“This has gone on long enough,” Adrissu sighed, stepping closer to Lorsan. Whether or not there was any truth to what Lorsan said, he would not let him try to manipulate Braern any further. Lorsan started to round on him, fury plain in his face, but Adrissu grasped him firmly by the back of his neck—this close, he could tell Lorsan was a tiny bit taller than him—and hissed, “Be still.”
His magic seized Lorsan’s frame, freezing his muscles where he stood. Lorsan made a choked sound, as if trying to speak or make a noise of surprise, but he remained helpless to Adrissu’s command.
“Braern,” Adrissu said evenly. The elf’s eyes flickered between Adrissu and Lorsan’s still form. “I’m ending this now. If you’d like to help me, bring me the crate on the table, and we’ll go down into my lair. Otherwise, I will take him down myself, and I’ll return when I’m done.”
Braern hesitated. Adrissu’s heart squeezed: if Braern still had some lingering affection for this man that made it too difficult to help Adrissu with his task, he could not exactly begrudge him of his feelings, but it still felt like a blow. Then Braern took in a deep breath, visibly steeling himself, and stood.
“I’m going with you,” he said softly, meeting his eyes. Adrissu smiled. How could he have doubted his mate?
Braern gathered the crate into his arms as Adrissu pushed Lorsan’s rigid form toward the trap door. When Adrissu pulled it open, a choked sound came from Lorsan’s throat—when Braern stepped over to him with the supplies in his arms, and Adrissu kissed him, he made another faint noise of protest. Adrissu could feel him straining against the spell, but his magic held fast. His lips curled into a smile against Braern’s.
“Let’s go,” he murmured against Braern’s ear, gathering the elf into one arm. With the other he reached out and grabbed the lapel of Lorsan’s robe. Once they were both secure in his grasp, he pulled them down with him into the drop.
There was a particular gratification to releasing both elves from his claws when they reached the bottom. Braern easily found his footing, looking up at his true form with an expression of adoration; and beside him, Lorsan lay rigidly on the floor—eyes wide, breathing rapid and shallow, stifled cries barely audible from the back of his throat.
“You havenoidea what you walked into,” Adrissu growled, his features split with a toothy grin, as tears started to stream down Lorsan’s unmoving face.
They set to work; Adrissu did not bother to change back, and Braern handed him things out of the crate as needed. None were so small and fiddly that it would be easier to do in his elven form, and the abject terror radiating from Lorsan was reason enough to remain as he was.
When it was mostly done, Adrissu turned to Braern. “Wait here,” he rumbled, and Braern nodded. He turned and crawled to the innermost chamber of his lair, where the bulk of his wealth was stored. It had all been carefully organized at first, but over the decades this chamber had become more and more of a mess. All the gold was generally in the same place, but much of the other riches—gems and stonework and pottery—had been strewn about over time, and little of it remained in its original holding place.
It took only a moment of digging through his gems to find one that would work for the ritual. Adrissu was loath to use something valuable on the wretched elf, but the soul of a sapient creature would require a much larger gem to house it than the ones that he’d used in his experiments. At least the amethyst that he selected was common enough, and this one was large and clear with an odd shape that made it rather ugly.
When he arrived back in the main chamber, Braern was staring down at Lorsan’s still-unmoving body with an expression that Adrissu couldn’t place. But he looked up as Adrissu approached, a relieved smile crossing his face.
“Is everything ready?” he asked, looking up at Adrissu.
It struck him, then, how full of trust Braern’s eyes were. He looked up at a dragon—an immortal creature so much larger than him that Adrissu could have killed him in an instant—and he did not so much as flinch. They were here not to kill his former partner, but perhaps do something worse, trapping his soul in a gem for eternity. Yet Braern looked up at him with eyes full of love and trust, with no fear of him, nor the power he wielded.
Slowly he leaned down, lowering his head until it was level with Braern. The elf smiled at him, half-laughing before reaching out toward him, pressing both hands beneath Adrissu’s chin to hold his head in place.
“What is it?” he said softly, his voice a faint breeze against Adrissu’s scales. Adrissu made a low, rumbling noise of contentment that resonated through the cavern.
“You are so strong,” he murmured, and felt more than saw Braern smile. “And I love you.”
“I love you too,” Braern replied, stepping away. “Let’s finish this, then.”
Adrissu nodded, then turned back to the body on the ground. Lorsan’s eyes quivered in their sockets, struggling to move, yet desperate to see. With a smirk, Adrissu leaned down close to him and hissed, “I’m going to be the last thing you ever see, you piece of shit.”
The elf, of course, did not react, though his eyeballs seemed to quiver more frantically. Adrissu straightened up, the gem in one claw, and looked back toward Braern.
“We need to knock him out,” he said, his voice a deep growl. “I won’t be able to keep him paralyzed while casting the ritual.”
Braern hesitated, looking down at the motionless elf.
“Do you want me to do it?” Adrissu asked. He was slightly unsure if he could knock out the elf without killing him, but he would try it if Braern could not.
But then Braern shook his head, and he silently turned to the cavern wall, searching. After a moment he leaned down, then straightened, carrying a rock large enough that he had to hold it with both hands.
“I can do it,” he said firmly. Adrissu’s trepidation must have been obvious on his face.
“Here,” he said, holding down Lorsan’s torso with his other claw to keep the elf’s arms pinned to his sides. “Be ready to drop that once I say.”
Braern nodded, then took a position behind Lorsan and lifted the rock above his head.
“Now,” Adrissu growled, releasing his magical hold on the elf. He felt Lorsan’s body shudder beneath his claw.
“Braern,” the elf cried, immediately starting to struggle. “I’m sorry, please—I’ll go, I’m so sorry, please just let me go—”
