Disdain, if a wraith can even have that, flitters across its decaying face. He moves back to the shadows from which he came from.
“Welcome, Norissa. We’re so happy to have you,” the man says in a smarmy voice.
Despite the heat in the air, I shiver. “Who are you? What do you want with me?”
“It figures you wouldn’t even recognize my voice. Always so much better than the rest of us, weren’t you? Important, right?” His tone went from cocky to downright hateful.
Small fingers reach up and pull his hood back.
I close my eyes, a weak chuckle slipping through my lips. I should have seen this coming.
“Disappointed?” he mocks, stepping closer to my cell.
“You would know, wouldn’t you? I’m sure that’s the general consensus where you’re concerned,” I reply in a raspy voice.
The bars shake as he jumps forward, gripping them and rattling them in anger. “Watch your fucking mouth,” he says, spit flying from his face into the sand below his feet.
I bite my tongue. I need time to regain my strength and can’t do that if I push him too far.
He steps back, seemingly appeased at what he observes as obedience. “Finally, seems you’re learning your place.”
I grind my teeth but don’t answer. It fucking kills me not to, but I don’t.
He rubs his chin with his small, childlike fingers. “Do you know how hard it was to get you alone? Away from the watchful eyes of your guard dogs?” he asks me calmly. “I’ve been waiting weeks for the perfect opportunity, and finally one presented itself. I won’t lie, I was a little disappointed by how easy it was in the end. It was almost like you gave up.”
I bring both hands in front of me, raising my middle fingers.
A sharp laugh leaves him. “Thank goodness. I was worried there was nothing left for us to break.”
I keep my face neutral, but inside, I’m panicking. This does not sound promising. I’ll die before I beg, but that doesn’t mean I’m eager to be tortured. In fact, I’d like to skip that step altogether if possible.
The air hangs thick and unmoving between us. Sweat beads along my neck and temples, trickling down into my torn shirt. Each breath I take feels labored, as if the putrid air itself doesn’t want to be drawn in.
“I’ve worked so hard behind the scenes, and you didn’t even know. Couldn’t even appreciate the amount of effort I put in.” He walks back and forth in front of the rusty iron bars, seemingly content to just hear himself talk. I let him. It will buy me some time for these drugs to work their way out of my system. Giving me some kind of chance to fight back. “I mean,c’mon.” He chuckles, throwing his hands in the air. “How do you think you became a lieutenant the night you arrived?”
He looks at me expectantly, like he wants me to join in on this game.
Scoffing, when I just stare at him, he continues talking as if he never stopped. “I needed you to step up and fail miserably in front of your classmates and professors. I needed to add a little extra pressure during Asylamation week for you to crumble. To lose all credibility.” He licks his thin lips. “With any luck, you wouldn’t survive the trials. So”—he sighs for extra emphasis—“I put a little whisper in dear ole’ Father’s ear to make it happen.”
He tilts his head and raises his palms like it’s the most obvious answer in the world as he keeps pacing.
I snort under my breath.
His head whips in my direction, eyes narrowed, but he continues as if I didn’t interrupt. “Unfortunately, you didn’t fail, which put a kink in my plans. Have to say, Pops wasn’t too happy with you,” he snarls. “Or me.”
I blow out an exaggerated breath. “I’m sure it’s not the first time the general was disappointed in his son,” I respond dryly.
Eryk Porter stares at me for a solid thirty seconds before throwing his head back and laughing.
It crosses my mind that he might actually be crazy. Nothing like the way he portrayed himself during our time together at Kintoira. He was as bland and forgettable as humanly possible. But maybe that was more strategic than genetic.
“Feisty. I like it,” he answers. “Can’t wait to bleed it out of you.” His eyes have taken on a maniacal appearance, and I fear that my time is running out.
I wiggle my toes and curl my fingers in the sand. The feeling is coming back, making it easier to control them. As much as I don’t want to, I have to keep him talking.
I clear my throat. “Why all the interest in me? Who cares if I survived the first week or died trying?”
“Nori, Nori, Nori. You really don’t know anything, do you?” He makes a tsking sound with his tongue against the back of his teeth. “You don’t honestly believe that your mother was the only one who knew your father was a Noctryn, do you? You see, it’s my family’s responsibility to know everything that goes on within this realm, anything that may cause hiccups in the way we run it.” The fabric of his cloak rustles as he walks in front of me. “Your mother was better off alive to us than dead.” He stops and looks directly at me. “For the time being,” he says, while smirking. “So when a fellow student who just so happens to have owed me a favor was doing some research of his own to help a family member in need, your name came up in his findings.”
