Nytherael inhaled deeply. Forcing the trembling from his fingers. He had always been good at playing gas and finding cracks in the armour of even the most untouchable figures.
He gathered he can apply the sa skills and cunning in dealing with Sseraphis.
With effort, Nytherael swung his legs off the bed and stood. His body protested every movent.
He walked towards the open window and stared out at the moonlit grasslands as his jaw tightened. The air still was flowing freely, and breathing frozen air felt beneath him to a point that he wanted to stop breathing altogether.
He closed the window. Marched back to bed with groaning under his breath complaints and curses.
’If you were going to trap here, couldn’t you have made an effort with the house, bustard! And you know I hate frozen air, doing this... I shouldn’t call you little truth. Rather, you deserve the title, little villain! How heartless of you, Sseraphis. A serpent through and through!’
As soon as he lay down this ti, sleep overca him, and he drifted off instantly.
Sleep ca far too soon. He barely had ti to gather himself before serpents entered the house, eyes downcast and voice eerily formal.
"You are to present yourself before Lord Sseraphis at once. When he commands, obey. "
Nytherael forced a lazy grunted that masked the exhaustion clawing at his bones. The bed had been uncomfortable to sleep in, and it took a toll on his pampered body. Every inch of him ached even worse with the additional pangs.
The serpents said nothing. Only stepping aside to lead the way. Nytherael followed, his mind already working.
The previous day, in the trap, had been a brutal lesson. He realized that Sseraphis was not soone he could easily push around without consequences. However, he refused to cower.
If he wanted to survive there, he had to understand Sseraphis. Had to get under his skin in the way Sseraphis had done him.
The serpents led him down an unending path. The deeper they went, the quieter the world around them beca. Until, finally they stopped before a set of tall doubt doors of a permanent house near the hills.
"He is waiting."
Nytherael barely had ti to brace himself before the doors swung open. A figure stood inside the well lit room with their backs turned to the door.
Their long black hair fell over their white robes. Sunlight caught in the strands and made then gleam like spun gold.
"You didn’t sleep?"
Nytherael blinked at the unexpected statent. His lips twitched, and the voice of the beast sounded nothing like Sseraphis, more similar to the voice that’s been slipping into his head.
"Aw, you worried about ?" He entered, and the doors closed behind him.
The figure turned. His erald-green eyes swept over Nytherael like a cold wind.
Nytherael’s breath caught. The beast looked awfully familiar, they had t before but he couldn’t quite place where the encounter happened or how they were acquainted.
"Disobedience has consequences," he said softly. "Have you learnt that lesson?"
Nytherael’s jaw clenched. However, he forced himself to chuckle. "Oh, so I heard," he tilted his head, examining the beast so more.
The fast beating of his heart due to coming face to face with him was an indication that he wasn’t safe with the strange beast.
"You want to obey you? Then,I need sothing in return."
"You need?" The beast’s expression darkened. A flicker of annoyance crossing his face.
Nytherael nodded. "I need to understand you."
The beast went still. "You don’t need to understand anything," he said coolly. "You need only obey."
Nytherael humd, stepping even closer. He understood that Sseraphis put that heast there on purpose. There was no reason his vengeful wife thought the beast before him would be torturous to him, and he needed to know why.
"No offence, your Lordship, but I don’t do too well with blind obedience."
The beast’s fingers twitched at his sides. He hadn’t expected Nytherael to still remain so bold in front of him afterall his beast was sealed. He was completely defenceless.
Despite the odds, Nytherael pressed on. He kept his voice light and playful even though his heart hamred as he asked, "Have we t before?"
"..."
"It’s just that you look familiar. I feel like we’ve t before. Well, have we?"
The beast’s fingers curled into the fabric of his robe. His expression remained unreadable, but Nytherael could see the way his body stiffened. A flicker of hidden truths striking his green eyes.
’Sseraphis said he would rember ,’ the beast thought.
"You assu too much, Nytherael," he finally said. His voice was smooth with a dangerous edge beneath it like a hidden blade Nytherael needed to watch out for. "Don’t mistake fear for familiarity. I can hear your heart race."
Nytherael let out a low whistle. "That’s a fancy way of saying that I hit a nerve."
The beast didn’t react to the provocations. He simply turned and walked towards a small ornate table where a steaming pot of tea rested. His movents were slow like a predator luring prey into a false sense of security.
"You are a reckless fox," he comnted, pouring himself a cup.
Nytherael smirked for just a second. Dragging his exhausted body towards the table.
The beast glances at him. A knowing look in his eyes as hmif he could sll the lingering fear still clinging to Nytherael’s skin.
"So I have been told."
"And you make no effort to change?" He continued, lifting the teacup to his lips. "That ntality is... curious."
Nytherael crossed his arms. "Glad to know that I’ve picked your interest."
The beast set the teacup down with a soft clink. "You must think yourself clever," he said, "Believing that you can gain an advantage over with your sharp wits," he lifted his head, his presence suddenly beca overwhelming despite his graceful fra. "But, Nytherael, you are playing a ga that you do not understand."
Nytherael forced himself to hold ground. The pressure from the beast was crashing him, forcing his knees to weaken.
"Then why don’t you teach the rules and see whether or not I lose or win."
The beast smiled. "In a ga of lies and poisons... there are no losers or winners. It’s just the best liar getting away with a perfectly crafted tale."
Nytherael tool a slow breath. He watched the beast, but he still failed to recall where they had encountered one another.
"You don’t want dead. If you did, I’d already be a corpse, so why keep here?"
"That’s a curious question," the beast said. He withdrew the suffocating pressure, allowing Nytherael to breathe. "Co, have so tea. Maybe you’ll be enlightened by it."
"First, tell your na."
"The ticket to knowing my na is the tea." He said, pouring a cup for Nytherael.
Nytherael treaded with caution. He sat down, took the cup, and brought it close to his nose. He sniffed it, checking for poison.
"You wound , Nytherael. I would never poison you."
"That is yet to be determined," Nytherael fired back, completely guarded against the strange beast.
"Then let make this easier."
Nytherael raised his head. His eyes asked the question he didn’t put into words, ’What do you an?’
"One mouthful of tea for my na," he sweetened the deal.
Nytherael drank a mouthful of the tea and set the cup down. "There. Done. Your turn."
No sooner had he finished speaking that his mind registered the taste of the tea. His eyes went wide with horror.
He recognized the tea. It was his recipe. The scent was altered, but the taste was exactly the sa, and one sip was enough for its purpose to take form in a person.
"mory distortion," he whispered, his heart skittering in panic.
The beast smiled, "I stand on my statent. You truly are a reckless fox."
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