Page 41 of Empress of Ruin
“What do you need right now?”
“To start, some peace and quiet.”
“You’ll get that soon enough, and that’s awant. What do youneed?”
“My freedom.”
“Also a want.”
“I don’t know,” she huffs. It’s adorably petulant. “Apparently all of the things I regard as needs, you regard as wants, so I guess nothing.”
Fair enough. “What would make you feel better than doesn’t involve me letting you go, divulging my secrets to you, or never speaking to you again?”
She glances at me. “A cheeseburger would be nice. If I have to eat another meal I can’t pronounce, I’ll lose it.”
“Done. What else?”
“Nothing that you’re willing to give.”
“I need you to let me in on whatever politics were going on tonight,” Lyra says later that night. She’s freshly showered, wearing only a silk bathrobe. My gaze lingers on the hint of cleavage it reveals. “No.”
“Yes,” she retorts. “You’ve dragged me back into a world that you’ve repeatedly informed me is dangerous for me to exist in, and you’re asking me to rely on your protection blindly. I will not do that. If you really want… whatever the fuckthis is,” she gestures between us, “to have even the faintest chance of working, you need to read me in.”
I let a few beats pass, as if I’m considering it. Then, I reiterate, “No. I don’t trust you not to use anything I tell you against me.”
She gives a derisive laugh. “And how would I do that without also destroying myself, Killian? You’ve made a very public spectacle of us being together. You’ve presented us as a unit to high society. I no longer have an anonymous way to turn on you, and if I decide to do it anyways, I’m fucking myself in the process. If half of the danger you suggest is real, I’m probablykillingmyself to boot.”
I pause to consider her. She’s not wrong, but I hadn’t expected her to draw to this conclusion so quickly. She’s acclimating faster than I thought she would be. And, I also need to work harder on getting her a distraction to replace this desire forinformation. Taking my cock three times a day and reading isn’t enough to keep her occupied; she needs some sort of work.
I need to get Aisha on the phone again.
When I go too long without speaking, she continues. “You know, I’ve already figured some things out. I’m not stupid, Killian. I can connect enough dots to scare me, but not enough to understand.:
“Oh?” I keep my tone carefully amused. “Enlighten me. Which dots have you connected?”
She inhales a deep breath and glances away. “That Silas Black is the one who leaked the tape.” Pain flashes across her expression, and she glances at me again. Whatever she sees makes the pain double, and her shoulders hunch inward.
“Why did he have it, Killian?”
“I can’t tell you that.” I want to kiss her pain away, but I’m not sure it’ll help now.
“Of course not.” Her expression wipes blank, and I dislike that almost as much as I disliked the brief flash of agony. “Fine. You want to keep me out of the loop? You want me to be a good little stay-at-home captive who does whatever you say, when you say? You want me to be the sex toy you’ve reduced me to?”
I open my mouth to correct her, but she cuts me off.
“Alright, then. You can have it. You won’t talk to me, you won’twork with me, you won’t do anything but fuck me, so obviously, that’s all I’m worth to you. So, where do you want me, Killian? I’ll stop fucking fighting because it does no one any good,least of allme.”
I narrow my eyes. “What game are you playing?”
“The bed?” she queries. “The shower? The bathroom countertop?Your desk?” A short, derisive laugh escapes her. “Go ahead. Take what you want. Be the conqueror you show the world.”
“Lyra, stop.” I don’t like the direction this is heading in,orthat blank look in her eyes.
“Fine.” She shrugs. “So, what do you want me to do, then? How can I act the part of your perfect captive tonight?”
“Lyra—”
“Should I bend over so you can hurt me some more for having the gall to ask questions and take an interest in my own future?”
