Laria cocks her head, all mock concern. "I heard that several of the Council members were killed. She did that. She’s a murderer." She lets the word hang, poisonous.
Laria’s smile doesn’t waver as I approach, but her mouth is rigid. The room goes dead silent.
"You’ve got an impressive imagination," I say. "Shame it’s wedded to such a spectacular lack of self-preservation."
Her fangs glint. "Merely sharing concerns. We’re all invested in the safety of—"
"Let’s skip the false concern for anyone’s safety or well-being." I move in closer, keeping my voice low. It’s still the loudest thing in the room, now that it’s so quiet you can hear a pin drop. "You’ve had warnings."
Laria examines her manicure. Bright purple polish on nails filed into daggers. Garish, like her. "Tell me, Prince. Do they take shifts guarding your pet monster, or does Brigid sleep curled at the foot of your—"
The mug shatters on the wall behind her head and my coffee drips down the wood panels.
No one breathes.
I lean in until her cold breath mists my face. "Say her name again."
For half a second, I see it, the calculation. How many allies are in this room? How fast can she move? Then she thinks better of it, lucky for her.
"You’ve made your point." She smoothes non-existent wrinkles from her clothing. "But the Council will make theirs soon enough. Best choose the right side, your highness."
I catch a flash of black in my peripheral, and then Marius is beside me. He cracks his knuckles, covered in swirls and symbols, the formerly black tattoos now a faded gray after the release of the Raven King’s powers.
I wonder how much of his own shadow magic still remains.
Laria’s throat bobs when Marius props one boot on the bench beside her.
“Know what they do to rabid animals where I’m from?” Marius tilts his head, black hair falling across his forehead. His eyes are pitch black.“Flay the skin. Salt the flesh. Burn the bones and the ground so when they bury them, nothing grows where they rot.”
Her mask slips as her left eye twitches slightly.
He leans closer.“But you? For you, I’ll start with the tendons behind your knees. Then I’ll peel back your skin, inch by inch. Make you watch as I strip you down to muscle and bone.”
Marius's voice is a murmur, menacing in its softness. "I'll keep you alive for days. Weeks, maybe. Long enough for you to beg for death a thousand times over."
Laria's face goes even paler, if that's possible. She opens her mouth, but no sound comes out.
"I'll save your eyes for last. I want you to see everything I do to you. And when I finally pluck them out, I'll make sure you're still alive to feel it."
The room is deathly silent. Even I feel a chill at the explicit details of Marius's threat. He straightens up, a chilling smile playing on his lips. "So tell me, Laria. Do you really want to keep talking about Brigid?"
Laria's jaw clenches, but she stays silent. Smart move.
I place a hand on Marius's shoulder. "I think she gets the point."
Marius doesn't move for a long moment, his eyes still locked on Laria. Then he straightens, cracking his neck. "For now."
I scan the faces of the other students, seeing a mix of fear, fascination, and disgust. Good. Let them see what happens when you fuck with our mate.
"Show's over," I announce to the room. "Unless anyone else has something to say about Brigid?"
Silence. Laria's little groupies won't meet my eyes now.
"Didn't think so."
Her little flock scatters, leaving a wake of whispers in their retreat.
I turn to Marius, eyebrow raised. "Bit dramatic, don't you think?"
