Page 40 of Cut of the Dark Elf's Blade
He really isn’t going to give up, is he?
I swallow before I start talking.
“I accept your apology,” I tell him slowly. “And I also don’t want to lose our friendship. But you did lie to me, blatantly and to my face, several times.”
“I know. I know. You just don’t understand…”
“What don’t I understand?” I interrupt him. Rhiucra does not answer.
“Tell me,” I urge him then, giving up all pretense that I am sitting there to enjoy his company. Right then, I do not care if he knows that all I want is information on his brother.
“Tell me about him. Tell me about Luocre. Tell me everything you’ve been keeping from me!”
My voice is hard and sharp, and my face feels warm, and I know my cheeks must be flushed. My hands are balled into fists and my chest is heaving slightly as I wait for Rhiucra to reply.
His face has become closed off, devoid of emotion. He examines me with lifeless eyes before he pours himself a cup of tea.
I sit in silence and wait. Somewhere a pavo is singing, and the beauty of its singing is only marred by the squawking of the mynah birds as they swoop in and out of the trees, looking to steal food from some unwary person.
“I don’t want to talk about him,” Rhiucra says finally after sipping his tea.
“So you’re just going to keep doing this? Keep all this information from me, after you just admitted last night that you’ve been lying to me all this time?” I push him. I am not above making him feel guilty.
“I don’t want to talk about him! And you don’t need to know anything about him!” His voice has become more heated. Suddenly, Rhiucra stands and his chair falls over. The teacups and teapot, made from fine bone porcelain, rattle on the table.
“Why don’t you let me decide that for myself?” I say, my own voice becoming louder, and I stand, too.
Rhiucra starts to walk away from me, and I follow him, persisting in my quest of getting to know Luocre.
I continue pestering him as he walks into the small manor house.
“Just tell me!” I practically shout at him, and I know that my face must be as red as the setting sun.
Rhiucra whirls around and, placing his hands on my shoulders, he roughly walks me back, slamming me against the wall.
“He’s an assassin, you stupid girl!” Rhiucra shouts angrily, his nostrils flaring. I can feel his hot breath on my face, and I can see the way his pupils have dilated.
“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into! Why do you think I haven’t told you about him? Because I’ve been trying to protect you from someone who kills people for a living!”
“He isn’t that bad,” I croak the words out when Rhiucra finally lets go of me. “He isn’t that bad.”
I repeat the words more for myself than for Rhiucra’s sake.
Rhiucra looks at me disbelievingly, his eyes wide, his chest heaving. Then he bursts into shrill, mirthless laughter.
He probably thought that finally telling me the truth would scare me away. He probably thought that the truth would push me into his arms.
Instead, all I feel when I think of Luocre, is warmth between my legs.
Why is the image of Luocre savagely ripping someone to shreds appealing to me?I think this to myself, shuddering as I do.
I am disgusted by my own reaction to Rhiucra’s revelation about Luocre.
And Rhiucra, who is still staring at me, is clearly disgusted by me, too.
“You have a death wish,” Rhiucra snarls at me. I realize that this is the first time I have seen him this angry.
“You’re crazy. To spend that much time with him? In the end, he’ll just kill you. He likes it, you know? He likes murdering people.”