Braith #2
“Do they?” Aldric addresses me directly. “Tell me, Lady Braith, are you here by choice or by purchase?”
“Both.”
“Curious.” He circles my chair slowly, forcing Kiakoa to shift position to maintain his protective stance.
The shadow servants track his movement, several becoming more solid as they respond to the threat he represents.
“Most purchased goods don't develop such... obvious contentment with their situation.”
His gaze lingers on the bite marks visible above my dress neckline. I don't cover them or look away. Let him see what I've chosen.
“You seem content as well, Lord Kiakoa.” Aldric completes his circle, positioning himself just out of sword range. “Though I wonder if contentment is the same as competence.”
The temperature in the hall drops noticeably.
“Explain yourself.”
“Six lords have united against you. Their combined forces number in the thousands. Your territory will be carved up between them within a month.” Aldric's tone remains conversational, but his words land like physical blows. “Unless, of course, you're willing to negotiate.”
“I don't negotiate with thieves.”
“Not thieves. Businessmen. We see an asset being... underutilized. A resource that could benefit from better management.”
I lean forward in my chair, letting interest show in my expression. Behind me, Kiakoa's hand tightens in warning, but I ignore it. We need to understand what we're facing.
“What kind of management?”
“Shared custody,” Aldric says smoothly. “Six months in each territory, rotating between different lords. You'd experience various feeding techniques, learn from multiple masters, develop your abilities to their full potential.”
“Like a breeding mare,” I observe.
“Like a queen. Each lord would vie to provide you with the best accommodation, the finest resources, the most skilled partners.” His pale eyes hold mine. “You'd never lack for attention or stimulation.”
“And if I prefer the attention of one lord to six others?”
“Preferences change. Especially when exposed to... superior options.”
Behind me, I feel Kiakoa's breathing shift to the deeper rhythm that precedes violence. The shadow servants respond to his mood, becoming more solid, more numerous.
“You're suggesting I'm settling,” I say.
“I'm suggesting you deserve better than a frenzy-maddened lord who got lucky at a market auction.” Aldric steps closer, testing Kiakoa's restraint. “I'm offering you a place worthy of your abilities.”
“And what makes you think my abilities are wasted here?”
“Because he's been alone for so long, he doesn't even recognize what he's found.” Aldric's voice drops to intimate tones. “You're not just a source of pain, Lady Braith. You're a key. The living embodiment of a power our people thought was just a myth.”
His words land heavier than I was expecting. This isn't just about lust or politics. He's talking about something else entirely.
“A myth?” I repeat, the word hanging in the air.
“The legends speak of Resonance Partners,” Aldric says, the reverence in his voice unmistakable.
“Humans who didn't just sustain a Vethani, but amplified them. A coalition of six lords, sharing our knowledge and resources… we could systematically rediscover those lost arts. We could unlock your full potential, and with it, our own. Something a brute like Kiakoa, content in his ignorant isolation, could never offer you.”
I glance back at Kiakoa, reading the cold fury building in his golden eyes. He wants to end this conversation, preferably by ending Aldric. But the information is too valuable.
“What happens if I refuse?”
“War.” Aldric's smile turns predatory. “Six territories against one. Thousands of soldiers against dozens. A united front of strategic minds against... his desperate, possessive fumbling.”
“You sound confident.”
“I am confident. Kiakoa is powerful, but he's one lord facing six. The mathematics are simple.”
“Mathematics don't account for variables.”
“Such as?”
I rise from my chair, forcing Aldric to step back to maintain appropriate distance. The bite marks on my thighs are clearly visible as the silk shifts, and I see his attention catch on them. The shadow servants move with me, forming a loose circle around my chair.
“Such as me not being the passive prize you expect me to be.”
“No?” His tone suggests amusement at human pretensions.
“I chose this.” I gesture toward Kiakoa, toward the castle around us, toward the visible evidence of my willing participation. “I chose him. I chose to stay. And if you think that choice makes me weak or helpless, you're going to learn differently when your armies arrive at our gates.”
Aldric studies my face, looking for doubt or uncertainty. He won't find any.
“The offer stands,” he says finally. “When Kiakoa fails to protect you—and he will fail—remember that there are alternatives.”
“When your armies break against our defenses—and they will break—remember that you had the chance to walk away.”
“Bold words for someone who's never seen real warfare.”
“Bold words from someone who's never seen what he becomes when truly threatened.” I step closer to Aldric, close enough to see the calculation in his pale eyes.
“You want to know what I really am? I'm the thing that makes monsters feel like they can be more than just monsters. And that makes them very, very dangerous.”
I turn back toward Kiakoa, dismissing Aldric entirely. “I think we're done here.”
“Lady Braith—”
“We're done.”
Kiakoa moves to escort Aldric out, but I catch his arm. There's something else I need to test.
“Actually,” I say, loud enough for Aldric to hear. “Before you go.”
I rise on my toes and kiss Kiakoa deeply, deliberately, my tongue sliding against his in a rhythm that makes him growl low in his throat. When I break the kiss, I bite his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
His pupils dilate completely. His hands find my waist, gripping tight enough to leave bruises. For a moment, I think he might take me right here on the floor in front of our unwelcome guest.
Instead, he licks the blood from his lip and turns that dangerous smile on Aldric.
“As you can see,” I tell Aldric without looking away from Kiakoa's burning eyes, “I'm quite satisfied with my current arrangements.”
Aldric studies us for a long moment, his pale eyes taking in the blood on Kiakoa's mouth, the way I'm pressed against him, the possessive grip of those massive hands on my waist. Whatever he sees there makes his expression shift from confident negotiation to wary assessment.
“When circumstances change,” he says finally, stepping back toward the door. “and they will change, remember that alternatives exist.”
“When your assumptions prove wrong, and they will prove wrong, remember that you chose this path,” I counter.
He inclines his head in a precise bow, then turns and strides from the hall. His guards fall into formation behind him, their footsteps echoing through the corridors as they make their way toward the courtyard.
We remain motionless, listening to the sounds of departure. Horses whinny in the courtyard. Harness leather creaks as guards mount up. Voices call orders back and forth. Only when the clatter of hooves on stone fades into the distance do we allow ourselves to breathe again.
The silence stretches between us, electric and charged.