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You’re just angry because you wanted to spend more time with Ihohka,I think to myself. And I know that it is the truth, because being around Ihohka makes me feel like, for the first time since coming here, everything will be okay.
Now, by enforcing Fohri’s rule, Brilyk has just shattered all of that.
We arrive at my rooms, and Brilyk yanks the door open with such force that it shocks me. Why is he so angry? Is he so loyal to Fohri that he doesn’t want to see me with Ihohka at all?
“Please, let go!” I squeal the words and slap at his hand that tightens its grip around my arm even more.
“Be still. Go to your room!” The words come from Brilyk in grunts, and I am shocked by the pure anger on his face when he practically throws me into the room. He is still gentle enough that I have a soft landing on the bed.
He is making as if to leave when I stand up and say his name. My voice is strong and hard and demanding, and his name, when it comes from my mouth, is a clear order. An order to stay.
“Brilyk!”
He stops in his tracks, and for a moment I have to marvel at the fact that I have some power over at least one of these dark elves. Then I think back to how Ihohka was acting around me. Maybe I have power over more than one of them.
Brilyk sighs so heavily that I am surprised that his body doesn’t deflate.Then he turns to me with a very reluctant look on his face. I don’t miss the way the anger lingers around the edges of his face.
There is anger in the hard lines of his lips that are pressed together in a straight line. There is anger in the tightness of his shoulders. There is anger in the way his large hands are curled into fists.
But I am angry too. Tears well up in the corners of my eyes again when I think about how he manhandled me. I did not deserve that. Especially not from someone I was starting to trust.
“Why did you do this?” My voice is hot. “Why did you drag me away from Ihohka? Fohri is gone and I know you don’t like him! Or are you so good at hiding your feelings that you’ve been loyal to him all this time?”
I will remember the way the switch flipped in Brilyk. I saw it, though I was not conscious of it at the moment. But later on, I will remember the way his eyes flashed red, and the way his eyelids fluttered. He was controlling his anger right before then.
Now though, Brilyk explodes. “How dare you question me!” He is shouting and I shudder with fear and another emotion that I can’t quite quantify. “You cannot trust anyone here! Not least Ihohka!”
“Why not?” I shoot back, and my voice is sharp. Why does he hate them so much? And why does he continue working for them when he hates them so much?
He speaks through gritted teeth.“You just can’t trust any of them!”
I cannot help but throw my head back and laugh.“What else am I supposed to do when my captor approaches me?” My voice is high-pitched and I run my hands through my hair, pulling the dark tresses out of its braid.
“What do you expect from me? I’m trying not to get killed here! I had to talk to him! Maybe I can’t trust him, but I can’t trust you either!”
Brilyk snorts and rolls his eyes at my words.“Well, if that’s the excuse you’re going with, then I will be telling Ihohka that you’re ill and cannot attend dinner!”
“Of course that’s what you’re going to do!” I laugh again, and my laughter is high-pitched too and for a minute I am scared. Scared of how comfortable I’ve become at fighting with a dark elf.
Girl, how did you get here?Agatha’s voice resonates throughout my head.
“Of course,” I mutter and start pacing around the room. “You’re just like the rest of them. You’re trying to get me to bend to your will. You’re as bad as Fohri – at least he made it clear what he wanted from me.”
Brilyk takes several steps away from me. When I turn to look at him, his eyes are wide with shock. He is clearly still angry – his lips are still pressed into that hard line. But he shakes his head and says nothing.
Don’t trust them. Don’t ever trust them.This time, I cannot distinguish between my voice and Agatha’s voice in my head.
“You should leave.” My voice, when I speak, is dull.
Brilyk does not argue with me but turns and leaves. He does not slam the door, which is what I was expecting.
I do trust him though. I trust both of them. Even though I know I shouldn’t.
I cannot help but feel bad about what I said to Brilyk. His hatred for the Renzui family is more and more obvious with every interaction I have with him. It must have hurt him to be compared to them.
But then maybe he shouldn’t have dragged me away from Ihohka like I’m a naughty child!
My thoughts are fierce, albeit confused.
