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“You seem conflicted by that idea. Do you have any idea why that might be Nettle?” She smiled wickedly, as if smelling my moment of weakness.
“Of course I’m not conflicted!” I hiss, my teeth clenching as I berate myself for the emotions that rise to the surface. Perhaps I shouldn’t have trained so hard, or fallen into Roya’s story, it left me exhausted and emotional.
“Very well, maybe we should test that theory.” She removed the leash from its post on the bed and strode quickly to the bathing chamber.
I strained against the wrinkled sweat stained dress in an attempt to match her stride. The bath was already full and steaming when she wrapped the leash around the tubs clawed foot.
“Now, a few things need to happen while you’re still confident. We need to burn that dress, and we both need to bathe. I’ve already told you why I don’t trust you alone here so my question to you is, would you prefer to go first or should I?”
“Do you have a preference?” I asked, wondering if now was the time to start getting closer to her.
“I always prefer to bathe first, why little slayer? Do my preferences mean something suddenly?” she asked dryly, looking longingly at the hot bath that was quickly losing steam.
“I would like to make a proposal. I will take the second bath, and wait in here as you prefer… if you’ll promise not to use the nightmare creatures on me again.”Now I knew Roya followed her commands, perhaps this deal would allow me to keep breathing anytime they appeared out of thin air.
“That’s hardly a fair bargain.” She made to walk away from the bath so I stepped into her path, forgetting for a moment how scantily clad she was. My eyes stopped at the base of her throat and my hands were a breath away from touching her chest. I stepped back and dropped my arms to my side so quickly it felt as if I were completing a drill rather than trying to strike a deal.
“Then I will… I will let you drink my blood. As you need… up to once a day.” I tacked on at the end, unsure of how frequently they needed to feed to stay alive.
“Generous, and I can’t say it isn’t tempting but I still need information.” She said with a sigh… but her eyes were drifting between my throat and the water. She wanted this.
“Alright, I’ll give you information… but since it won’t be what you need to qualify me for freedom, I’d like something in return. A truth for a truth.” I state, as if this wasn’t my original intent, as if it was a difficult compromise I was being forced to make.
She looked me up and down, and I felt a bit of sweat gather at my back dampening the salty stiff material. Her nose wrinkled again before she asked, “And what assurance do I have that you aren’t going to lie or break this deal? You are human and inherently deceptive.”
“I will swear on whatever you wish that I will not deceive you, all I wish is to avoid another assault on my mind… while also feeling a little less lost in the situation I now find myself in,”I swore.
“Very well, I will not use the nightmare creatures without your consent, if you agree I will bind you in the old ways.”
“I agree,” I said without hesitation, unwilling to go through the constant terror of a possible mind invasion.
She opened her thumb on one of her fangs that was bared in a wicked smile. “Give me a drop of blood then Nettle, and we can seal the deal.”
…
Despite getting exactly what I’d wanted to allow me to get closer to her while also avoiding another episode from Hell I felt as if I had bitten off more than I could chew as I watched her bite into my thumb.
Placing the two wounds together she bound them with shadows.
“I, Mara hereby swear not to use the dreadlings on Nettle without her consent under the conditions that I am allowed to feed on her once daily at her discretion. I also swear to tell her an equal truth for each truth she tells me.” The bathing chamber’s temperature rose with each word and I was sweating anew by the time it was my turn to swear.
“I… Nettle, hereby swear to offer up my blood and true information under the condition that the nightmare… dreadlings, will not be used on me without my consent and an equal truth is told for each of mine.”
“May the star Aleta, binder of truth, seal our bond.” A burst of light between our thumbs dispelled the shadow binding and when I looked at where a cut should be there was a scar shaped like a burst of light.
Looking up in search of answers I saw her stripping the last of her underthings off.
The scars down her back flickered into view behind her hair as she walked away, her long legs taking a suspicious amount of time to carry her to the tub. Giving me ample time to look away, I didn’t.
She eased herself into the water with her back facing me once her knees touched the bottom she pivoted to face me before continuing. I didn’t have to pretend to enjoy the purposeful unhindered view. I let my eyes take their fill.
It was part of the game we were playing, I decided. She’d use her body to draw me in and I’d act like I was falling under her spell. It was a glorious thrill, pretending we only hungered for the other in ways that would not lead to our ultimate end.
“You’ve surprised me today Nettle.” She said with a smirk.
“I could say the same,” I said dryly, waggling my thumb.
“The scar isn’t even the best part.” She said with a wink.
