“I told her not to piss him off again,” Manos said to Breyer and Fee as they headed for the tunnels.
It was just the two of them now.
Large hands grabbed hold of her without warning, hoisting her upward. He kept her suspended above the ground in that hold, rotating her body to face him with such ease.
“Your obstinacy is growing old. Let me put it plainly. If what’s waiting for you in the west is so much better, then go, run. No one will stop you. No one will come to save you a second time either.”
She struggled to get free, but he held firm.
“If you choose to stay, know this... you arenotin Keles. You do not rule here,I do. This is my domain—my legion. If you want to live under my mountains, you’re going to do what I say like everyone else.”
“Or what?”
He grew a cunning grin. “Keep defying me in front of my army, and you’ll find out.”
The taunt sent a song of heat between her thighs.
His gaze flared as his throat vibrated with a groan. “Does that trigger something inside you,little hellion?”
Her cheeks flushed.
“Does the promise of punishment arouse you?”
She sucked on the inside of her cheeks, biting down hard to stifle whatever feelings were circling her core.
“You don’t have to answer.” He pulled her in close. “I can smell it on you.”
He had control over everyone and everything here, and she was finding it hard to keep fighting against it.
She wriggled in his hold, she couldn’t let him win.
“Arousal?Is that a joke? I’ve seen that ugly monster you keep tucked away. The only thing I feel for you is sympathy for the terrible creature you harbor underneath.”
He scanned her entire body up and down, then let his lips curl in a snarl. “Such a cunning liar you are.”
With one hand, he carried her toward a tunnel, his grip squeezing the scruff of her neck.
“I can walk!” She batted at his fist, trying to dislodge his grip.
“If you walk all the way up there, your leg won’t last. Save your strength, you’re going to need it.” Again with this contradictory behavior.
She tried to memorize the way as he carried her along a path of twisted corridors and unfamiliar turns. Soon, they were outside.
The moon and stars were so bright here, the elevation bringing them so close to the glowing sky. She couldn’t keep her mouth from gaping open at the beauty.
“This is... incredible.” Books and images on the constellations clouded her mind as she mentally matched what she knew to the sky.
This was what she had always wanted to see but thought she would never get the chance. This new world was full of beauty: the glowing caverns, the waterfalls, the intensity of the stars.
Theodon looked between her and the sky. His face took a softer tone. “I suppose it is.”
He had been here forever, viewed this scene millions of times. She doubted he appreciated it the way she did. To Helaina, it was a dream.
He released her, breaking her focus. She stumbled, collapsing to her knees. She looked ahead at the sound of voices. She had been so busy gawking that she hadn’t noticed the awaiting crowd.
Firelight illuminated chalked outlines in the grass. She could make out shelves of weaponry in the distance. Soldiers stood around one of the outlined circles. There, in the center—Breyer waited. She had reinforced her leather attire with spiked pauldrons, and in her hands, she clasped two glinting axes.
Fee ran up beside her mate and pressed an airy kiss to her cheek while her hands caressed under her chin. Breyer seemed weightless and happy in that touch. Then the kiss broke and that usual murderous face reemerged.
