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The blade presses further into my skin, a quiet whimper coming from my throat as I try my best to remain composed. Zalith’s eyes look upon me thoughtfully, his fingers stroking his chin. His hands then drop to his side, his shoulders shrugging.
“I mean, go ahead if you want to, Vippera. I know murder is your type of thing,” he says without care.
What the hell!
“But I won’t be cleaning up after your mess, just so you know. I won’t be having any more of your temper tantrums.”
Vippera looks at him unsurely, seemingly baffled by his answer. I realize he could be doing this to save my life, but he’s almost too good at being cold. It’s at that moment I’m hit with a disturbing thought.
What if he’s not actually trying to save me? Could it be that I’m useless now that I’ve been discovered?
My fingers grip the chair tightly as I silently breathe deeply, shoving all emotions away as best as I can. With Vippera right beside me, I can’t afford to let even an inkling of magic come to the surface. It would be the same as grabbing the guard's dagger and slicing my own throat.
Vippera turns to me, leaning down on the table as her ice-cold gaze stares me down. She tilts her head.
“Are you stupid? What makes you think you ever stood a chance in stealing away my claim to Zalith?”
I open my mouth to reply, but she slams her hand on the table.
“Don’t you dare try to deny it, or I’ll kill you right where you sit!”
I keep my mouth shut, deeming it best not to say a word. The older naga in the corner raises an eyebrow at me.
“She’s not even going to beg for her life?” he says.
“It seems not,” muttered Vippera, taking a step back. “Very well then. If that’s how you want it, Aurora…”
The guard lifts me from my chair, his slimy hands gripped tight around my neck. Vippera strolls slowly around the table, coming closer and then stopping within an inch of my face.
“You have no one here anymore. Not even Zalith wishes to waste his time with you, so killing you right now would be the easy option…”
I shoot a sidelong glance at Zalith, his cold demeanor remaining unchanged.
“But that’s too merciful, even for me,” sneers Vippera. “Instead, I’m going to toss you back in the cells for now. I’m far too busy to even be concerned with you as is.”
She turns to Zalith.
“We’ll get married next week as per the original plan. Then afterward, I’ll personally handle the execution of the human bitch.”
“Fine by me,” groans Zalith. “Can I go now?”
That final sentence repeats nonstop in my head as the guard hauls me back to the holding area, this time to a much smaller cell than the initial one. The cell bars shut with a loud clang, cutting off the brief sliver of hope I had found in Zalith.
It was all too good to be true.
14
ZALITH
I’m playing my hand dangerously here, perhaps a bit too close for mine and Rory’s own good. Vippera is unpredictable, and I’ve just given her permission to take Rory’s life. Yet, I cannot afford to show Vippera that I care for the human, for she’ll likely give her a fate far worse than death.
The guard scruffs her by the neck, a sight that fills me with rage as she is then dragged off toward the holding area. Acting cold and uncaring while she had a knife to her throat took a lot of restraint, but now more than ever, I wish to rush to her aid.
I hold back once more, knowing that doing so would be the same as signing her death warrant. I may as well be giving the execution order myself. There’s also the chance I’ll get her too riled up emotionally, and that may not end well.
She’s displayed an excellent ability to keep her magic deep down, but I need to wait before I do something about all of this. If she were to exhibit any capabilities of her magic at this moment, it’d be over in an instant.
We won’t be so lucky each and every time.
