Page 26 of Caged By the Lich

OLVAAR

Istride into the dimly lit chamber, my footsteps echoing off the stone walls. The air crackles with tension as I face the group that Vex rounded up for me. I make the effort to my guards as best as I can, but I don't let them know this — in case I need to use that knowledge later. Their eyes gleam with a mix of fear and defiance, but I can smell their unease.

"So," I drawl. "I heard that you all were concerned about the decisions I've been making?"

One of them, a burly volvath with twisted horns, steps forward. If they think them being un bound means anything, then they are mistaken. I'm already spoiling for a fight. "V, we mean no disrespect, but--"

"But what?" I snarl, cutting him off. My patience is already wearing thin. "Speak plainly or get the fuck out."

The volvath swallows hard. "It's the human girl. Astrid. There are... rumors."

I feel my temper flaring, a familiar heat rising in my chest. "What kind of rumors?"

Another demon, a soz'garoth like myself, pipes up. "That you're growing soft." He shakes his head. "You have a human here, and not as a slave."

The words hang in the air, heavy with implication. I can feel my magic swelling, filling the room with an oppressive dread. The weaker demons start to tremble, their knees buckling under the weight of my power.

"You think I'm going soft?" I ask, my voice dangerously quiet.

Without warning, I lash out, my hand wrapping around the soz'garoth's throat. I lift him off the ground effortlessly, watching as he struggles for air.

"Does this look soft to you?" I growl, tightening my grip.

The other demons back away, their eyes wide with terror. I can hear their hearts racing, smell the acrid stench of their fear.

I drop the soz'garoth, who crumples to the floor, gasping. "Let me make something perfectly clear," I say, my gaze sweeping over each of them. "My business with Astrid is exactly that - my business. If any of you have a problem with how I conduct my affairs, you're welcome to challenge me directly."

The room falls silent, save for the whimpering of the soz'garoth on the floor. None of them dare meet my eyes.

"No takers?" I sneer. "I didn't think so."

I turn to leave, but pause at the doorway. Looking back over my shoulder, I deliver one final warning. "Spread the word. Anyone who questions my authority or my decisions will answer to me personally. And I promise, you won't like the consequences."

As I walk back toward the estate, I let my magic whip out. It pours through me in its rawest form, slicing through the air like lightning. The sky seems to respond in kind, a storm starting to brew as my magic burrows into the ground, pours into the air, seeks for any way out and to explode like bolts themselves.

Only once I calm down do I go to find Astrid. I do not care for people to question me, and after her behavior at the council meeting, I told her that she no longer needed to clean around my house. I have more than enough servants, anyway. Instead, I'm going to give her a new job.

It's not all that surprising to me when I find her in my study, though. She acts like she belongs here, and I've never told her she can't be in it.

I watch Astrid from across the room, her brow furrowed in concentration as she pores over a stack of reports. It's been a few months since I brought her here, and I find myself increasingly impressed by her quick mind and adaptability. Maybe that's why I won't reprimand her for messing with reports she should leave alone.

"Astrid," I call out, my voice cutting through the silence. She looks up, her green-gold eyes widening at first in surprise and then settling as a smile seems to tug at her lips. "Comfortable?'

She nods, shifting on my couch, and I only grin, walking over to my chair behind my desk.

"I have a new task for you," I say, sliding a leather-bound ledger across the desk. "I want you to audit our weapons inventory. Every sword, every dagger, every piece of armor. I need to know exactly what we have and what we need."

Astrid's eyebrows rise slightly. "That's... quite a responsibility," she says, her voice carefully neutral.

I lean back in my chair, studying her. If she was going to try and harm me, she would have. I know that she keeps a knife sheath around her thigh, and I fully expect her to take a dagger while she's in the weapons room. But it doesn't concern me.

Instead, I arch. a brow. "Think you can handle it?"

A flash of defiance sparks in her eyes. "Of course I can."

I smirk, amused by her spirit. "Good. You'll work directly with Vex on this. He'll show you our armory and storage facilities."

As if on cue, Vex enters the room. I nod to him, and he escorts Astrid out. Once they're gone, I allow myself a moment of reflection. Giving her this level of access is a risk, but a calculated one. I need to see how she handles real responsibility.

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