"What about your father?" Dimitrius asked.
"Someone expects Eve to be dead. Get rid of the bodies. Let's go see who's surprised when they see her alive and well," Erebus said.
The next few hours mixed together in a blur of rage and fear.
Dimitrius took care of the bodies, but Eve didn't take her eyes off the severed head until the bodies were out of view.
Erebus couldn't even look at her. She was covered in blood, most of it not hers. Her black hair had matted with it, and the shirt of his she wore had ripped at the torso during her struggle.
He never should have touched her. Erebus should have stopped it.
But here they were.
Dimitrius had left a few minutes ago, but Eve still hadn't moved from the floor.
"You have to eat something," Erebus said in an attempt to break the silence in the room.
She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
"Eve," He said again. "You faced an entire pack of wolves over a dead rabbit in the woods. Certainly a couple of rogue men aren't that bad."
He tested the waters, trying to get any reaction out of her. Anything to let him know she was actually alive in there.
"What was that?" she asked. "You didn't even touch them and they…"
"It's a special gift of mine. I can inflict severe pain on anyone with a single thought. It takes focus, but it comes in handy."
She nodded.
Her dark eyes snapped to him. "That can't happen again," she said, her voice was barely a whisper and Erebus tried not to react when it cracked.
"No," he replied quietly. "It can't, and it won't." She wouldn't even look at him. Erebus wasn't sure if she had been talking about the attack, or him.
"So what do we do? We don't know who wants me dead. We don't even know who those people were, who…"
"From now on you'll either be with me or Dimitrius at all times. It would take an entire army to kill one of us, princess. You're safe. It might not feel like it, but you're safe."
She pushed herself from the ground and stood up. "I want to see my family," she said.
Erebus waited for a second for her to add something to that statement.
But she just stared at me.
"Absolutely not," he answered. "Aren't you talking about the family that doesn't want to see you?
She scowled and crossed her arms. "They expected me to die last night. I expected to die. I have to tell them I'm okay."
"You're covered in blood and you're cut. You're not going anywhere, especially when we don't know who wants you dead. You're not okay."
Erebus watched her chest rise and fall. If she wasn't in shock yet, she would be soon.
But based on the amount of blood she had yet to wash off, she wasn't handling this well.
"If you take me to see them, I'll help you find out who did this. We both want the same thing. Me alive. Do this one thing for me and I'll help you."
Any other day, he would have said no. Erebus would have said Saints no. But even covered in her attackers' blood, Eve was the most stubborn human he had ever met.
That was going to be dangerous. But it could also be useful in the Werewolf court.
Erebus looked at her from head to toe. Her bare feet looked so small against the stone tile of the floor. Her exposed legs were tan, something he was sure she had earned from being strong and independent all these years. She was skinny. He was going to have to strengthen her up if she was going to fight off a Werewolf.
And she still held that knife. Her knuckles were white from her grip.
"Fine," Erebus said. He didn't know if it was a lie, or if he was actually giving in. "I'll take you back to your house. But you do everything I tell you, no arguing anymore. And you have to actually trust me if you want to survive in the Caliphate, princess. And I decide when we leave, so don't go bugging me about it every day. You're staying here for now."
Her eyes lit up, but she kept her face still. "Don't call me princess," she repeated as she walked past him and into the bathroom. "And quit looking at me like I'm fresh meat. It's not a good look on you."
Erebus waited until he heard her step underneath the water again before he let out the breath he was holding.
Her sass would have annoyed him to no end any other day, but today, he found himself smiling.
She had seen him rip a man's head from his body, and she was still able to crack jokes. That was a good start.
But they had a long way to go if Eve was going to stay alive.