raised her chin. "What exactly is it you want, warrior?"
Jaelan finally looked at her. "I want you." He held up a staying hand when she opened her mouth to reply. "Let me explain something before you jump down my throat with your righteous anger, wench."
"Stop calling me that!" she snapped, infuriated by the word.
He ignored her outburst, uncrossed his ankles, and raised one leg. He rested his wrist on his knee, flexing his fingers as though they pained him. "I could just as easily arrest you, tie you to your horse, and take you with me to Abbadon as my prisoner. I could go before the Magistrate, ask for, and be given, ownership of you to do with as I please."
Aradia's mouth dropped open.
"No one would gainsay me, and no one would dare interfere. This is Rysalia, and men rule this world with impunity. Women have no legal standing. You would have no recourse whatsoever and would be treated as chattel. Should I grow weary of you, I could take you to the slave market and sell you." He crooked his head. "I would venture to say you'd net me a tidy sum if stripped and paraded before the aristocracy."
Her mouth as devoid of moisture as a baking desert, Aradia felt bile creeping up her throat.
"Or I could give you to my best friend--to anyone I care to, actually--as a gift."
"Try doing any of that, warrior," she seethed, "and I would slit your throat and--"
"The reason I was chosen as a Death Lord is because I have certain abilities other men don't." He locked gazes with her. "You know I can read minds, but do you know I can influence what people do?"
She smiled nastily. "If that is true, why did you not free yourself from the mine?"
"Did you see the iron bands welded to my wrists and ankles and neck, little Amazeen? If you did, you saw the only way those bastards had to control me. The confining of my body with iron shackles can negate my abilities. The water I was given to drink was heavy with iron deposits, and that only added to the restriction of my powers."
Aradia remembered well the iron circling his dirty flesh. She remembered, too, the blood seeping from the raw sores on his wrists and ankles. Though she had not noticed an iron collar around his neck, she had no reason to doubt the brutal restraint had encumbered him.
"Brutal restraint," he repeated, letting her know he had intercepted her thoughts. "A good way to put it. Brutality was a way of life for me--until you came along."
"And you would repay my kindness by imprisoning me," she said, refusing to allow her pity for the man to show on her face.
"I could make you come with me against your will and you would never realize what was happening. I could make you so hot with passion you would be hard put to keep your hands off me."
"Oh, for the love of Aluvial! You have a high opinion of your appeal, don't you?"
"I sent you here to this cave and told you not to be concerned when I arrived. You never once questioned my appearance, did you?"
Unease flitted through Aradia. She tucked her lower lips between her teeth. "A...a storm was coming...the caves were handy. Any fool would've had sense to come in out of bad weather. As for being unconcerned when you showed up, I knew you were behind me. I figured you'd catch up sooner or later."
Jaelan did not deign to refute her words. "Believe what you will."
"So why not order me to do what you want? Wouldn't that make things easier for you?"
"That would be cheating. I want you to come to me of your own free will, not because I have mentally ordered you."
"Yet you would blackmail me into having no choice in the matter."
Jaelan shrugged. "Every compromise has its drawbacks, wench. I needed leverage, and your sister's freedom is it."
"You may not like cheating, but you don't play fair, either!"
He raised his other knee and encircled his legs within the parameters of his arms, one hand gripping the wrist of the other. "I'm allowing you to make the choice. If you tell me you're not interested, you can go on your way.
Jaelan finally looked at her. "I want you." He held up a staying hand when she opened her mouth to reply. "Let me explain something before you jump down my throat with your righteous anger, wench."
"Stop calling me that!" she snapped, infuriated by the word.
He ignored her outburst, uncrossed his ankles, and raised one leg. He rested his wrist on his knee, flexing his fingers as though they pained him. "I could just as easily arrest you, tie you to your horse, and take you with me to Abbadon as my prisoner. I could go before the Magistrate, ask for, and be given, ownership of you to do with as I please."
Aradia's mouth dropped open.
"No one would gainsay me, and no one would dare interfere. This is Rysalia, and men rule this world with impunity. Women have no legal standing. You would have no recourse whatsoever and would be treated as chattel. Should I grow weary of you, I could take you to the slave market and sell you." He crooked his head. "I would venture to say you'd net me a tidy sum if stripped and paraded before the aristocracy."
Her mouth as devoid of moisture as a baking desert, Aradia felt bile creeping up her throat.
"Or I could give you to my best friend--to anyone I care to, actually--as a gift."
"Try doing any of that, warrior," she seethed, "and I would slit your throat and--"
"The reason I was chosen as a Death Lord is because I have certain abilities other men don't." He locked gazes with her. "You know I can read minds, but do you know I can influence what people do?"
She smiled nastily. "If that is true, why did you not free yourself from the mine?"
"Did you see the iron bands welded to my wrists and ankles and neck, little Amazeen? If you did, you saw the only way those bastards had to control me. The confining of my body with iron shackles can negate my abilities. The water I was given to drink was heavy with iron deposits, and that only added to the restriction of my powers."
Aradia remembered well the iron circling his dirty flesh. She remembered, too, the blood seeping from the raw sores on his wrists and ankles. Though she had not noticed an iron collar around his neck, she had no reason to doubt the brutal restraint had encumbered him.
"Brutal restraint," he repeated, letting her know he had intercepted her thoughts. "A good way to put it. Brutality was a way of life for me--until you came along."
"And you would repay my kindness by imprisoning me," she said, refusing to allow her pity for the man to show on her face.
"I could make you come with me against your will and you would never realize what was happening. I could make you so hot with passion you would be hard put to keep your hands off me."
"Oh, for the love of Aluvial! You have a high opinion of your appeal, don't you?"
"I sent you here to this cave and told you not to be concerned when I arrived. You never once questioned my appearance, did you?"
Unease flitted through Aradia. She tucked her lower lips between her teeth. "A...a storm was coming...the caves were handy. Any fool would've had sense to come in out of bad weather. As for being unconcerned when you showed up, I knew you were behind me. I figured you'd catch up sooner or later."
Jaelan did not deign to refute her words. "Believe what you will."
"So why not order me to do what you want? Wouldn't that make things easier for you?"
"That would be cheating. I want you to come to me of your own free will, not because I have mentally ordered you."
"Yet you would blackmail me into having no choice in the matter."
Jaelan shrugged. "Every compromise has its drawbacks, wench. I needed leverage, and your sister's freedom is it."
"You may not like cheating, but you don't play fair, either!"
He raised his other knee and encircled his legs within the parameters of his arms, one hand gripping the wrist of the other. "I'm allowing you to make the choice. If you tell me you're not interested, you can go on your way.
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