“Brilliant plan. Except, of course, for the fact that the Empire already possesses both of the confirmed Trila-Glís Priestesses recognized by your faith, and thatyou, Mila, cannot provide proof of your claim. Not now.” He leaned forward, obsidian eyes glittering. “I own your power, and I will not allow you to jeopardize yourself by exposing us to the generalorthe Empire.” He took another step. “But let’s say for a moment that you can convince him Sasha and Carly aren’t the only living Trila-Glís. That man”—the backs of my knees bumped a desk in the center of his room—“already owns the High Priestess. He’s furious that I claimed you without permission, but what do you think will happen should he discover the truth of your power? He is bound to the most powerful of your kind, and holds unprecedented favor with the royal family. His power and resources are all but unlimited. How far do you think he’ll go to double it? To be the first to possesstwoTrila-Glís?”
Heart pounding, I leaned back as far as possible, hating the breath warming the base of my throat. “Let him come for me. I will end his pitiful existence, no matter the cost.”
“Withwhat, Mila?” The captain claimed both of my wrists in one hand. “Your great physical strength?” Strong fingers circled my throat, subduing me with mocking ease. “Your saucy little mouth?” He cut off my airway with a gentle squeeze, silencing me, then kneed my thighs apart. “Without your power, you arenothing.” His lips hovered too close, scant millimeters from…more. “You don’t know how lucky you are to bemine.”
Reaching for my ki, for whatever was left, I tried in vain to slaughter this impossible Elite and use his life-force for fuel—but the link between us pulsed. Fillinghiminstead. “S-Stop,” I rasped, forcing air past his fingers.
Releasing my throat, he pressed closer, scruffy day-old beard scratching my cheek, lips brushing my ear. “Do you thinkhewill stop if you ask nicely? If you beg?”
Trembling against muscular frame, I couldn’t find the words to refute him. Could only stand there in a mocking embrace, utterly defeated.
The captain’s free hand skated the length of my back, callouses rasping at exposed flesh—a back absent the cruelty of a slaver’s whip byhismercy. Healed by the last of the rare and dangerous things.
“He will see your fire, Miss Tannovic.” The captain’s touch settled on my lower back, blunt nails raising gooseflesh. “And if you are foolish enough to reveal yourself to him, General Tilcot will take what he wants and leave nothing behind.” Inky black eyes darted to my lips for an instant, then returned to my face. “Iwould see you flourish.”
Flourish? As a caged beast? I pushed at his bulk, swallowing an anguished howl.
But he buried his hands in my silky, unknotted tresses, pressing my lower back against the desk and forcing me to look at him. “I need your obedience in this.”
Kas’ fury rippled beneath my skin. Obedience? To him?
“Tilcot will enjoy killing you.”
And without my ki, I was helpless to defend myself—all because of Captain-fucking-Rawlings and his insane obsession! “How well you’ve trapped me,” I said at length. “A perfect cage. But…” I trailed off, tapping the pendant with the tip of a blunt claw. “Butyourpower is not so easy to hide, is it? I wonder what will happen should the general find out whatyouare…” I met his eye. “I wonder what the general would do if he found out there isalreadyan Elite wielding the power of two Trila-Glís.”
For a moment, the captain did nothing but watch me with a narrow glare. “A bargain, then,” he said, and smirked. “Make your demands, Menace.”
“Release me—”
“Come on, Mila. You can do better than that.”
I scowled, trying—and failing—to push him from my personal bubble, for at the moment, Icouldn’tdo better than that. Not now, with a head full of impotent chaos and the echo of darkness smothered by his light.
“The High Priestess,” I gasped at length. “I want a private meeting with the High Priestess.”
He pulled back, just a little. “Do you, now?”
“No Elites. No soldiers. No filthy Caledonians breathing down my neck. Just me and the High Priestess—” I paused, racking my memory for her given name. “Sasha. That is the price of my silence.”
“That’s quite the ask,” he drawled, kneading the back of my neck in an almost thoughtless manner. “But I’m afraid if you want a private meeting with the general’s slave, it’s going to cost more than your silence.”
I stilled, hyper aware of where he was pressed against me. Of just how vulnerable I was without my power.
“I want your obedience,” he whispered, shifting, thumbs tracing my cheek bones.
“And I want your head on a spike—”
“In front of the others, you will act the simple girl who lived in a forest,” he said, pressing closer. Covering me from hip to chest with heat and the unspoken.
Hands braced on his wrists, I swallowed it down, conceding the point to my impossible Elite. Strike once, or not at all. “Get off me.”
“Do you yield?”
My lip curled.
His nails scraped my scalp. “Do you yield?”
“Yess,” I hissed, shoving at his too-firm chest. “I will do my best to leave your precious General Tilcot intact, and you will get me time with the High Priestess.”
