"A kiss."
Any composure I had maintained up to this point fell from my face. Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach and robbed me of concentration. Did I just mishear?
"I beg your pardon?"
He laughed and the tune floated around the room, making me almost forget where we were.
"A kiss. That's the price. Are you ready to pay him?" Zelos asked. He leaned a little closer so that I could see black speckles in his shining eyes. He was careful not to touch the silver of the cell.
"You're playing for me," I whispered. I looked away, but fingers touched my cheek. They were icy, like winter, but turned my gaze back into the glow of the flames, at him. His hand was huge and would be her not so cold I could have closed my eyes But I had to stay strong.
"Life is a game," Zelos answered with his typical grin on his lips. "And I decided a long time ago to win."
"Not going well at the moment, I guess," I replied. He threw back his head and a dry laugh escaped his throat. He then fixed his gaze back at me, but the intimidation didn't work.
"Don't I scare you anymore?" he asked. As a demonstration, his icy fingers covered my entire cheek like a long winter night. A tingle ran down my neck. Every little movement made the muscles twitch under his skin. He was strong, no question.
And nevertheless...
"Is there any reason for me to be afraid?"
My mind was screaming at me. There were hundreds of reasons to be afraid of him. The biggest was the paw on my cheek, warming up and providing a blanket against the cold of the dungeon. In a moment he could kill me if he wanted to.
"I hope that was a rhetorical question," Zelos said. His fingers gently stroked my skin, leaving a path of sparks. For the mere glimpse of a moment, he closed his eyes.
"I know you're a monster, but you're smarter than you care to admit. You won't hurt me, at least not while I owe you a favor," I replied. "And besides, you're enjoying my attention way too much."
"So small and yet so cheeky. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to seduce me," said Zelos, leaning as far as he could through the opening. His hand wandered from my cheek down to my exposed neck and rested on my neck. "I can hear your fear in your chest. I can feel it under my fingers. I can see it in your red cheeks and your bright eyes."
His lips were the color of a pale winter dawn, his eyes the color of blood. Shadows fell around her as he began to smile again.
"What, did I leave you speechless? I only hear brave words, but would you let actions speak for themselves? Would you pay your curiosity with a kiss?" he asked.
My heart whirled up and down.
Should I?
Everything in me was confused. Thoughts raced by without me getting a grip. Imperceptibly, I took a step closer to the silver cell so that I could see the curl of his lashes. His eyes glowed with every bit I got closer.
He waited.
I got so close that a smell of wood enveloped me. Neither of us closed our eyes. I stopped short in front of him. it was a game He said so himself. And I had never played before. Zelos, on the other hand, was a master at it.
"You're beautiful," I whispered. "How can something so beautiful be so dangerous?"
"Don't worry," he whispered. "I'm only a monster when I have to be... Look at you. Your skin is delicate and your bones fragile and yet you face the monster. You are stronger than you think, Elizabeth. Don't forget that."
Warmth washed through my stomach.
"How do you do that?" I ask. "How do you make my heart want to trust you even when my mind is screaming at me to run away."
"Have I ever given you a reason to distrust me?" Zelos asked and his fingers stroked small circles over my neck.
"But on the contrary. You want me to trust you at all costs," I replied, lost in his eyes. "Why?"
"Do you ask all people so many questions or only those you want to seduce?" Zelos asked and pulled his hand away from my neck. His typical smile had returned. I stared at him, aghast.
"I don't want you to..."
He laughed when my words faltered. Heat seethed beneath my cheeks. I couldn't even say it.
Seduce.
"You don't have to be uncomfortable with that. I know how good I look", said Zelos laughing.
"Pah, so if anyone here is seducing, it's you. Which one of us wanted a kiss," I replied, turning away and back to my work.
"If you've only seen guards and warriors for years, you're a pleasant change," Zelos answered and I spun around to him.
"A change?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That may have come off a bit wrong, what I mean-"
I marched towards his cell and before he could get another word out I slammed the opening shut. Silence enveloped me, but the pounding of my heart pounded in my ears and throughout my body.
I had never felt so alive as I do now.
I almost kissed him.
He was dangerous.
For him it could all just be a game. Maybe he wanted to soften me up so I could help him escape. The bumps in the cell were a sign of the monster he was trying to hide from me. I couldn't trust him. I was not allowed...
Zelos was immortal.
He would not use me to advance his own ends. I would not allow that. I turned away from the solitary cell and marched to the back of the dungeon. A sour smell of sweat enveloped me. Instead of going into the cells individually, I took an apple from the box.
A worm had already made it his home.
I opened one of the silver prisoner hatches located at the bottom of the door. I pushed the bread and apple through before closing the flap again. I continued my work until I got to the last door.
"Please..." a voice rasped as if it had a scratchy branch in its throat. "Help me, I'm going to—I'm going to die..."
My heart tightened as his pleas came through to me.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I can't."
"You're human, aren't you?" the wolf asked, chains rustling behind the door. "I'm sorry for what they're doing to you in Silverblood."
I was silent for a moment.
"I'm sorry for what they're doing to you, too," I whispered. The prisoner croaked as if about to laugh. I looked around, took another apple from the box, and pushed it all through the opening.
"This is the war. Those who are not strong enough will die... You remind me of my daughter. Even though she's too young to understand where her father has gone... I will miss her."
"You're not going to die," I said, clenching my hands into fists. I didn't care if it was the truth or not.
“I am old, forced to the front. My only way out of this is for Silverblood to win. And that would mean your death, Elizabeth."
"How do you know my name?" I asked. A rattling laugh followed.
"If it helps you, I'll tell you mine. My name is-"
Metal clattered against the stone wall, snapping me out of my emotions. Beta Leo strutted in, and before his snake eyes could fall on my huddled form, I shut the hatch.
"What are you doing, brat? he hissed. He charged at me, grabbed my curls and forced me to my feet. Every single hair shot through my scalp in pain. He pulled me away from the solitary cells. I whined as he jerked me forward, my bruised knees hitting the stone floor like a hammer.
My vision blurred.
A thunder rumbled through the dungeon, freezing Beta Leo's movements. My gaze darted to the silver cell. A huge dent formed in the door and my heart skipped a beat.
Zelos...
"Look who's speaking up," Beta Leo said, a triumphant grin revealing his wolf fangs. "We'll need a new layer of silver soon. You're doing a great job, but not enough. Tell me, does the silver hurt badly?"
Beta Leo laughed, and like an echo, his followers joined in on the fringes. They turned away from Zelos and marched to the back corridor. I lay completely forgotten on the ice-cold stones.
When her laughter stopped, I turned to the silver cell.
"Thank you," I whispered.