Sixteen - Evangeline
The fucker was going to die. Painfully.
As soon as I was done using him for this mission, I was going to skin him alive, then roll him around a salt mine.
Then I would cut off his dick and feed it to him.
My four limbs were firehouses of numbed pain, and I was certain that even if I tried to stand, I’d fall straight over, which was why I was still crouched on the floor despite him having just released me. My arms fell to my sides, but that’s as far as they were moving.
The bathroom door opened as Redric stepped out, rubbing a towel over his head. He left the door open, no doubt so he could watch me struggle to stand as he kicked back on the sofa and relaxed.
Gritting my teeth, I rolled onto my side and stretched my legs out one at a time. Sharp pain shot up from my knees, and I clenched my toes to work the muscles and tendons that were tingly and numb.
The pain was very low on the things I’d experienced, but seized joints didn’t care about being a mere two. If they weren’t working, they weren’t working.
Rolling my shoulders, loosening the stiffness, I placed both palms onto the ground and pushed myself up into a sitting position. My knees protested as I attempted to stand, and I was forced to brace myself against the wall as I slowly straightened. On sluggish legs, I stumbled across the bathroom, grabbing two towels out of the cupboard.
I wrapped one around my head and the other around my body. Heat runes had been woven into their threads, making them a beautiful comfort against the cold air. Moving into the living room, I glared at him as he smirked at me from the lover’s sofa. He was leaning over the table, writing his answer to the Dame. Sinking down onto the floor opposite him, I grabbed the other envelope and pulled out the piece of paper folded inside.
He tossed me his pen as he sealed away his answer. Then stood, stretching his arms over his head with a mocking grace. If I wasn’t so paranoid about being scried upon, I’d hit him with my magic, wipe that damn smirk off his face.
Instead, I focused on writing what I’d come up with in the shower.
Finished, I stood, cranked my sore-as-fuck neck and entered the bedroom to grab a new set of clothes from my bag. Redric watched me as he finished wrapping a black robe around himself. There was a light in his eyes that made me uneasy. Lifting my bag onto the bed, I unzipped the middle compartment, my eyes on his face. His smirk widened into a full-blown grin.
Cursing, I dropped my gaze, then my jaw.
“You fucker.” Laughter erupted out of me as I reached a hand in and yanked out the entire bag of ‘litter’ I’d told him to grab a few things from. And even though I knew he’d emptied all of my stuff out, I still held the bag upside down and shook it. Nothing fell out. “Tell me you didn’t donate all that stuff to All Kids Matter.” There’d been over ten thousand pebs in it, not to mention a really nice set of knives.
“I didn’t.” His pleasure had faded a bit. He’d clearly hoped I’d be more pissed. Instead, I was pretty flattered. These were the sort of pranks you pulled on friends. No one had done such a thing to me in decades. They’d all been too scared I’d kill them. I grinned.
He glowered. “What?” he snapped.
“Nothing.” I shrugged, knowing it would annoy him. Opening up the bag of donations, I dug around in it for something to wear. I picked out a green tunic as he stood there stewing. Lifting it to my face, I sniffed it, then shoved it back into the bag.
“What?” he asked, this time the word a lot more smug.
“Smells like old people.” Picking up the whole bag, I headed for the bathroom. The memory of being down on the ground for the last few hours made my knees ache and my eyes narrow. Cursing Redric under my breath, I emptied the bag into the shower, then dropped my two towels on the floor to turn the facet on full heat. I doubted I had time to do a proper clean before lunch, so I turned on my heels and headed back out, collecting my dirty clothes off the floor as I did so.
Redric stood in the doorway, his lips flat. “That’s wasteful,” he said, nodding at the shower blasting away behind me.
“We’re paying her twenty-five thousand.” I smiled at him wryly. “You can damn well bet I’m stealing the pillows and towels too.” I nodded. “And the toilet paper.”
“You’re a kleptomaniac,” he said with disgust.
“No. I’m resourceful. And stingy.”
“And a kleptomaniac,” Aurelia added.
“What can she possibly say that’s worth twenty-five thousand pebs? I’m just making sure I get my money’s worth.” I cocked my head to the side. “You want to help me steal some furniture?”
“No.” Clipped and unyielding.
I grinned. “Good call. I bet she has a safe somewhere. Smaller valuables would be a much better –”
“I’m not helping you steal. Now get dressed so we’re not late for lunch.”
He turned and walked away.
Gods, he’s so fucking easy to rile.
“You really like him,” Aurelia said as I slipped into my old clothes.
“No, I don’t. He’s just temporary fun.”
“There’s no point lying to me. I was always able to read you.”
“You couldn’t read shit.” She hadn’t even known I’d liked Richard until right before we’d got engaged. My humour started to die, as it always did at the thought of him.
“He’s going to break you,” she sang, pulling me out of my pending depression before it could fully grab me. “And I’m so here for it.”
I snorted, donning the last of my clothes. “I’ve been tortured six times and fully skinned once. He can’t do shit. He’s too noble to even come close.”
Laughing, she walked away as my eyes narrowed on her retreating back.