“Have you come here in these flirty and torn clothes for him to dip you in a tub that isn't his and lick you clean with his lowborn wretched tongue?!”
“What are you saying, Milord? This is madness, I am nothing to you.”
Was this how they behaved in this realm?
“Tell me his name!”
Belladonna finally lost it and she snapped.
“I did not come here to see anyone. I was lost, I’m new here.”
His brown eyes darkened with even more rage. Belladonna didn't feel safe with the flames that burned at his fingertips, as they grew.
“You smell of another. A male. Don't lie to me.”
By Ignas, the insanity!
“I don't even know you!”
“I don't know you and you torture me! What do you want from me?!”
He blinked, taking a step back, the fire that laced his hands dying.
“Torture? No. I—” He took another step back, blinking as if in confusion, before taking off one of the golden rings he had on his finger. He reached out for her hand, and she pulled away, but his hand grabbed her wrist still, and before she would struggle, he had slipped the ring around her finger. “I don't know what happened. This is a token of my apology. When next we meet, I shall behave better, and if you are impressed, you may give it back.”
“I don't want it,” the words rushed out of her mouth. The only thing this ring reminded her of was Eli’s ring that she had lost. “I don't want it,” she said again, trying to take it off, but he stopped her.
“My Mistress waits! Her rage will be more now,” she said, desperate for any excuse to get away from this strange being.
“Tell her Lord Jyris delayed you. Tread carefully on that ank—”
“Milord!” Someone called out from the other side of the hallway, dragging away his burdensome attention from her.
“Your father has returned with your elder brother.” The messenger got to him, panting heavily from how fast he had run.
“Zadok?” He asked with bemusement before he laughed.
“Also Lord Ka’el has been missing—”
“Say nothing to me of that Mixed Blood! He is not my brother! He snapped. “Go and tell the House of my Father’s coming and the finest wine that my brother loves. Now!”
“Come with me—” he turned to where Belladonna had been standing, only to be met with her absence; there was his ring on the floor and further away a piece of her cloth that must have fallen off while she ran away from him. He picked both up, taking a deep sniff of the cloth, trying to gather as much information as he could, and then he gave the cloth to the messenger.
When he spoke, his voice was rougher. “Find out about her,”
“What shall I find out, Milord?
“Everything. Find out everything there is to find!” He snapped, pushing his hand through his glowing brown hair. “Everything!”
“Yes, Milord.”
___
___
As they headed to the passageway that led to the Caves, Belladonna couldn't help but still feel uncomfortable about her encounter with Lord Jyris.
To escape from him, she had walked away as silently as she could when the messenger arrived. Lucky for her, she hadn’t had to walk too far because, just as she had assumed, Alaris was indeed waiting for her somewhere in the hallway’s shadow; he had watched the whole encounter, and something in his mismatched eyes as he had carried her away, told Belladonna he wasn't happy at all.
She wasn't too.
That Lord Jyris had been nothing but an unnecessary delay.
Such a burden!
It was a good thing she would never have to see him again.
Lucky for them, getting out of the castle had been easy. They stinked and no one wanted to call upon smelly servants to get something done for them. The guards had gladly let them go out through the cave.
One made a comment that they must have passed the night in the Slaughterhouse as he paid them no regard.
Well, that was fantastic.
An easy escape with no questions and suspicion!
Perfect.
When they finally got to the Passageway, they found it sealed. Belladonna tried to reach to the Channeler in her mind, hoping that she would respond.
The silence was another confirmation of many that the Channeller was dead, just as Alaris had said.
How much time had gone since they left? Were they all dead or —
At that moment, they heard something moving in the forest. Alaris pulled her into their hiding spot and they waited.
Wait, that redhead? It was Ny'ka! What time was she doing here?
Well, it didn't matter for now because with her help, they could get through the sealed passageway—
Belladonna stopped in her thoughts as she felt Alaris’ hand tightened around her. When she looked back, the golden eyes of his dragon had taken the place of his own.
He was raging? Why?
The passageway rumbled open and Ny’ka went in. Then it started rumbling close, but before it would pull shut totally, Alaris rushed in, too, bringing Belladonna along.
The passage door jammed shut behind them at the same time he slammed Ny’ka against the cave wall. She bared her teeth at him, leveling her dagger quickly at his throat until she realized who he was.
“Terrible warrior!” He snapped and her eyes went wide. “ I could have easily killed you.”
“Y–you are dead!” Her hand with the dagger slipped away in shock.
“I will ask you once, who did you take my gem to? Who did you show?”
His Gem?
Belladonna’s eyes quickly combed Ny’ka, and indeed, she had a small leather bag over her shoulder, with a blue light emitting from it.
“I–I didn't—”
“I know it is with you. Who are you betraying your kind for? Speak now, or I will kill you where you stand!” A wicked smile crossed his lips. “Besides, I do need to start my Heart Collection again. It will be a great pleasure to have your heart be the first. I’ve never liked you.”
He meant every word.
She knew.