Five’s POV "She's your friend," I drawled. "That's sufficient." "That's not a reason," she countered. "That's cruelty." "Slaves don't get to determine that," I said. Something moved across her face. I watched it happen — the thing I had been waiting for, the thing I had calculated this entire conversation to produce. Not because I wanted to cause her pain. Because I needed to see it. Because I needed to know with certainty, with my own eyes, in a controlled setting, before I could act on what I suspected. I needed to see what she was. "You promised," she reminded. "I promised nothing," I said. "You said — after Rebecca, after the courtyard—" her jaw tightened. "You said it wouldn't happen again. You said—" "I said what was necessary," I countered flatly. "You are a slave. I am your king. The parameters of what I say and what I mean are mine to determine." She looked at me. I looked back. And watched the thing I had been building toward arrive. It started in her eyes — a
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