“She deserves pain,” said one of the other big guys, either Ramone or Night.
“That she does, Night,” said the other big guy—Ramone, then.“A whooooooole lotta pain.I think Zi’s got dibs to go first, but I call second.”
“Didn’t you hear me?”Alobaz said.
“I did,” Ramone said.“We get to punish her, but only once we have your go-ahead.”
Alobaz frowned.
“You are going to punish her, though, right?”Ramone laughed oddly.“The bitch tried to kill you.She almost got you.”
“She did not.You know I’m not that easy to kill.”
“Baz,” Edwidge said.“That’s not the point.That she should hurt you at all when…” She trailed off, her eyes promising she would have more to say on that later, when I wasn’t around to listen.Her eyes were a blue like Alobaz’s.In comparison to his, hers were dull and flat, like they were painted with a limited palette, when his spanned the range of blues and greens of all the Opalese.
Aziza finally brought her blades to her sides, where she continued to grip them and bare her teeth at me.
“Let me go,” she said to Levin.
“Dragon Mother, do I look stupid to you?”He shook his head.“Don’t answer that.I’m not letting you go till you muzzle that rage you got going on.”
He leaned forward, nuzzled her ear.She jerked her head away.
“Keep that fire for the bedroom, doll.I’ll help you work it out.”
Aziza sheathed her mordaris and shoved at his arms.They held.
“Lev,” she warned.
He released her, arms raised.“My offer still stands for later.”He winked.
She shook her head.“Everything’s about sex with you.”
He smiled.“Sure is.’Cause I’m smart.I know what to prioritize.What life’s really about.”Then, as if suddenly remembering I was there again, he sneered.“Dealing punishment when it needs to be dealt.”
“No,” Alobaz snapped.“No one will be punishing her but me.No one touches her but me.Understood?”
“Yeah, bro,” Lev said.“You don’t gotta go all bossy on us.We hear ya.”
“Hard to tell with you most of the time.”Without taking his eyes from me, Alobaz told the others.“No one interrogates her but me.No one does anything to her without my say-so.”
“You got it,” Félix said.
“Yeah, General, we hear ya,” Ramone said.“You don’t need to worry about us, right, Zi?”
Aziza grunted, sounding like a chuffing jagune.
“And no one,” Alobaz said, “no onefeeds her but me.”
He could have threatened to roast me on a spit of Fuerin fire and I would have been less terrified.
“I’ll never feed from you,” I said, infusing all the venom within me into my glare.“Never.I’ll starve first.”
“Then prepare to be hungry,” he said.“Because no one will contravene my orders.”
“That’s right,” Edwidge said while she rolled her shoulders.They were twice as thick as mine.
“I won’t feed from you no matter how hungry I get,” I told the biggest asshole I’d ever met in my entire life.
