Silver Skin

30

Waning hearts
~
Accalia
~

Her hand were close, so close to the touch the bars of silver, but just as the pad of her fingers went to hook around the metal, a tutting voice swept by her ear.

"I'd be wary, Accalia. He might bite."

She slipped away from the others just to get close to him without touching him. She had grown tired of the champagne, the dances and sparkly dresses that posed as a front. She travelled through the many bodies that wished to cause her harm just to see him, see if he was real and in the flesh. He was, well and truly.

The music had become tiresome. The dances were never-ending and Lycus hadn't paid the slightest slither of attention to Accalia.

He laid motionless, even as his black eyes swivelled around uselessly, slightly landing on her and then moving elsewhere as if she wasn't in front of him at all.

Lycus was docile and ... absent.

Accalia whipped around and didn't care to hide her disdain, "What did you do to him?"

Adriana clicked her heels across the marble floor and flicked her cherry red hair over her shoulder as she gleamed brightly like a star.

She revelled in her explanation, she marvelled at her own voice, "The basics: Manipulated him, made him feel the bond with you wasn't worth it — I must admit, that was a task. I do have to give it to him though, he quickly handed himself over to me to protect you and his little brother. And so, day by day, piece by piece, I broke him down. I supposed I conditioned him to be this silent and pathetic. He doesn't say much nowadays. He was another reason why I didn't come for Rexton sooner — I was too preoccupied with him.

So those are the basics, after that, I moved onto whipping — I'm sure you can see the scars all over him. Then biting, that collar on him keeps him like this so he can't be human. Then restraining, public humiliation ... you're going quite pale, would you like me to stop?"

Accalia felt the colour drain out of her face and her body moved on its own accord, swaying into the bars as she tried to catch a breath. She flickered a worried, distraught glance to Lycus and his ears pinned down, quivering.

He was no beast amongst gods. His black coat had patches of thick, hard skin with fresh wounds and too many scars to count. He was a lost hound amongst men.

Then Accalia found the collar around his throat as he slightly turned his head and she lost it.

"Let him go!" Accalia shouted over the music and on her shriek, familiar faces came toward her.

Adriana rolled her head and her eyes shot up in dissatisfaction. She saw no problem in this, she couldn't see the concern.

"This is his punishment," Adriana hissed and twirled a loose strand of her. "I really don't get how you don't understand that."

"For Rexton?" Accalia questioned breathlessly and balanced herself against the bars.

Cadence, Tristan, Rexton and Erisa strolled over, followed by Tala and Alexene who dropped their icy stares at the people around them.

"For locking him up and keeping him from me, yes," Adriana responded and puckered her lips, brows knitting together as she took in the opposition in front of her. She wasn't pleased by it.

"Rexton isn't a possession," Accalia argued, sickened by the mere consideration of it.

Adriana tilted her head, thinking that over and her face drew a blank.

Accalia went cold in the bones.

That was how Adriana saw her people, her followers, and her captives. They were objects for her to play with and use. As far as she was concerned, they didn't even have a beating heart unless it was her telling it to beat.