Chapter 62 The Offer

Chapter 62 The Offer
Chapter 62: The Offer
Then, unfortunately, the coward mare didn’t even make it to the edge of the woods before a dark shadow dropped from the branches above. 
“Damn it!!”
The horse shrieked, buckling under the sudden weight, and Neria went flying into the dirt for the second time in twenty minutes.
"Oh, come on!" Neria yelled, spitting out a mouthful of dead leaves. "Are you literal birds? Stop dropping from the sky!"
"Did you really think a kiss would make me forget who I am, Neria?"
Sebastian was right there, his breathing looked heavy, his silver hair looked slightly messy from their previous encounter. 
He looked completely unhinged. 
The royal mask was gone, but his reflection turned into a dark, obsessive hunger that made the hairs on Neria’s arms stand up.
The crown prince reached down and yanked her to her feet with a strength like iron.
"Let go of me, Sebastian," Neria snapped, trying to shake him off. "The joke is over."
"No, it is not," Sebastian whispered, pulling her so close their noses almost touched. "I don’t understand what kind of witchcraft you are using on me. I ordered your death, Neria. I watched the poison enter your glass in my mind. I saw the blade cut your throat. Yet every time I look at you, my heart beats like a madman. I cannot stay away from you. What did you do to me?"
Neria stared at him, her mind started spinning like she was in a hurricane, at top speed. 
‘The loop is leaking into his brain.’ She knew Neria could not run this time. She needed to adapt, or round three would end right here in the mud.
"I did not use magic, Sebastian," Neria said, forcing her voice to go lower. "You are just finally waking up to reality."
"You are a wicked woman," Sebastian hissed, his eyes traced her face. "Everyone in the capital knows you are cruel. They know you love nothing but silk and vanity. Why do I feel like you are the only real thing in this kingdom?"
"Because I am the only one who does not pretend to be holy," Neria replied, lifting her chin. "You want to know how I survived your little plots? It is because I am smarter than you. But instead of fighting about the past, why don't we talk about the future?"
Sebastian narrowed his eyes and tightened his hold on her wrists. "The future? You think you have a future with me after stealing from my belt?"
"I am offering you an alliance, Sebastian," Neria stated, ignoring the sting in her arms.
"An alliance?" Sebastian laughed in a pretty harsh, dry sound. "With the Duke's wicked daughter? What could you possibly offer me? Magic? You just said you do not have any. Money? My treasury is full enough."
"I am not offering you magic, and I am definitely not offering you money," Neria replied and looked straight into his blue eyes. "I am offering you my true self. The woman who knows exactly how this kingdom falls. The woman who can see right through your royal lies."
Sebastian went completely still. "Your true self? That is a very dangerous currency, Neria. You are famous for being a liar."
"A liar knows exactly how to catch other liars," Neria countered in a spicy tone. "You are surrounded by people who smile at you while holding knives behind their backs. Your father is losing his mind. The Saintess is coming to take your power. You are alone, Sebastian. You have always been alone. But with me, you get a partner who knows them well enough to avoid, like creating a script."
"You speak of scripts as if you are a god," Sebastian murmured, shaking his head weakly. "It is highly suspicious. Why would the woman who hated me suddenly want to stand by my side?"
"Because I like breathing," Neria used her favorite honest lie. "And because I know that if you fall, this entire palace burns to ash. I want to live, Sebastian. And to live, I need the most dangerous man in the kingdom to stop trying to kill me."
Sebastian stared at her for a long time. The wind howled through the willow trees, kicking up dead leaves around them. 
He looked at her green eyes, searching for the trick, but Neria kept her expression perfectly blank, like an expert villainess at work.
"You want my protection," Sebastian nodded.
"I do. I want you to call off your assassins. I want you to tell your guards that I am untouchable. In return, I will make sure you stay on that throne."
Sebastian slowly let go of her wrists. He smoothed down his dark riding jacket and returned to his royal composure piece by piece. 
A chilling, dark smile spread across his lips.
"Very well," Sebastian called softly. "You have my protection, Lady Neria. No guard will touch you. No assassin will seek your head. I will make you the safest woman in this kingdom."
Neria exhaled a tiny breath of relief. "Good. Then we have a deal."
"Not so fast," Sebastian interrupted, changing his tone that made the temperature in the forest drop. "My protection does not come for free. I have one condition."
"Name it," Neria said, keeping her face up. "But if it involves dresses, the answer is no."
"It is much simpler than that," Sebastian whispered, stepping so close she could feel the cold leather of his armor. 
The crown prince reached out, his long fingers gently wrapped around her throat, not squeezing, but resting right over her pulse.
 "If you are offering me your true self, then you belong to me completely. If I ever find out you are lying to me, if you take one step out of line, I will not just kill you, Neria."
"What will you do?" Neria asked.
Her voice cracked weakly under his touch.
"I will lock you in the deep dark beneath the palace," Sebastian murmured, his eyes danced with a terrifying, quiet madness.
“What…?”
 "I will keep your heart beating with magic, but I will strip away your sight, your hearing, and your voice. You will live for a hundred years in absolute nothingness, knowing that the only person who can hear your silent screams is me. Do you accept my condition, my love?"
Neria felt a chilly sweat break out across her neck. The image was horrific, and entirely matching his sociopathic nature. 
This was the real Sebastian, the monster from the final chapters of the book.
She swallowed hard against his fingers, forced a wicked smile to her face, and nodded.
"I accept," Neria muttered. "Just make sure you do not regret keeping a viper in your bed, Prince."
"I never regret my choices," Sebastian’s lips formed a small smile, then he removed his hand from her neck and bowed with perfect royal grace. "Go back to your horse, Neria. Your protection begins now. Do not make me regret it."