Bereft: Demise

18 | Of Creatures Hungry in the Dark

"You...you mean figuratively, right?" I asked as my voice cracked under the strain of shock. Anzel couldn't possibly mean the manor was a literal prison. Prisons had barred windows and guards and numbered jumpsuits. Crow's End had none of that.

My reassurances did not calm the tremors in my hands, however.

"I mean literal, love," the Vytian replied, leaning his chair onto its anterior legs. He balanced it with minimal effort, unbothered by his precarious perch. "Who stays in the house of a Sin unless prevailed upon by extraneous circumstances?" 

I didn't have a response, because I wouldn't have chosen to stay in Crow's End if I had another choice. The manor terrified me. As curious as I was about magic and about the preternatural, I also had a healthy dose of fear where the manor and its residents were involved.

Now I was learning they weren't residents at all—but inmates. Inmates! 

Darius had left me alone in a prison?!

I felt as if I was going to be ill. Not because of weakness or because of the food I had consumed. I was going to be sick with rage.

"Sara...?" Anzel questioned, mistaking my sudden pallor for fear.

I cleared my throat and tried to find my voice as I stood, taking the ether infusion in hand. "Thank you for this, and for breakfast. I need to go. Now."

I went to storm through the door, but Anzel caught my arm by the elbow.

"Hold on," he said as he reeled me in. I didn't appreciate being restrained, even by something as slight as a hand, but I didn't shake him off. I titled my head toward the Vytian and waited. "I've shared something quite personal with you and helped you with your ether. The least you could do in recompense is answer a question for me."

"Fine," I retorted, distracted. I was going to kill the Sin of Pride!

Anzel smiled. The expression radiated comfort, but there was something sharp and cold beneath it, like a knife stashed under a soft pillow. "Are you and Pride lovers?"

I choked as my murderous thoughts were cut off. I gawked at the Vytian. "W-what?!" My voice had risen several octaves.

One of Anzel's groomed brows quirked. "It's a simple question. The answer is either yes, or no."

Flustered, I yanked my arm out of his grasp and clasped the infusion tight before it could slip from my sweaty hand. "Why on earth would you ask—?!" 

Anzel face had become curiously blank, his eyes gleaming with hints of violence. "Yes or no."

"N-no?!"

The Vytian's stiff posture relaxed. "Good," was his only reply. "Off with you now."

Dismissed and thoroughly confused, I exited the breakfast nook and returned to the front room Elias had referred to as Anzel's lab. The older Vytian was trying to discreetly tidy Anzel's mess, but when he saw me standing wordlessly by myself, he desisted with his efforts and plastered a pleasant smile on his face.

"Leaving? So soon?"

My chin lifted. "Yes. I...I have somewhere to be. Thank you for your hospitality, Elias." 

He dipped into a refined bow. The polished buttons on his coats gleamed in the lowlights. "Naturally, miss. If you require us again, do not hesitate to ask."