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He chuckles and leaves the room a colder place.
I wrap the covers around me and curl up, the tears falling once more from my eyes.
When I awake, it is dark, and my throat is dry and begging for water. I ignore it and try to go back to sleep. The rest of the night is a blur of fitful sleep and bouts of tears. When the first rays of morning light peep through the window, I feel utterly spent.
Zephiro is up early and cooking in the room next door. The tantalizing smell of bacon wafts around the bedroom door. My mind is in turmoil. A voice in my head screams at me to call out. Tell him you’re hungry, it demands.
But a quiet resolve washes over me. No, I reply.
8
ZEPHIRO
Sierra can resist all she wants, but the only way she’s getting out of those chains is by cooperating with me.”
Yet, she insists on denying herself what I know she wants.
I could sense it in her the moment we met. Her hormones ran wild in the forest. Standing there, bathing in sunlight, I could smell it in her pheromones before she fell to the ground.
There was a part of her that coveted me.
I don’t know if the cause of her arousal was gratitude or pure animal magnetism. But she’s far too beautiful to keep herself from her true feelings.
Part of me hates her for it because I know that we could be enjoying each other. Every instant she spends rejecting me is another moment in misery.
But another part of me is only further roused by it. I feel like I’m hunting her, waiting patiently for the perfect opportunity to swoop in and dominate her.
There are moments when I wonder if she’ll ever succumb to me. I try not to humor those thoughts because I know that they stem from weakness, and weakness is meant to be eradicated and excised.
It thins populations and cripples herds.
It brings kingdoms to their knees and erodes mountains.
I cannot allow myself to doubt. I cannot invite weakness into my soul.
“I wiped out a small elven settlement today,” I say. “It was delicious.”
She’s half-awake as I bring in her food. The sun is low in the sky, beaming faintly through the windows, and outside, the pavos are chirping.
I’ve heard some creatures devour pavos, but for how little meat they offer, I prefer to keep them around.
“That’s lovely?”
She’s uncertain of how to reply. Partly, I know she’s still reluctant to engage with me at all.
I chuckle.
“I had thought you hated the elves as much as I do, given everything they’ve done. Was I mistaken? Do you not want them gone?”
She rouses from her drowsiness momentarily.
“Where was the village?”
“About thirty miles to the east.”
“Thirty… miles?” She seems bewildered for some reason. Perhaps there’s some context I’m missing.
“Did you know any of them?” I ask.
