Page 72 of Realm of Wind and Vines
By the wall, Eva gasps, which all but confirms that they are indeed staying somewhere in this village. However, the man quickly presses his lips together, as if that would somehow save him from having to answer.
Reaching out with my magic, I connect it to the bone white flames of fear that are now burning in both of their chests. They’re already pretty big, but I start increasing them anyway.
“Tell me where they are,” I order again, my voice coming out shockingly hard.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man replies while shaking his head.
That terrible impatience burns through me again, and I flex my fingers on the hilt of the knife to release some of the tension trapped inside me. It doesn’t work. So I just slide my gaze to Eva instead.
“I would really hate to get blood all over these white sheets,” I say, holding her stare with merciless eyes. “Such a nuisance for you to wash out, don’t you think?”
All color drains from her face, and her terrified eyes dart between me and her husband.
“Don’t tell her anything,” he snaps before Eva can break.
A low snarl threatens to rip from my chest. I don’t have time for this. Those dark waves of unending hatred and rage wobble inside me, threatening to crash down and at last drown me fully, as the image of Draven, shackled and defenseless with Jessina’s foot on his neck, flashes through my mind again.
“You know what she will do to us if she finds out we betrayed her,” the man continues, his pleading eyes on his wife.
That cold mercilessness is spreading through my veins like poison, but I don’t know how to stop it. And truth be told, I don’t think I want to stop it anymore.
“Ah, I see,” I say. “You’re more afraid of her than you are of me.” A vicious smile curls my lips. “That can be fixed.”
Before they can so much as open their mouths to respond, I throw open the floodgates of my magic and flare those flames of fear into wildfires.
Eva’s knees buckle, and she crashes down on the dark bedroom floor while terrified whimpers escape her lips. Below me, a dark stain spreads across the front of the man’s underwear.
“Tell me where she is keeping Draven Ryat,” I command. “Or I will make you wish that someone as merciful as Jessina Iceheart was here instead of me.”
“The green building,” the man stammers, his eyes wide with terror as he stares up at me. “In the middle of town.”
“Which green building?”
“There’s only one green building.”
“Excellent.”
With a flick of my wrist, I remove the blade from his throat and slide it back into its holster. I keep the magic connected for another few seconds, though. Fear shines in their eyes as they stare up at me, one from the bed and the other from the floor, too afraid to move.
“If you tell anyone that I’m here, I will come back and kill you both,” I warn. “Understood?”
They nod frantically.
“Good.”
At last, I let my magic fade out. Since they didn’t know me beforehand, this encounter will likely shape their entire view of me, so they will continue to fear me even after the magic is gone.
Spinning on my heel, I start towards the door.
“You’re a monster,” Eva whispers, her voice full of anger and fear, from where she is still kneeling on the floor.
Once upon a time, a comment like that would’ve paralyzed me. Knowing that someone disliked me enough to call me something like that would’ve made me fret and worry and feel sick. It would have hurt me beyond belief to be called a monster. Once upon a time.
Now, I find that I have, at long last, officially run out of fucks to give about other people’s opinions.
So instead of feeling anxious about how these two humans see me, I embrace the monster label as I turn back to lock eyes with Eva.
“Yes, I am.” I flash her a cold smile, full of cruelty and threats. “So make sure that I don’t have a reason to return.”
