The silence stretched between them, heavy with expectation. Briar's pulse hammered in her throat as she stared at him, at the casual cruelty in his posture. He sat perfectly still, deceptively relaxed but ready to move. The clothes on her back suddenly felt thin and inadequate, threadbare protection against whatever came next. Her fingers found the hem of her shirt, clutching the fabric until her knuckles went white.
This was it, then. The moment where defiance stopped being brave and started being stupid. Where she learned exactly how much power she'd signed away with three days and a desperate bargain.
"I won't."
"You will." He moved to his throne, each step deliberate and unhurried. The living wood reshaped itself to cradle him as he settled into it with casual grace. "Unless you'd prefer an audience? I could summon Thaine back."
Her stomach turned. "You wouldn't."
"Wouldn't I?" He tilted his head, studying her. "You've been passed between males all night. What's one more set of eyes?"
"That's not—they were helping me!"
"They were touching what's mine." The temperature dropped on the last word. "Their scent is all over you. Their magic clinging to your skin. I won't tolerate it in my halls."
She clutched the bundle of fabric tighter. "Please."
"There is that word again. You say it so sweetly." He leaned back, eyes never leaving hers, green and deep and dangerous. "But it changes nothing. You will do as I say, I will not repeat myself a third time."
"I can't. Not with you watching."
"Is that so?" He rose from the throne with fluid grace, the movement so smooth it seemed like the world rearranged itself around him rather than him actually standing.
He approached slowly, each step deliberate. His bare feet made no sound on the living floor, but she could feel each footfall reverberating through the wood. "Then it seems I'll have to assist you."
When she realized what he meant, she retreated until her back hit the wall. Nowhere left to run. The throne room that had seemed vast now felt like a cage.
“Stay back,” she demanded, holding the bundle between them as though it might protect her from his intentions.
He stopped just out of reach, but she could feel the cold radiating from him. "You had your chance to do this yourself. Now we do it my way."
"Eliam—"
"Shh." He raised one hand, and vines crept from the walls. Not to restrain, but to trap. They formed a living barrier around them, creating an intimate space that carried the thick aroma of damp moss and midnight blooms. "No more words. You've said quite enough tonight."
He moved closer, and her breath caught. This wasn't the detached examination from across the room. This was nearness that made her skin prickle with awareness and her heart skip staccato against her ribs.
"Hands down," he said softly as he plucked the bundle from her fingers. They trembled as she forced them to her sides.
"Good," he murmured as his fingers found the first button of her shirt. The touch was light, barely there, but it burned through the fabric. "See how much easier it is when you behave and do as you're told?"
She turned her face away, but he caught her chin with his free hand. "No. You'll watch. You'll see who you belong to now."
His fingers were deft, practiced. Each button came free with intentional slowness, and with each one, her breathing grew more unsteady. The shirt parted, revealing skin flushed with humiliation and something else beneath it all that she refused to acknowledge.
"Arion’s magic is all over you," he said, tracing a finger along her collarbone without quite touching. She could feel the almost-contact sparking like an electromagnetic pull between his skin and hers. "Right here. And here." His finger moved to her shoulder, still not touching, but she shivered as if he had. "Did you like it when he touched you?"
His eyes rose to meet hers.
"He was helping—"
"That wasn't the question." His hands moved to push the shirt from her shoulders. It fell to the floor between them. "Did. You. Like it?"
"No."
"Liar." The word was soft, almost affectionate. His hands moved to her jeans, fingers finding the button with unerring accuracy. The metal was warm from her body heat, a stark contrast to his cool touch. "Your body says otherwise. Just here..." He leaned in, his breath warm against her skin before his mouth pressed against the hollow of her throat where her pulse raced.
The touch sent heat through her entire body, spreading outward in waves. Her hands clenched harder at her sides, nails biting deeper into her palms.
