Song of Darkness

Chapter 21B

My breath instantly returns to me. I cough, glaring at Ayden.

"You'll be safer with the iron than without it. If I'm going to protect you, you're going to have to start listening to me.

I slip the bracelet onto my wrist. The familiar tingle of my magic disappears, leaving an emptiness like the loss of a friend. "If I'm going to listen to you, you're going to have to start showing me some respect." I spit.

"Fair enough."

I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously. But before either of us can say anything, a man walks in with two plates of food. He silently sets them on the table.

"Thank you." I say when he places a plate of chicken in front of me. He pauses momentarily at the words, before carrying on without acknowledgement. He refuses to meet either mine or Ayden's eyes. When he's gone, I ask accusingly. "What have you done to him?"

"He said the wrong thing to the wrong person. I cut out his tongue." Ayden shrugs.

I stare at him. How could someone so handsome be so corrupt inside? I shake my head, trying to get rid of that thought. Handsome. Having spent a night with this man, however little I remember, is going to make being his captive so much more difficult. It's not a simple prisoner-prisonee relationship. It's complicated.

"I know you think I'm some kind of monster," Ayden runs a finger idly around his wine glass. Mine sits untouched. "But I only hurt those who wrong me. Yes, I enjoy the pain I inflict, but I never seek out innocents."

"And yet you nearly killed me a few minutes ago."

"I gave you the means to survive." He counters. "Only your pride would've killed you. And besides, I haven't forgotten that you broke into my house and tried to steal from me. You're not exactly innocent yourself."

The truth in his words make me pause and re-evaluate the situation. Unsure how best to respond, I cut off a piece of chicken and shove it into my mouth. Lesson number seven screams in my head: don't consume any food or drink offered by a dark-sider. But, logically, if Ayden wanted to kill me, he would've done it in the dungeons, rather than bringing me out only to poison me.

For a few minutes, we both eat in silence. I take my first sip of the wine. It runs sweetly down my tongue.

"So, tell me about this 'lord' thing." I say. My temper has cooled, and anything I can learn from Ayden could help me get out of this wretched place.

"Ah. That's quite a tale."

I wait expectantly.

"My mother was one of the king's many lovers. You see, his wife is more of a trophy, whereas his lovers are the women he values. The king gave his blessing for my mother to marry my father, and from that relationship, I was born. But then my mother died in childbirth. The king blamed my father and slaughtered him, and the king took me into his own care. My mother should've borne his child, after all. So no, I am technically not of noble blood, but the king raised me as his own. 'Lord' was the highest ranking he could bestow upon me."

"That's tragic." Genuine sadness enters my voice.

"That's life."

I take a long sip of wine.

"You avoided my question earlier." I note. "When I asked why you were acting nice. Why the special treatment when, as you said yourself, you usually torture your prisoners? Why bother gilding my cage?"

"You were never meant to be my prisoner, you were meant to be... different. I'm hoping you can learn to trust and forgive me. If you do, then I will be able to allow you more freedoms. "