He rustles around in the pockets of his fallen leader and triumphantly produces a ring with several keys.
“Bravo. So, lead the way. I have a kingdom to explore.” Ah, non, not a kingdom. What would Daniel call it? I snap my fingers again. Got it. “Show me to my new territory.”
The air grows heavier, warmer, and more suffocating as I follow the procession into the bowels of the prison. I can sense the heartbeat of the Admin block through the ceiling, then the Guild high above that on the upper floors.
But down here, it’s a labyrinth of rusted iron, damp concrete, and indescribable smells. It makes me begin to wonder at my choices. Still, I am here, so onward.
Onward to my new future with Aurora. Though she is wary of me, I cannot but think my presence will be a balm.
Daniel leads the way with a swagger that is entirely unearned, swinging the keys like a trophy. Behind him, four equally dismal inmates carry the unconscious man. They handle him with a mixture of fear and newfound disrespect. Such an interesting dynamic.
And then the energy shifts. Without looking around I sense her, following us many yards back in the shadows. I raise my hand, and the procession grinds to a halt.
“Join me, Aurora, please.”
I’m not sure if she will, so I am pleasantly surprised when she pushes toward me, flanked by an extraordinary Amazonian, and the direct opposite, a meek and crying squab, Aurora doesn’t glance in my direction, but I feel her emotion. I can taste the hatred, and slight panic, radiating off her.
She’s not the one who should be worried. Whoever hurt her is going to pay.
The desecration of her face fires up my blood, but I try my best to temper it.
Retribution can wait.
So can Aurora’s unfolding.
When it comes, her realization that she is mine, and I am hers, it will be all the more sweet for the pendulum swing of her emotions.
The thought brings a smile to my lips. My dearest, angry girl.
We reach the cell.
On one side; a bed and a table, a basin and, shudder, a metal latrine.
On the other, the sparsely furnished cage.
Very well.
“Put him inside, on the floor,” I tell them. They dump the fallen Bossman onto the concrete, and they are not gentle.
He groans, a low, animal sound, but his eyes remain shut. The poison is working its way through his blood, slowing his heart, turning his strength into lead. It must be painful.
“And her?" Daniel asks, his hand lingering on the cage door, his eyes darting toward Aurora.
My beast circles inside me, whipping its tail in anger. This vermin believes he has the right to even look at her?
Venom stirs in my veins, a cold, oily slick of toxins. I could stop his heart with a whisper, leave him a husk on this floor for his insolence. But not yet. A King needs a fool, and Daniel fits the jester’s costume perfectly.
And his question is valid. What do I do withma petite?
I think…a choice. I am magnanimous.
“Do you wish to play nursemaid, Aurora?” I gesture to the cage before us. “Or would you prefer to have a bed made up next to mine?”
“I’m happy to be anywhere that keeps bars between me and you,” she snarls, walking willingly into the enclosure with the grace of a queen entering a throne room, rather than a prisoner entering a box.
I’m not surprised by her defiance, but my lip curls as she immediately falls to her knees next to the unconscious “digger”. The way she touches him with those delicate fingers has me regretting my decision to give her a choice.
Daniel slams the barred door shut, with far more vigor than is necessary, then hands me the key, like I’ve been presented with the Crown Jewels.
