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The friend spoke. “He’s been gone since yesterday afternoon.”
Roth was quiet for a moment. “Ah.”
“Do you know where he is?” pressed Lord Delwin.
“No, I don’t know where he is, but I can guarantee he ran off with that slut he’s been seeing.”
“Derra’s parents are yelling at me like I helped him to run off,” snapped the friend.
“I sent men to look for him,” said Lord Delwin. “I might go myself. He didn’t say anything to you about where he might go?”
“He said nothing to me,” said Roth. “If you wanted to run away, would you announce it?”
“He’s eighteen and stupid,”
“I don’t think he’s quite that stupid,” said Roth. “But trust me, that man he's besotted with probably won’t seem so great after a few days.”
Oriel assumed Derra might have been one of the “friends” who seemed similar to Roth. This cousin must have been hooked on someone his parents didn’t approve of.
“I swear, some teenagers act like they have it all figured out. He’s never done a day’s work in his life, and I can’t imagine him getting a job. He's lived soft.” Lord Delwin stalked back into the sitting room, rubbed his chin, and glanced behind him. “Go tell his parents that Roth doesn’t know where he is.”
The friend huffed as he came out. “And get yelled at again?”
“They can’t really do anything to you if you didn’t help him. Just do it.”
“Fine.”
Lord Delwin waited until the door slammed. “Every time I turn around, someone is doing something stupid.”
“Then kick some out,” Roth called. “We’ve got more cousins than we know what to do with.”
“Family has uses.”
Oriel stared at his knees. Roth’s only use was to preserve Lord Delwin’s image and torture the son of his enemy. He couldn't believe that Roth was capable of even looking and speaking to his "Father" as if nothing bad ever happened.
Lord Delwin stalked back into the bedroom. “Are you sure he said nothing? He must have been thinking about this for a while.”
“He said nothing,” replied Roth. “With the impulsive way he sometimes acts, the idea probably popped into his head yesterday morning, and he was gone by the afternoon. Like you said, he’s not the type to get a job, and he’ll probably come crawling back in a bit.”
“He still needs to be found. Something could happen to him, and his parents will be all over me like it's my fault when they should have raised their damn kid better.” Lord Delwin made a frustrated noise. “How’s the slave behaving?”
“Like he was born with no thoughts except for pleasing me.” Roth’s snide tone, like that pleased him beyond measure, was quite convincing.
“Bring him out.”
Damn it. Why couldn't he screw off somewhere?
Roth came out after a minute with his hair tied back, and he snapped his fingers while he twirled the cane in his other hand. Oriel immediately got on his hands and knees by the door with his head down. Once it was unlocked, he crawled out to settle by Roth’s feet. He hoped there would only be a few insults or whatever, and Lord Delwin would fuck off.
Roth tapped his ass with the cane, and he ducked his head before raising his ass. The sharp strike hurt like a bitch and surely left a line, but he took it like that was his only purpose.
“Are you sure he’s behaving?” asked Lord Delwin.
“You gave him to me already broken,” said Roth. “I do what I want to him now, and he obeys. I put a dagger to his throat the other day in the garden when the new Lord Mather came, and he didn’t do anything. It’s like having a doll, except it’s so much better.”
Lord Delwin bent down and grabbed Oriel’s chin to force his face up. Oriel kept his expression blank and his eyes lowered. Please go away. Just fucking go.
“Fine. Remember, if there’s any defiance, beat it out.”
