Xyliria laughed—a sound like breaking glass wrapped in velvet. “Such spirit.”
She tilted her head, regarding me with the same interest a cat might show a mouse before deciding whether to toy with it or simply kill it.
“Tell me, High Lord,” she said, tracing a finger lazily along Ashterion’s arm. “We all know her kind are only good for one thing. And I’ve always heard that humans fuck like animals. Is it true?”
The snarl that ripped from Varyth was feral, pure rage and violence, shaking the air around us. His mist whipped wildly, lashing out against Ashterion’s darkness.
Xyliria’s laughed, light and cold. Her eyes glinted with malicious satisfaction. “Oh, how sensitive,” she cooed. “I’ll take that as a yes, then. Perhaps… perhaps you’ll let others sample the human? Let them try her for themselves, see if she’s asspecialas you believe her to be.”
Before I could even react, Varyth’s response sliced through the moment. “You know,” he said, fixing his attention on Ashterion. “It’s ironic that such an offer comes from your bitch.”
He paused, letting the word sink in before continuing. “After all, I’ve heard certain things about you, Ashterion. Things about your…valueto other courts.”
I saw the slightest shift in Ashterion’s posture. His smirk faltered for the briefest of moments.
But then, Ashterion laughed. “Truly, Varyth,” he said, smooth and sardonic. “Do you believe all the rumours you hear?”
Varyth looked at him as if he was stripping him to bone before the words even fell. “Hardly rumours,” he retorted, laced with venom. “I heard it from an… experienced source.”
My eyes darted between them, between the slow, taunting smirk on Varyth’s lips andAshterion—whose face had tightened with an expression that almost looked like agony.
Varyth had torn at something fresh and bleeding.
“What the hell does that mean?” I asked.
But Varyth just smiled, slow and cruel. He knew he’d hit his mark.
Ashterion’s fingers curled against the armrest. His shadows had thickened around him, pulsing faintly against the edges of the room. It was almost as though they were trying toshield him.
I swallowed hard, my mind racing. Whatever had passed between them, it was personal. I had the sickening sense that Varyth had cracked open something Ashterion had been trying very, very hard to keep buried.
Ashterion opened his mouth again, but before he could speak, Xyliria shifted in her seat, her hand disappearing under the table for the briefest moment. His mouth snapped shut, a fresh flinch tightening his jaw. A moment later, Xyliria’s hand reappeared, her expression composed.
Fenric cut through the tension, flat and unimpressed. “Was there an actual point to you calling this meeting?”
Her attention slid back to Varyth, and her expression shifted into something colder. More calculating. “Let me make this very simple for you, old friend. You have a choice.”
She paused, letting the weight of it settle over the table like a funeral shroud.
“Hand her over…” Another pause, deliberate and vicious. “Or kill her yourself.”
For a moment, the entire chamber fell silent.
Varyth went utterly still beside me.“Excuse me?”
Xyliria’s smile widened, all teeth and malice. “You heard me. Those are your options. Give us the human, and we’ll ensure she’s... well cared for. Or save us all the trouble and end her yourself. Either way, that power doesn’t remain in your court.”
“Over my dead body,” Varyth snarled.
“That can be arranged,” Ashterion said quietly, speaking for the first time since Varyth’s barb had found its mark. His voice was neutral, but a hollowness lingered beneath it. “Though I’d prefer to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.”
“How generous of you,” Varyth replied, his tone dripping with disdain.
I felt the conversation spiralling toward violence, felt the way Varyth’s power pressed against the edges of his control. But something else nagged at me, the way Ashterion had flinched when Xyliria touched him, the way his shadows seemed to shield rather than threaten.
“You know what?” I said, cutting through the tension. “I’m getting really fucking tired of listening to you talk. Maybe if you spent less time running your mouth and more time actually learning what real strength looks like, you wouldn’t need to hide behind threats and your husband’s reputation.”
I leaned forward, matching her predatory smile with one of my own. “Tell me, does it hurt? Knowing that even with all your posturing and threats, you’re still just the accessory he tolerates? Must be exhausting, working so hard to matter.”
