"You have no power over me," I state, bored. He’d be dead before he drew his sword.
"Torture me, if you want to torture one of us,” he offers, in an attempt to diffuse the asphyxiating tension between me and his tyrant of a little sister.
Renna's eyes widen as if onlynowtaking the situation seriously. "You won’t lay a finger on Onyx. He’s done nothing wrong!"
I grip her shirt around her neck, my eyes burning into hers. I'm furious that she snuck into my halls. I'm furious that she has spied on me. I'm furious that she keeps me awake at night. I'm furious that she sedated my guards, and more than anything, I'm furious that she lets that other immortal touch her.
"What were you doing in my halls? Hm?"
At lightning speed, she brings her elbow down onto my wrist, bending my arm, arching her back, and rolling under it to escape my grip. Credit to her, she almost does, but I grab her again, twice as hard. She yelps in surprise, and Onyx slams his way between us, orange eyes alight with ill-controlled ire.
"My lord, I have the utmost respect for you, but harm my sister and I will see you harmed worse."
How sickeningly sweet. I wave a hand at the guard in the doorway. "Take him away, restrict his food and water.”
"No!" Protests Renna, shaking her head. "He did nothing wrong! I'm sorry. I was just exploring!"
"This all sounds rather familiar,” I mutter dryly, as they drag her brother out. Twice now, I’ve caught her ‘exploring’. Once in my forest, and now outside my bedroom.
And then she starts clapping. A slow, sarcastic clap that bounces off the cold stone walls around us. Her brother wasn’t kidding when he said she had personality problems. “Congratulations, Your Majesty, you remember as far back as last week.”
That’s it. I’m done with her. I turn back to the door, pulling a rough rope from the hook on the wall. “Oh my—that was a joke. Lighten up. Look, I’m sorry, okay? Don't punish Onyx. Don’t leave. Let’s talk.”
I turn back to her with a long sigh. Might as well piss her off too. If I have to have high blood pressure, so does she. “Do you know why you're here, darling?"
"Call me darling again and I'll cut your dick off."
I tug some slack into the rope so that she’ll still be able to move her arms, tying each of her wrists to two hooks on the stone bricks. Leashed to the wall up and in a locked cell, surely she won’t be able to break out of here. "Will you, sweetheart?"
She growls in response to the nickname and I make a mental note to keep using them—anything to get under her skin like she does mine. She’s tugging against the restraints, and holy fuck do I like her tied up.
No, Rexxan. Not now, and not with her.
"The last time someone snuck into my rooms, I killed them," I say, tying a second knot around her wrists. She sits down with an exaggerated sigh, giving up, and in a turn of events more shocking than anything I’ve ever had the fortune to witness, she remains silent for a short while.
"What's your favourite food?" She asks, out of nowhere.
She’s a complete waste of my time. "What?"
"I'm bored. We can talk, you know? You don’t have to just stare at me in silence. What's your favourite food?"
She's absurd. "Why would I tell you that?"
"Because I know absolutely nothing about you."
"Let's keep it that way."
"Was that your wife? Earlier? I didn't know you had a wife."
"No. Are you interested?" I ask as I take a chain and padlock off the wall.
She laughs, her expression brightening. "Very, Your Majesty. When can I start?”
“As soon as you stop giving me migraines.”
She gives me a comical grimace, sucking air in through her teeth. “I don’t think this is working between us. It’s not you, it’s me. I just need to work on myself right now.”
“You really fucking do. Get a counsellor whilst you’re at it.”
