wants to flex his almighty power, the thing he’s depended on his whole life to violate the laws of balance and free will and ruin countless lives. He thinks my wards are what gave me the ability to deny him, and as much as I would love to show him that he’s wrong, and that I’m stronger and cannot be bowed by his commands, now is my chance to start our plan to lull him into a false sense of security.
Talking earlier about what we need to do made it all feel so easy, but staring at the smirking Ophidian and seeing the malevolence in his eyes slams reality into my gut like a kick from a steel toe boot. This is going to be anything but easy.
“Sable, face forward and don’t move,” Morax commands, his voice oozing putrid power.
Here we go.
I force my body to go rigid and saturate my face and eyes with the darkness inside of me so that my features go empty, just like I’ve been practicing for days.
Morax watches for a moment, not moving or saying anything else, but I can feel the elation suddenly wafting off him as he studies me. He pushes off from the table and slowly, confidently walks over to my cage. He opens it with a touch, revealing a door that swings open silently, like even the metal refuses to creak and bring Morax’s attention to it.
“Step out of your cell and walk to the table,” he orders me, his voice layered with his ability.
He doesn’t move aside much to let me by, so I’m forced to rub against him while trying to follow his instructions exactly. But the issue I quickly realize with faking mind control is that I still have a mind. I don’t know if I should go to the table and stop and stare at the wall or if I should turn around.
Would it be suspicious if I do? He didn’t tell me to, but he also didn’t say stare at the wall.
Damn. Interpreting his orders is a little more complicated than I thought it might be, but I lock all of my uncertainty up and walk evenly to the table and stop and stare. He makes a pleased little coo, so I figure I’m doing just fine. Hopefully.
The room is quiet, and I know Toreon and Medley are watching, probably equally nervous and concerned.
“Very good, Sable. Now turn around and call your scythe.”
My heart wants to kick up a notch, but I wrap it with blackness so the uptick can’t be heard. I’m not sure if Morax has supernatural hearing, but I figure better to be safe than sorry. I turn around and call my scythe into my hand, and then I have to keep myself from jumping at the sound of Morax clapping loudly once before closing the distance between us, pure delight written all over his face.
He invades my space as he circles me. I work to keep my breathing normal, barring any twitches of revulsion from my limbs.
“Isn’t this so much better?” Morax asks. He looks to Medley and then Toreon, as if he expects one of them will answer him. “It doesn’t have to be painful,” he announces, his hand pressing against my cold skin and slowly caressing me from shoulder to shoulder. “If you just do as you’re told.”
My mind hammers with alarm as his hand drops lower, the tips of his fingers skimming the tops of my breasts and tracing the upper edge of my filthy bra.
Don’t cringe. Don’t react.
He wraps his other arm around me, his fingers fanning across my stomach as he pulls me back into him. Panic tries to take over my mind, but I fight it off. I can do this. I can stand here and let him do this without trying to stab him. This is a test, and if I can pass, we’ll be that much closer to getting out of here.
Chains clink together as Toreon moves, but I don’t dare flick my eyes in his direction. Medley is in the cell in front of me, and I can see the rage on her face.
“Bet you have to say that to all the girls,” she accuses between gritted teeth. “You have to order them to stay still while you touch things you’d never be given permission to touch otherwise.”
Morax stiffens behind me, and his hands go still against my icy skin. I suddenly feel so incredibly cold, and I don’t know if that’s