asked, her voice quiet but strong.

I kept chewing and ignored her.

“What is this place?” She waved around the cell. “How many live here? Is it just you? Where are you from originally? Have you been here long—”

“Shut up. Eat. I don’t have all day to finish this.”

“Finish what?” Her voice caught with fear.

I looked up.

We made eye contact.

She sucked in a breath, reading the truth of what I meant. Not finish breakfast. Finish her.

Shaking her head slightly, she bit her bottom lip. “Why?”

Once again, I ignored her, grabbing the bread and tearing a mouthful off with my teeth. Her questions had made my own spring up. What was the world like these days? Where had she used to live? Did she have a husband back home? Would anyone miss her when I buried her in the garden? What was her favorite season?

I need to know everything.

I don’t need to know a thing.

Stuffing a snow pea into my mouth, I chewed hard and fast.

Sensing my animosity, she reached for her own plate. She went to grab a strawberry, but then she paused. Throwing me a suspicious glance, she watched as I selected a stick of celery and crunched.

Swallowing, I cocked my head. Her stare made my hair stand on end. “What?”

“You tried to kill me yesterday, and you just admitted that’s still your intention. Is this how you’ll do it? Is that why you’ve given me food?”

“I’ve given you food so you don’t die on an empty stomach. It’s called being kind.”

Her nose scrunched in disgust. “Kindis letting me go. Kind is not touching me. Kind is letting melive.”

“Then eat, and you’ll live a little longer.”

She held up the berry I’d painstakingly nurtured from seed to fruit. “Is it poisoned?”

I turned to chilly stone. “I’d never tamper with food that way.”

“Yet you’ll tamper with my life.”