most honest I've ever seen you be." Smiling, I take a deep breath, remembering the beauty of his strikes. "It was… pure. Raw. Unrestrained. Didn't it feel good to let that part of you out to play?"
His eyes flicker to the floor, knife still pointed at me, but eventually he risks a glance at her and there's not a hint of shame or disgust on his face. If anything, I see a flicker of pride.
"That's all Lakyn is trying to do for you, Aftyn. He wants you to become who you were always meant to be. He's trying to give you the opportunity to do it, and you have no idea how lucky you are to have someone who accepts you for who you are."
"Lucky?" Aftyn repeats quietly, turning back toward me. "You think I'm lucky? You fucking cunt. You don't know anything about me. You don't know anything about Willa! If you hadn't blindsided her, she would’ve taken you down easily, but you didn't even give her a chance because you knew you'd lose."
Another giggle bubbles up, and I'm grateful for the rush of adrenaline that's turned the burning ache in my leg from an eight down to a three. Pushing out my lower lip, I give my best little girl pout, baiting him. "Wanna hurt me, Aftyn?"
He opens his mouth to say something else, but the click of the bathroom door opening draws both of our attention to Lakyn as he pauses at the door and then starts to laugh.
"God damn… looks like I missed some fun." He's beautiful as he strides across the room with a towel around his waist, glancing down at the corpse on the bed before he passes right between Aftyn and me and drops into the chair at the table to grab his smokes. Flicking the lighter, he pops a cigarette between his teeth and lights it, his eyes skimming over my leg before turning back to Aftyn and letting out a few smoke rings. "So, kid, you finally decide to drop some balls, get your dick wet in some pussy, and handle the party favor… but you fuck it up when you go after Red?" Lakyn chuckles, jerking a thumb toward me. "This little psycho just too much for you?"
"I'll kill her right now if you want me to," Aftyn snaps and all I can do is giggle. I've still got the knife in my hand and if Lakyn gives the word, I'll be more than happy to show him what's under my mask. Even as vicious as Aftyn was with the priestess, it's a lot different when the victim can fight back. He's grinding his teeth as he glares at me, his face flushing red, and then he shouts, "Stop fucking laughing!"
"That's enough!" A loud pop makes me jump when Lakyn slams his hand on the table. Rubbing at his forehead, he takes a deep breath before he points between the two of us with the cigarette in his hand. "I'm not going to listen to you two arguing or shouting anymore. I'm tired, and I already told you I wanted the bed tidy by the time I came out. So, keep your mouth shut and get to work, kid."
"I'm not your boyfriend, I don't jump when you say jump, Pops." Aftyn turns his glare on Lakyn, but the man just smirks.
Taking a long drag of smoke, he lets it out in a slow stream as his eyes trail Aftyn from top to bottom. He's still naked and covered in the priestess’s blood, but Lakyn doesn't seem fazed at all as he holds his palm out toward me. "Give me the knife, Red."
I flip the short knife around and lay the handle on his open hand. It’s a risk. I know Lakyn could kill me if he wanted to, but I don't think he wants to yet. Right now, Aftyn is the one pissing him off. Lakyn takes another drag on his cigarette before setting it in the ashtray and looking over the knife.
"You think I'm scared of you, old man? I'm not your bitch and I'm not going to—" Aftyn’s words are cut off when Lakyn bursts out of the chair, moving so quick that I'm not completely sure how he got his hand around the back of Aftyn's neck, but I can tell by the wide-eyed look in Aftyn's eyes that the knife is somewhere he definitely doesn't want it.
"Pretty sure I told you to shut your mouth, didn't