With a grateful gasp, Gus cut off herki.
The onslaught of faintness that set in immediately afterward made her wobble on her feet before she caught herself.Her efforts had wiped out her reserves, leaving her weak and vulnerable.
This was why she didn’t use herkioften.There was just too little of it and the consequences when she ran low were brutal.Headaches.Body aches.Sometimes even unconsciousness.
That was the case this time too.
Plopping down, Gus settled in to wait for Ryan to wake up.
Gus hummed softly to herself, the multi trunks of the tree cradling her back just right as she reclined against it.At the subtle shift in atmosphere, Gus dropped her hand from where she was idly petting the tree.“Oh good, you’re awake.”
Ryan’s expression was alert and surprisingly calm for someone inhibited byseikistone and bound by the trunks of the Lord of Titan.
Gus supposed that meant he didn’t feel like he was in any real danger.
Then again, there was reason for his confidence.If she’d intended to kill him, she wouldn’t have given him the antidote.
“You poisoned me,” Ryan observed.
There was a curious lack of anger in his tone.If anything, he sounded bemused.
“I did,” Gus agreed.
“You never touched me.I made sure of it.”
Yes, he had.
“You’re not the only one the masters gave claws to,” Gus said.
You would have thought he’d suspect something given all the missions he’d sent her on.Most of them had been dangerous.If not for her self-defense mechanism, she would have been long dead.
“Is there a reason why you felt the need to poison me?”
“You were threatening me.I no longer felt safe.”
Ryan seemed somewhat taken aback by her statement.“I did?Me?”
“What would you call it then?”
He’d grabbed her by the neck and would have used his soul’s breath on her if she hadn’t stopped him.
Ryan pursed his lips but didn’t answer her, just watched her with those striking eyes of his.
“I acted in self-defense,” Gus asserted.
She wanted him to remember that when he finally got free.Maybe it would give him a moment’s pause when thinking about seeking revenge.She wouldn’t hold her breath though.He wasn’t exactly known for his understanding nature.
For the next little while, she’d have to give him and the rest of the forty-three a wide berth.At least until memories had a chance to cool and their grudges settled.
She had no idea how long that would take given their reputation for never forgetting a slight.
“Your response was a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”Ryan gave an experimental wiggle in his bonds.
Someone else might have fallen for his apparent calm.
Not Gus.
Their history spanned too many years.She knew how silver tongued Ryan could be.How he could lead you in circles until you thought up was down or left was right.
