I feel a small amount of satisfaction knowing that I fooled him, and that one day soon, I will best him and reveal to him how much I still truly hate him.
His head leans in again, slowly, and I shake my head, feigning sadness.
I hold up my cuffed wrists before him. “As long as I’m a prisoner, I’m not doing anything further with you. It doesn’t feel… right,” I finish in a whisper.
He pulls back, his brows furrowed, and I can see the inner battle he’s having behind his distant eyes.
“Okay,” he finally says, looking at me.
“Okay… what?” I ask in a gentle, weak, totally fake voice.
He breathes in deeply, his broad chest expanding as he flicks his gaze away before returning it to me. There’s still some hesitation there, but finally, it appears he’s made a decision about something.
“I’ll remove them if you promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Stop swimming.”
“Stop swimming?”
“I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner. So I’ll remove them. But if you take off swimming the moment they’re gone, I’ll have no choice but to come after you. Your father would have my head otherwise.”
“But… when will we go back home?”
He rubs his chin, looking away. “I don’t know. I have to be back in a few weeks, and I can’t just leave you here without…” He glances down at my wrists, and I see doubt creeping in again.
No. I can’t have that.
I reach out for his hands, gazing up into his eyes in the most loving way that I can manage. “I’ll do whatever you ask of me. I won’t cause trouble, okay?”
His eyes dance back and forth, searching for a truth that I think he hopes to find. He’s either a fool, or he’s lying to himself.
Or I’m excellent at faking.
He nods, then flips my wrists up gently, holding them suspended in the air like an offering. He’s not a terra wielder, so I’m not sure how he’ll take them off. Then again, both terra and verdant wielders worked together to create these dreadful things.
With two slow waves of his hands, the cuffs disappear.
I breathe in a slow sigh of relief, staring at my bare wrists. It’s been so long, the cuffs were almost becoming a part of me. It feels… strange without them.
A large part of me is tempted to blast him in the heart with an ice spear right now, but I need to play this smart. There’s still an island of soldiers who guard the docks, and all the ships. They’ll be looking for him, and they’ll know what I’ve done eventually. I could act now before anyone knows what’s happened, but I don’t know how many soldiers I can take on at once. I haven’t used my powers in over a year, and even then, I wasn’t very practiced in combat. If I face even a few of them, they could overpower me with their elements quickly, then imprison me and cuff me all over again, possibly heightening my security. And if Adrian is left alive, he’ll never trust me again.
I pretend to stare at my wrists in wonder still as I think through all the scenarios.
I think waiting it out for now will be the best route for success. I’ll keep playing Adrian, though I need to speed that plan along, because I don’t know how much more kissing I can take, and I’m certainly not going to let him take me to bed.
My stomach sours at the thought. At least he’s making me feel… something. Even if it’s disgust. It’s progress.
I finally look up at him with an elated smile. He looks hesitant as he smiles back at me, as if he’s bracing for me to try something.
“Thank you,” I say.
“You’re welcome.”
I step closer, wrapping my arms around his neck in a soft embrace and leaning my face against his hard chest.
After a moment of pause, his arms wrap around me, and he breathes out before kissing the top of my head.
