“There she is,” he says. “Did that make you feel better?”
The fucked-up thing is, it really did. I got a little zap of energy from defying him, even though I know it’s not a real scenario.
“When Drako comes back, you can tell him that you’re taking charge and he has to listen to you from now on,” Thor suggests. “That, and everything that would follow it would certainly improve your mood.”
“You think I just like being in trouble?”
“Yes,” he says.
He’s right, too. I’ve become sort of one-dimensional that way, but goddamn, there’s nothing like the rush of looking into an authority figure’s eyes and straight up defying them. Whatever kind of glee Drako and Thor got out of almost dying and then running away, it’s nothing compared to the thrill I get from disobedience.
Wow. My dead dad really has a lot to answer for in the way he raised me, I guess.
Freya and Mila don’t seem to have the same psychological quirk. Maybe it’s genetic. Or maybe… I don’t know. What’s the point of taking my brain apart here and now when some creature might be taking it apart literally very soon.
“Where do you think Drako went?”
“To shit himself, probably,” Thor says bluntly.
The answer catches me off guard, and I laugh.
“There you go!” Thor’s so pleased with himself. His handsome face spreads wide in a lovely grin.
“I guess running can do that to you,” I say.
There’s not much in the way of dignity in the wild. At home there was plumbing and whatnot. Here it’s just doing things the same way animals do them.
Just as we’re theorizing what he’s up to, Drako returns. He looks at us with handsomely narrowed eyes.
“What are the two of you laughing about? Are you conspiring against me?”
“And lose our experienced guide who led us directly into a field of thousands of animals any one of which could have killed us all? No. Of course not. We wouldn’t dare. We depend on you for our survival,” I say.
Drako does not like the joke.
“Do I need to teach you respect?” He walks over to me, all tall, dark, handsome, and stern.
“Yes, please,” I grin, absolutely unrepentant.
Thor has moved away from me, strategically. He’s literally going to let me start some shit just to improve my mood. This cannot be a healthy kind of approach, but we might be past concerns about health.
“What is wrong with her?” He turns and asks Thor the question, as if Thor might have an answer.
Thor shrugs.
“Address me when I’m talking to you,” I say. “That’s what’s polite.”
Drako’s dark brows rise at me. “Have you absolutely lost your mind?”
“You didn’t exactly do a good job of leading,” I tell him. “So I’ve decided to be the leader. Thor has already agreed to follow. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Drako pauses for a moment.
“Little girl,” he says, when he regains his power of speech. “You are about to be whipped and fucked to within an inch of your life. Do you want to make an apology before I start?”
I glance over at Thor, then back at Drako.
“Sure,” I say. “I’m sorry.”
