“My benevolent patience?”
He scowled. “Your ego is bigger than Kazimir’s.”
“I assure you, that’s not the only part of me that is.”
Zane shuddered, and the worst part?
Not even he could tell if it was out of disgust…or something else.
It wasn’t his fault, really. He had an addiction to being wanted. Something that was starting to become painfully obvious Pavel had somehow discovered.
“How long?” the words were practically torn from him, an internal struggle to keep himself from giving more of himself away. But it was clear he wasn’t going to be able to escape unless he really did make good on his threats to stab the other Retinue member, and despite his earlier bravado, he was starting to think there was more here he was missing.
Pavel had to be unhinged, if tonight was any indicator, but he didn’t seem particularly concerned about the knife still clutched in Zane’s left hand. The one strong enough to cut through bone with a single sweeping motion.
Why?
Did he have that much faith that Zane was bluffing?
Or was there another secret he was withholding from the group?
“How long have you been—”
“Stalking you?” Pavel finished for him, chuckling when that caused Zane to suck in a sharp breath. “How badly do you want to know?”
Part of him didn’t at all, but the other part…the part that craved attention…
“Keep running, gorgeous,” he urged, the excitement in his tone ringing loud and clear. “After I’ve caught you and taught you a few lessons, I’ll answer that question. Promise.”
Lessons?
“Oh, didn’t like that?” Pavel must have seen it written across his face. “Too bad. I’ve allowed your freedom to choose all this time—as I’ve said, I’ve been benevolent—but that’s now come to an end.”
“I think you’re forgetting who I am,” he growled. Zane wasn’t a weak or easy target. He wasn’t only a member of the Retinue, but Kelevra’s third. He was favored by the Imperial Heir. In regards to hierarchy, he towered over Pavel. But even taking that into consideration, he didn’t need to involve the Diar siblings; he was more than capable of protecting himself.
Moonlight glinted off the teardrop-shaped blade in his hold as if to second that thought.
“I could never,” Pavel corrected. “You’re mine.”
“Yeah,” he drawled defiantly, “you’re definitely forgetting who I am.”
“I’ll prove it to you, right here, if you insist. If you’re not going to run then we can—”
Light help him, Zane turned and did just that.
He ran, having little to no understanding why he was playing along with this asinine game. Why he was allowing Pavel to yank his chain so effectively? The only explanation he could come up with was that if he weren’t here, he’d be in the lab at school studying. This…well, at least this was a more exciting use of his time, if nothing else.
And he refused to allow it to be anything else.
He weaved through the trees, not even bothering to pay close attention to the sounds behind him any longer. Obviously Pavel was better at this than he’d given the other man credit for. Better at navigating the dark forest without making a sound.He was also toying with him. Considering how close he’d been, the other Retinue member could have taken Zane down at any moment. Instead, he’d waited it out and had a conversation with him.
Maybe the guy was just bored.
That seemed like the more logical theory. Hadn’t Ledger recently gotten involved with someone? Perhaps Pavel was feeling neglected in his home life, so he’d come up with this plan to spice things up, so to speak. He’d chosen Zane as his target because Madden was dating the Butcher—not even a psychopath would risk getting on Berga’s wrathful side—Kelevra had a Royal Consort—Rin’s wrathful side was also worth noting—and Lake had returned to his home planet.
That pretty much just left Zane. He was the only Retinue member currently unattached and probably the only one with any sort of time on his hands to waste. Once this little game came to an end, Pavel would most likely pat him on the back and thank him for a good time.
A one-time good time.
