I paced in the room. Obviously, despite the fact that I'd basically, and falsely, claimed loyalty to Dorian, he still didn't trust me. I'd been escorted here and commanded to wait until a designated officer came to pick me up, and I had no idea when that would be.

I ran my hands through my hair and winced at all the tangles and knots there. I knew that I'd been in a scuffle, but had it really been that bad? This wasn't the most welcoming room in the facility and didn't come with commodities like a mirror, so I had no way of checking.

I sighed and slid down the wall, sitting down so that my knees reached my chest. All I could think about was Alex. What were they doing to him? Now that they had me, they had no use for him. It would be easier to get rid of him. I quickly shook the thought from my head, though. If they were smart, they would know that the moment they got rid of him, they got rid of me too. They wouldn't make suck a risky decision like that.

"Why do these things always happen to me?" I muttered.

Suddenly, the swooshing sound of a door sliding open had me jumping to my feet. I frowned, expecting to see Dorian's cheeky face again, but instead, Hira stood in the doorway, her arms crossed and her expression passive. "Sup bitch." She said simply.

"Hira." I practically hissed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Hira rolled her eyes as if that was the dumbest question in the world. "Dorian sent me to get you. He wants to see you."

"Well, I've seen enough of him." I sassed.

"You didn't have a choice." Hira said, her eyes glowing golden as she held her hand out towards me. Before I realized what was happening, my vision went black and I collapsed.

                                                                                            _ _ _ _

I shot up and gasped as though I'd been submerged under water for the past twenty minutes and this was my first breath of air.

"Good! You're awake! I was starting to think that Hira had brought me your corpse." I heard a voice behind me say.

I closed my eyes and sighed in aggravation. I silently prayed for death as I turned around and faced Dorian once again.

He smiled at me and stood up, offering his hand out for me to take. I frowned and stood up on my own, glaring at him fiercely.

Dorian blinked at me before he retracted his hand. "Wow. How rude." He huffed.

"Where's Alex?" I demanded.

Dorian rolled his eyes. "You have a real one track mind, you know that?" He deadpanned. I narrowed my eyes at him and continued to glare.

Dorian scoffed. "Geez. Okay. Wow, you're a mean one. Follow me." Dorian sighed and walked over to the door before placing his hand on the scanner and opening the door.

I made a mental note of it as we walked past. The floors were a dull, metallic grey, with walls and a ceiling to match. The only sounds that I heard were the sound of Dorian and I's footsteps on the floor. Occasionally, a group of armed guards would walk by and salute to Dorian, who would return the gesture. Other than that, it was just Dorian and I.

"So," Dorian began, not bothering to look back at me. "How have your accommodations been thus far?"

"Not accommodating." I said blatantly.

"Well then I'll see to that as soon as possible." He flexed his fingers a bit and cracked his knuckles, which added an eerie atmosphere to the room. "You and Alex, how long have you two known each other?"

I opened my mouth to tell him that was none of his business, but he held up a hand to silence me. "Before you tell me to mind my own affairs, I think I'll remind you that your affairs are now my own, Circe. We're...business partners in a sense, now. Also, I have the power to sentence your boyfriend to death at any moment, so I suggest you humor me for a few minutes." He glanced back at me and smirked once he saw my angered expression.

"A few months ago. About nine months to be exact." I mumbled.

Dorian whistled in response. "Nine months? Wow. That's quite a relationship you two have built up. Might I ask, when did your feelings for him develop?"

"Why are you asking me all these stupid questions?" I seethed.

"Tame your temper, Ms. Lewis. I'm just curious." Dorian said with a wave of his hand.

"Curiosity killed the cat." I stated.

"And satisfaction brought it back." Dorian winked at me with his sly, sickening smile. I almost wished someone would kill me right then and end my suffering. I couldn't spend another second with this man. I was sure I was going to rip out my own jugular from how annoying he was being.

With a sigh, I responded nonetheless. "Early on. We didn't act on or feelings until four or five months into knowing each other, though." Dorian nodded. "I can tell you two are very close." He said simply.

His eyes grew a distant, forlorn look. I could tell he was thinking about something, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

"So," I began, "What about you? Did you ever have anyone special in your life?" I asked him. If he got to be pushy, then so did I.

"I don't recall giving you permission to ask about my life." Dorian replied smoothly.

"And I didn't give you permission either, and yet, you still pried." I retorted.

Dorian glanced back at me with narrowed eyes. He turned away with a scoff.

My mind suddenly drifted back to his sudden outburst. That name he'd called echoed in my mind.

"What about the Lilith girl you were talking about?"

Dorian stiffened up. "I'd prefer to keep my past and my present rather separated." He stated. "Besides, Lilith is none of your business."

"Just like Alex is none of your business."

"Yes, but he's my prisoner, so he is, in fact, my business."

"According to what?"

"According to me, so I'd appreciate it if you don't take my generosity for granted and stop prying into my life." Dorian said, his eyes glowing faintly in the darkly lit corridor. I got

Lilith was definitely someone of interest. Whenever her name was mentioned, Dorian got tense and defensive. It was almost as though he was...

"Earlier you mentioned that someone had killed her...who?" I asked softly.

Dorian's eyes were blazing now, "Circe, I have told you ONCE before! DO NOT-"

"LISTEN HERE, YOU SELF CENTERED BITCH!" I exclaimed.

I don't know what came over me, but my eyes narrowed and I felt myself get bolder. I was NOT going to get pushed around by this man. He needed ME! And I was going to make that CLEAR!

"I'm no longer running from you and I don't care how you see it, but you need me! I'm no longer a prisoner here, Dorian. I have just as much power as you over everyone in this building. You gave me that power the moment I accepted your proposal for joint supremacy. So no matter how much you try, you CAN'T intimidate me anymore because now I'm JUST as powerful as you!"

Suddenly, the lights lining the hallway exploded in a flurry of sparks, leaving Dorian and I in the darkened hallway. I could see perfectly, which made Dorian's shocked face a bit more satisfying.

I could feel my own heart beating rapidly and hear my heavy breathing. Dorian blinked and shook his head, composing himself. He took a deep breath and adjusted the cuffed sleeves of his tux, clearing his throat.

"Impressive, Circe. Unnecessary, but still." He looked down at me with those intense eyes. "You say you're just as powerful as me, but are you talking about status wise or ability wise?"

I opened my life to clarify that I meant status wise, but he held up a hand. "Never mind, don't answer that. You'd be stupid to say power wise."

I scrunched up my nose. Was he serious?

Knowing that I could see him perfectly fine, he motioned for me to continue following him.

"You have questions," He began, "And I have answers, so let's make a deal shall we?" He turned back to me. "I'll answer three of your questions, only three, in the next few minutes while we go to the infirmary for you to check on your boyfriend. That gives me about thirty five minutes to answer them. Deal?" He asked with a small smirk.

"Deal." I said withouthesitation.