Page 96 of Anathema

“And none of this makes any sense.” I still wasn’t convinced that I hadn’t died back in those woods, and that this wasn’t some strange version of purgatory. “Why would you go through the trouble of training your prisoner?”

“Because you’re weak–”

“And repulsive, yes, we’ve established this,” I snipped back, impatiently. “I believe you likened me to a rat.”

“Rodent.”

“Semantics.” Eyes narrowed, I stared back at him, tapping my spoon against the bowl, my appetite nowhere near as ravenous as before. “What are you not telling me?”

He sat upright in his chair again. “I’ll leave the details to Dolion. In the meantime, I suggest you get some rest. And eat. Training begins at dawn, and I can assure you, you will need your strength. It can be quite physical.”

“Physical? I’m to train in this?” I stared down at myself and the grimy, torn dress I’d worn for two days, which still carried the dried guts of the bug I’d squashed. “A tattered dress?”

“I’ll leave your attire to Rykaia.” He pushed to his feet, clearly finished with the conversation.

But I wasn’t.

“Well, it seems you’ve delegated just about everything.”

“I like efficiency.”

“And I like freedom. Take me back to those woods, and I promise you will never hear from me again. No need for any delegation. No headache for you.”

He let out a sound of disapproval. “You are relentless.”

“Were it your sister, wouldn’t you do the same?”

“Do not attempt to appeal to my good nature. We’ve established that I don’t have one.”

The creeping sensation of hopelessness crawled over me again. “Then, I will beg. If that’s what it takes. I will beg that you take me back.”

“Beg all you like.” He let out a sardonic chuckle. “I’d quite like to see you on your knees.”

With absolutely no forethought, I shot up from the bed and threw the pottage at him. The bowl hit his chest on a thump, and the pottage oozed down his leathers.

For the briefest moment, a zap of panic shot through me. Had I done the same to anyone back home, I’d have been slapped across the face—or worse. Vonkovyan soldiers would’ve added to the collection of scars on my back and legs.

“Your sister was right. You are a tyrant beast!”

He snarled as he wiped chunks of grain from his face. “And you are vexatious, yet by some mystery of the gods, you still have your tongue.”

A whim of madness surged through me, and I darted for the open cell door. A blast of air shot from my mouth, as something banded around my stomach. With little effort, I was hoisted up into the air. My spine sank against the billowy mattress on an explosion of feathers that drifted around me.

Massive arms plowed into the soft mattress at either side of my head, as he caged me beneath him, and to my horror, he gathered my flailing limbs, pinning my wrists above my head. His intimidating form swallowed me as he loomed like a black squall, his infernal eyes glowing with annoyance. “Perhaps I should free you. See how you fare on your own, with all the creatures and beasts that would sniff you out and hunt you all the way to those woods.”

“Yes! Please!” I shouted through tightly clenched teeth. “I can’t think of anything worse than being your captive!”

“Clearly, you’ve not considered my point of view. You think I want you here? You think I asked to be your fucking keeper?” Even the bed trembled with the flexing of his muscles. Or maybe that was me and the fury he’d stirred inside of me. “I’d sooner toss you to the fyredrakes!”

“Then, do it!” Wriggling to free myself, I jerked my knee and struck him hard in the groin.

Perhaps too hard.

His brawny body recoiled, muscles contracted. A furious growl rumbled out of him, and a tight grip at my throat sent an explosion of stars across my vision. “Don’t fuck with me, mortal. There are far too many painful ways to die.” His patience unraveled in loose stitches with the angry veins that protruded from his neck, his black pupils swallowing the fiery gold and orange, and the ease of his grasp confirmed how effortlessly he could snap my windpipe.

I glanced to his cheek above the mask, where the grain had dried against his skin. “Perhaps you might wipe my dinner off your face before making serious threats against me.” Teeth grinding, I forced myself not to spit at him right then.

On another growl he released me, and when he spun around, I caught the subtle swipe at his cheek as he strode toward the cell door. “Get your rest. Training begins at dawn.”

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