I expected the Brute to be there when I walked inside.
Instead, the Sorcerer waited.
His ancient face looked almost pleasant when he saw me.
“That was a clever piece of blackmail,” he said. “I’m impressed.”
“You practically handed it to me. Thank you, by the way.”
“Perhaps I made it easy, but you were intelligent enough to take advantage of the opportunity. Most people don’t. You have a sharp instinct.”
He peered into my palm and whistled.
“I think you will do supremely well in the next phase of your life, Addie.”
“I don’t even know what these are worth,” I admitted.
“With the money you have in your hand right now, you could live in very elegant apartments with a servant or two in the Capital City for three months.”
I’m fairly certain my mouth dropped open as I stared at him, unable to speak.
The Sorcerer laughed.
“If you’re up for the post, you would make a marvelous assistant for me once this little arrangement comes to an end.”
“I don’t think so,” I muttered. “But I would be grateful if you taught me about money and apartments and the Capital City. I don’t know anything about life without servitude.”
He nodded.
“Of course, I will. It’s the least I can do after the unexpected pleasure you brought me.”
“What are you talking about?”
The Sorcerer raised his hairless brows and his smile widened, showing all of his long, yellowed teeth, making crevasses at the edges of his colorless eyes.
“I didn’t expect you to be a born voyeur,” he murmured.
“What’s a voyeur?”
“Somebody who likes to watch.”
I blushed so hard I thought my head would explode. I was horrified the Brute had seen me like that. The Sorcerer roared with laughter.
“Nothing escapes my notice, dear Addie. I thought you knew that about me by now.”
He chuckled some more while I forced myself to gain composure.
“Most only grow aroused watching others,” he mused. “You actually climaxed, and very intensely. But that is often how it goes with mating pain and pleasure.”
“It wasn’t like that!” I protested. “What you were doing to her sickened me.”
The Sorcerer raised his brows even higher, and shrugged.
“From what I observed, you must have liked it some. Perhaps you’re sadistic, and the excitement of watching the Patron’s Daughter take some hard licks was more than you could stand.”
“No, no, no! I don’t even know what that is! Beatings are horrible and I don’t understand how she could like that.”
The Sorcerer said nothing.
I was so unnerved by those colorless eyes looking through me I couldn’t stop myself from going on.
“I was feeling…what she was feeling, but only what felt good. When you were striking her, I felt all tied up inside. If I had tried to eat something I
doubt I would have even been able to swallow. If I had, it would have come back up. But then, something shifted. Something started to feel good, and it was so confusing! Feeling this build up of pleasure and pressure, until…until it couldn’t get any higher and then I felt shattered inside like I was dissolving into light. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”
The Sorcerer peered closely at me.
“Fascinating,” he murmured. “Ironic, really, that you would psychically link to the Patron’s Daughter as if she were your twin. As much as you loathe her, that is truly remarkable.”
Another thought occurred to me.
“How did you know she would like that? How could you know?”
The Sorcerer smiled.
“It was a risk, yes, because I couldn’t know for certain. Yet I’ve always found that the more vicious the sadist, the more frustrated the masochist who hides behind the mask of cruelty. A true sadist works from a cool head, which the Patron’s Daughter lacks. The Noble Son’s rejection was the closest to severity she had ever known. Why else would she lament him so often? Because she savored the pain.”
Of course, at that time, I had no idea what a sadist or masochist was, but I suspected it had something to do with cruelty. I was also too overwhelmed to ask the Sorcerer to enlighten me, but either he read my mind or used his common sense.
“A sadist is one who enjoys inflicting pain, both physical and psychological. A masochist is one who enjoys taking the pain.”
“Are you accusing the Noble Son of being a…a sadist?”
“Of course not. He was a romantic and an idealist, with no interest in the mating dance of pleasure and pain. Confronted with a beautiful young lady who craved it, he was repulsed.”
I had never heard this kind of talk before, but I breathed in relief when he denied the Noble Son being cruel.
The Sorcerer chuckled at my obvious ignorance.
I had never heard this kind of talk before, but I breathed in relief when he denied the Noble Son being cruel. The Sorcerer chuckled at my obvious ignorance.
I nodded.
“You ought to make a fortune by the time we’re through.”
As usual, the Sorcerer was right.
I did.
