THEODOSA. I refused to flinch. He wanted me to cower. To stammer and blush and prove that I wasn’t serious about this. That I was just some desperate girl who’d crumble the moment he pushed back. I wasn’t going to give him that. “I want my brother released,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “Sent back to Duskmire safely. Unharmed. In exchange, I’ll be yours.” Xahen’s expression didn’t change. He just sat there on his throne, watching me like I was a mildly interesting insect he hadn’t decided whether to crush yet. “Mine,” he repeated. “However you want me. Whenever you want me.” I forced the words out before I could choke on them. “No resistance. No complaints. No attempts to escape.” The silence that followed was suffocating. Then he laughed. It was a low, cruel sound that made my skin crawl. “You expect me to believe that? You, the woman with the same face that’s put a knife in my chest twice, want me to trust that you’ll just… behave?” “I’m not asking you to trust me.”
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