Page 107 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

“I didn’t…” I sigh. She trapped me with a question when I was curious. So, I wave my hand toward her to go on with another fucking question.

“Where are your scars from?” Pandora asks.

“Previous fights before I awakened,” I answer through thin lips. “My question is the same. Where are your scars from?”

Pandora presses her lips thin, causing my smile to broaden. She will break. It’s been one of the things I noticed about her since I got to know her. Pandora hides her scars, and from memory, I saw her move away from that peanut-butter fucker whenever he got too grabby across her hips.

“Um…” Her hands grip her arms, wrapping them around her, and Pandora stares vacantly at the ground. The movie plays in the background, and the speaker on either side of us blasts explosive sounds.

My hand reaches out to her, wanting to move the stray pieces of dark hair away from her face, but she talks before I can understand what I’m doing. “My sister and I escaped a fire elemny the night of the purging. We went to the hotel connecting to Elden Keep, but I went back to save this woman. When I returned, Typha closed the door behind her, trapping the woman and me in the room.”

I lean forward and invest in what Pandora has to say.

“Three fire elemny entered—no, four entered, but I killed one. The other three pinned me to the table after the woman told them I was Fross Hart’s daughter. After killing her, they called King Ragan and…” A stray tear slips down her cheek. “He thought I was Typha, so he told them to rape me.”

The colour in Pandora’s brown eyes fades, turning dark and filled with nothing, as if she’s stripping all emotions in the next part of her story. She sounds robotic and devoid of life. “I tried fighting them off, and when I did, it pissed them off. The bigger guy ripped my clothes, and when I attacked him, he put his hands on my waist and burned part of my body. Then, when he opened my legs and went to move inside me, I screamed.” Pandora frowns. “I remember little of what happened. Only the knight—Astin—entering, killing one of them and breaking the doors for me so I could get my revenge.”

I understand her hate toward King Ragan more now. If that happened to me, Eraminia wouldn’t be safe. I would have done much more than have names on my list for revenge. The world would have burned until I was the only one left—safe and away from anything that could harm me.

“You’re strong, Pandora.”

She faces me with a weak smile. “I don’t feel strong. Especially not around you.”

I raise my hand and poke her forehead. “Not to give you an ego trip, but I believe you’re the only elemny in Eraminia who can kill me.”

Pandora touches her forehead and asks, “Why do you keep fucking poking me?”

I let out a breathy laugh. “I’m using this as a method to keep you away. It also catches you off guard, and I enjoy the look of utter bewilderment on your face. It turns me the fuck on when you break from being a crow tit.”

She raises her hands and says, “Why the fuck do you care about my fucking tits for, Reen? You call them flat-chested, uninviting, lacklustre and everything under the fucking sun, but crow tit is a new low.”

My eyes widen, and I laugh. “It has nothing to do with your tits, Pandora. It’s a saying, meaning you are trying to fit in without being your true self. And so when I do this,”—I tap her forehead—“you break from that stupid fucking chastity belt persona who never tasted good cock before.”

“You’re intolerable,” Pandora groans.

I lean into her and say, “Were you not going into graphic detail about how I have a fucking monster cock before?”

And there she is. A wicked grin grows on her face, and the vulnerability she holds goes as she strips herself of her insecurities. “Speaking of monster dick. Have you ever rubbed one out while thinking about me?”

This fucking elemny has no fucking filter.

I face away from her and say, “This game is over. I quit. You win. Now watch the fucking movie.”

Pandora sniggers. “I take that as a yes, then.”

Chapter 44

Pandora Hart, July 22nd

I find it weird meeting the man who wants to kill me. It’s like I have Stockholm Syndrome or something. I gravitate toward my captor, and I can’t help but think it’s because he’s like me, broadly speaking—Prince Reen’s more…psycho.

Still, I can’t place my finger on why I keep accepting his invitation to leave the ship. Alad eyes me funny whenever I see him, and I can replace Astin with a cardboard cutout, and no one will fucking notice. Prince Reen, though, has brought more entertainment and fond memories of life than I had when I was growing up.

When I think more about it, it’s pathetic, really.

So, it brings us to our next destination, but it reminds me too much of home and the memories of the weight of a weapon in my hands that’s not a dagger. Prince Reen seems entertained by the idea as he parks Senri Toshiharu’s car—the one we were supposed to give back yesterday—near the shooting range.

Memories flood me of all the times Dad taught me how to handle a gun and pull a trigger on anyone but family. He wanted it to be an extension of my arm, handled with grace. The disappointment he held for me when I told him I enjoyed sinking a dagger into someone sank my heart lower.