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She laughs. “How would I know anybody thirty miles away? How did you even get that far?”
“I ran.”
She looks at me warily, taking her bacon and eating it with her fingers.
I’m glad she’s at least eating more regularly. That means I need to worry about her far less.
I miss her when she’s not around, and when I have to leave her in the room to her own devices. I wish I could take her with me… that I could teach her to hunt so that she could exact vengeance upon the elves that made her suffer.
But I know that my wait will be worth it. Even as I bound through the green forests, dashing faster than any mortal could ever perceive me, my thoughts remain on her and how satisfying it’s going to be when she stops fighting herself.
I find myself growing bolder in her absence, disrupting elven settlements that I normally stay away from and even traveling and hunting across large distances. I know that their magic can harm me, but I also know that as long as I attack with strategy, they are utterly helpless in my grasp.
I keep a count of the elves that I’ve killed since I met Sierra, and I etch it in the bark. Her stories of how they treated her have strengthened my resolve.
I long to make the world a safer place for her while curbing my own appetite.
Every meal brings with it a small change. She still looks suffocated by the chains that bind to her ankles, but her eyes start to light up when I enter the room.
At first, she denies this, insisting that she would never find excitement in the arrival of a ‘foul beast.’ She disparages my smell even though I’ve seen how much my mere presence arouses her.
Finally, I confront her with an offer.
“I’m inclined to let you out of your chains,” I tell her.
I’m wiping the dust off of a window, ensuring she’s not miserable in her chamber. I state it matter-of-factly, as though talking about the weather or asking about her meal.
I can tell that she’s startled by the proposition.
“That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one,” she says, though I can tell that there’s playfulness in her cynicism.
“I’m hurt that you still don’t trust me,” I jest. “I’ve eradicated ten settlements for you. How many elves do I have to kill before you cooperate with me?”
“You already told me you eat them. You can’t act like it’s some grand gesture.”
She won’t admit that she’s impressed.
“Besides, Kantor is still standing,” she adds. “You haven’t attacked any major cities… just small camps.”
I chuckle, turning my back to her.
“Fine then,” I say, smiling wickedly. “I’ll just leave you in your chains then. I’m sure you can lead a perfectly meaningful existence while you’re bound to the bed.”
I approach the door, already sensing that she won’t resist my offer.
“Wait!”
I shuffle around and face her, my hand already on the doorknob.
“Yes?”
“What do I have to do?” she asks.
I shake my head in mock confusion. “I’m sorry?”
“What do I have to do to get out of these chains?”
I turn my back to her once more now, having seized full control of the situation.
