NARRATOR

"No, of course not!" Laziel exclaimed, breaking out of the imperturbable image he always showed. "I knew you could control it, my love, you were never in danger, Lavinia..."

"Sure, because you set me up with a test, but you were still watching to see if I screwed up... Did you trust me or not?... And don't touch me!"

She slapped his hand away when he reached to caress her face.

For the first time, Lavinia saw a crack in her male’s perfection as he slowly withdrew his hand.

Something hadn’t gone the way he’d planned.

"Lavi..."

"Call me Lavinia, because that nickname is really bothering me right now," she shot back mercilessly, watching Laziel’s jaw muscles tighten under the strain.

His eyes held storms Lavinia had never seen until now.

"I did it to make you stronger; your specter was missing her motivation, you gave her a reason to stay and obey you... truly obey without resisting."

Laziel slowly explained what Lavinia had already figured out.

When he found Electra’s mate-spec