Marry or Kill

35

M I N A

The moment I step out of the diner room, Elias's presence envelops me like a whispered promise. Without a word, his arm coils around my waist, drawing me into the warmth of his embrace. A shiver courses through me as I feel the familiar contours of his touch, a silent reassurance.

His scent, a heady mix that lingers in the fabric of my bedsheets, now surrounds me.

"I don't want to hear anything coming out your mouth," I say, allowing his hand to sprawl on the side of my waist, fingers effortlessly finding their place as if custom-tailored to the curves of my body.

Elias's eyes draw to mine, wandering around my scornful face and his eyes trace around the lines of disdain on my forehead. "Then I'll keep my words to myself."

After a long silence of walking, I halt.

Elias's footsteps, attuned to mine, stop as well. I heavily sigh out loud, feeling the whisper of his unspoken words rummage in my head. In response, Elias, attuned to my every nuance, places his other hand gently on the opposite side of my waist

"Your silence is unsettling," I say, searching his dark eyes. "Tell me what you think."

A dark glitter settles in Elias's voice when he declares, "I will end her if you'd like. We don't require their damned assistance to reclaim Sol."

My breath lingers on my lips, caught in the delicate web of confusion. "You're not curious about what happened?" I ask.

The corners of Elias's mouth ominously curl upward, casting a shadow over his expression and I sense a subtle tightening of his hand on my waist. "Well, I'm dying to know, but as much as I'd love to squeeze the truth out of you, I wouldn't want you to stop warming my bed."

Immediately, I peel his fingers off me with a scowl on my face. "You disgust me."

I stride away, leaving Elias in my wake, his dark chuckle echoing in the air behind me.

"Mina." I pause in my place, breathless. "Whenever you're ready, I would like to know."

As I think, memories of Elias's raw honesty in the torture room flood my thoughts. In the silence that ensues, I find myself contemplating the idea of telling him about what happened. There's a quiet reassurance within me, a certainty that he wouldn't cast judgement on me.

"The more I delve into it, the stronger the urge to end her becomes," I coldly say.

"In a twisted sense, among them all, the moment it was revealed that she was involved in your mother's death, I found myself secretly wishing your charming display would end in her death." Elias steps forward, into my space again, his scent clouding my thoughts. "Which spares me from carrying out such a distasteful task."

Among everyone I've encountered, considering his mother's trauma, I can grasp the origins of Elias's perspective. It's a shared understanding, a recognition that runs deep, and I see the shadows that flicker in his eyes at the thought of it.

"I don't want her to die," I declare. "Though she deserves it."

Elias nods. "Speak, and I shall be your captive audience. I am willing to listen, even until the very end of existence," he says.

"Many years ago, during the alliance of The East and The South, my mother met her end at the hands of Siastra—an accidental death, or so I choose to believe. The bond between my mother and her was profound, so much so that envy occasionally took me," I explain, feeling the bulge in my throat threaten tears.. "A fatal shot to the chest, and Siastra fled the consequences. The alliance shattered at a critical juncture when our dependency on their resources was dire for sustaining The East."