Ronan

Chapter Six

Rosa was panting by the time the room materialised around her. Salt tickled the corners of her lips. Her skin gleamed with a sickly sheen of sweat, hair sticking to her face.

Needless to say, Ronan's head hoover was painful. Her body felt limp, numb, in the aftermath.

The worst part? That was just the start of it. He'd seen one scene—barely an hour of her life. From this room, she knew little of the time outside. But she'd wager they had a few hours in them yet before Ronan called it quits and let her sleep.

Or lets me die.

Gods, she was stuck up on that.

It wasn't that she was constantly thinking about death—this was just his effect on her.

Swoon. What's more romantic than associating your ex-lover with dying?

She watched him through the glass. He was doing God only knew what on the other side, flipping switches and buttons. That freaky machine hum still buzzed around her. Now, it fell into the background, easier to ignore.

"Are you happy now?" She demanded. Even her teeth felt funny, like they were vibrating in her mouth.

"I've found the beginning," He answered tonelessly. "I'm successful."

He'd seen their first meeting through her eyes. He'd felt her fear.

Looking back on it now, she almost laughed. She'd once thought Ronan would punish her for her sins. As if he could see hers over his own collection of them.

"That's not what I asked," She retorted weakly. "I asked you if you're happy. You've fried my brain for your own personal gain. Does seeing me like this make you happy?"

Did this bring him joy?

With their tumultuous history, paired with the depravity of his sanity, one could never truly know.

The warlock didn't answer.

Rosa couldn't do anything about it. Hell, without these chains, she doubted her ability to stand.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

The sounds of flipped switches and buttons was putting her more and more on edge.

"Fine, don't answer me, Doctor Death."

The man behind the glass paused. Hell, she felt the heat of his glare through his hood.

"After all these years, I can still get a reaction out of you."

She cried out, a shot of electricity burning through her body. Ronan's retaliation. Those buttons could abstract and injure.

"Fuck! Now you're just being mean."

She kept her mouth shut for a minute after that. Except boredom and her constant desire to know things wouldn't let her stay quiet for long.

Like I'm courting my own death.

She tried for a casual tone, hiding the fear still ripping through her. "So how much do you plan to get through today? One memory an hour?"

In other words, how much more of that would she have to endure?

"I've found the beginning. I'll finish the beginning."

Great. So there was more.

What would Ronan classify as the end of the beginning? They'd known each other for well over a century.

"Hmm, you want the full first chapter?" She prodded. That had to be to the end of her time in the heavens, right? The first impression. "Don't pretend this isn't affecting you, Ronan. You've never seen how ridiculous you look in that cloak, have you? Not until now. You think you look mysterious? Well, you don't. You just look stupid."