Page 200 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

36

EVIANA

Curled in the chair she’d dragged over to the window, she stared out at the falling snow. As much as she hated it, there was an odd comfort in being seated here. Some sort of normalcy that allowed her to simply…be. With Valter, that chair by the window meant she wasn’t needed. There were no commands to follow or orders to carry out. Whenever he’d told her to go to her chair, a part of her would breathe a sigh of relief. Even if the respite was only for a minute. It was the singular thing she’d ever really considered her own.

Not even her flesh and blood was her own.

Eviana tipped her head back, letting her eyes fall closed. She slipped her hand in beside the cushion, feeling a large shard of the wine bottle she’d stashed there. Obviously it was still there. No one else had been in this room to take it, but she obsessively checked multiple times a day to make sure. And the one in the small dresser. The small pieces she’d carefully and painstakingly pressed into a thin shirt. It would do some damage if raked down bare flesh. There was the neck of the wine bottle under her bed, and the wineglasses themselves she’d hidden in the back of the small bathroom cabinet.

I am wasting away down here, my flower,came Valter’s voice down the bond.

She didn’t bother opening her eyes. Every time she was enjoying her solitude, he reminded her she was never truly alone.

They are not feeding you, my Lord?

Nothing of sustenance.

He meant nothing grand and fancy. He was likely receiving the food she was often served. Plain chicken and rice. Baked fish and vegetables. Not premium cuts of meat with expensive aged alcohol. It was the symbolism of it all for him, but to her, food was food.

Hopefully we will see each other soon,she consoled.

I have asked every day.

Thank you, my Lord.

He continued to ramble about the condition of the cell he was being held in, and she ran her finger over the smooth, flat side of the glass until she reached the edge. She pressed the tip of her finger to the jagged point. She felt nothing as she dragged her finger along it before lifting her hand to peer at the cut. Blood welled, running down her finger to her palm and dripping onto the pristine white chair. How much more blood would there be if she was dragging that piece of glass across Valter’s throat?

And she’d say “Thank you, my Lord” as she watched him panic, unable to breathe. Unable to scream for help.

She frowned.

She couldn’t do any of that until she made sure he was cut off from his magic. Otherwise it was pointless.

Which was annoying, but she had time.

Not as much as she used to have, but she had time.

A knock sounded, and Eviana found herself smiling. Not a big smile. Just the faintest tilt of her lips. Tessa had a specific knock. This was only her third time coming to see her, but shealready recognized the sound. It was softer than a male knock, and there was a…buzzing to it. A vibrating energy. She didn’t bother getting out of the chair this time, only lifted her head to watch the female breeze through the door.

The first thing she noticed was that Tessa’s hair was pulled back today. It was half up with two combs. They were beautiful, if not a bit flashy. A silver crescent moon with black antlers on either side of them. The second thing she noticed was that Tessa was barefoot. That wasn’t surprising. What had been surprising was the last time she’d shown up here, she’d been wearing boots. Tall black boots that laced up the front and had buckles on the sides, and they’d seemed a touch too big for her. She’d taken them off by the door before settling into the same chair as before, pouring herself a glass of wine from the new bottle she’d brought.

She’d conveniently forgotten to take those boots with her when she left, and even more coincidentally, they fit Eviana perfectly. Now those boots were hidden beneath a stack of blankets neatly folded at the end of the bed.

Tessa’s hands were full, a pastry box in one hand and a wine bottle in the other. Placing everything down on the small end table, she pulled wineglasses from a swirl of magic before opening the pastry box and plucking out a doughnut with chocolate frosting.

“Want one?” Tessa asked, nudging the box an inch closer.

Eviana blinked at the sweets. Valter rarely allowed her such a thing. A piece of chocolate cake as a Winter Solstice gift. Desserts at special events, but that was it. She never really minded. Food was sustenance. Something needed to fuel her power. That was it. Some tasted better than others, but all of it served a purpose.

“How did you sneak away today?” Eviana asked, still in her chair and ignoring the pastries. She wouldn’t drink the wine until after Tessa left either.

Tessa’s smirk was all delighted mischief as she set the doughnut aside and said, “I’ve found dragons to be bigger than angels.”

That was…a bizarre statement. The girl was full of those.

“Which dragon?” Eviana asked.

Tessa paused with her glass halfway to her lips. “What do you mean which dragon?”

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