"What do you think you're doing? Stop!"
Both my feet were already strapped to the chair, and now he reached for my arm. Loki watched the spectacle like it was a new and intriguing show never shown before, but I didn't care about him or his amused face. He could rot in hell for all I care. No, actually, I hope Thor shoots a massive thunderbolt up his ass!
My focus was on that so-called king! I'd long forgotten about his alluring appearance; all I saw now was a wicked man hiding behind a title to do whatever he pleased! A loud screech cut through the room when the chair scraped against the hard floors, and his jaws tightened as my hand slipped out of his grasp. But despite the fighting, despite adrenaline rushing through my body, I knew deep down I had no chance. My feet were stuck, the chair was massive, and I only managed to push it half a centimeter. To top it all off, I'm currently about to be strapped down, by a dragon, in a god damned caste far above the freaking clouds!
All this, and I still had to make sure Drifta didn't emerge. I didn't want to call her, and I didn't want her to have to pop up and save me. Anger cursed through me to the point that angry tears pooled in my eyes. I hated that I was made this way, crying when in reality, I was so angry I didn't know what to do with myself. Tears just have been the last thing he expected, for some strange reason!
I used that split second of confusion and obvious discomfort to slam my fist right in his face. He grunted and staggered back in surprise, and I groaned as a crunching sensation rippled through my hand. Without scarifying him a second glance, gritting my teeth, I launched forward and started tearing at the straps around my feet. Seeing movement from the corner of my eye, my hand jolted out in his direction, and to my utter surprise, I punched his face again.
The pain cursed through my hand, but my other hand never stopped pulling on the locks on the straps. The lock clicked just as it hit the right spot, and my whole body crashed back into the chair. A thick leather band tightened around my chest and shoulders, and no matter how hard and desperate I wiggled, it didn't even seem to even notice. Loki had forgotten all about his god-like manners and neatly groomed hair. He was laughing like he was about to pee his pants.
Low muttering and huffs were all I heard from the Dragon behind me, and I gasped as the leather tightened even more and fastened me to the chair. I followed his figure when he walked up next to me and kneeled to fix the one; I managed to loosen up. He never met my gaze, so I allowed myself to try glaring holes through his skin. Imagining he had scales much like Nida and imagined them cracking and curling up like melting plastic.
He moved so fast, and it felt like he moved just the slit second I blinked. Out of nowhere, his emerald green eyes were all I saw. His nose brushed briefly against the tip of my nose, and his hand held my chin tight. For a couple of seconds, there was just anger and harsh breaths between us. His slow and deep, mine sharp and rapid. The tension was so thick I could feel it on my skin, making it feel warm and itching all over my face. But I never budged, never looked away. I glared as many daggers as I could into those unfairly stunning eyes.
What irked me even more, was that there was no trace of anger in his. Just full of curiosity and wonder, already studying me like the lab project, I was in his eyes. I didn't think, I spat him right in the face, and this time a thud was heard from the corner of the room as Loki fell to the floor, gasping for air and laughing.
My heart hammered against my rib cage, and his hand quickly slid up from my chin over my mouth. My nostrils flared, desperate for more oxygen as my heart worked like crazy, but all this my body did on its own. Because I couldn't stop staring at the intense green right in front of me while trying to wrap my head around his smile, he was freaking smiling, leaning closer. The only thing separating our lips was the thin skin between his thumb and index finger. The pressure tilted my head slightly back, but every muscle in my body held against it.
His pupils turned to small black stripes, and the images of Nida's long flickering tongue flashed through my mind. My heart had calmed, but my anger was still lurking beneath my skin as he let his grip over my mouth go and stepped back.
"I just need your blood!"
"And I just need a world without men!"
I hissed back. Holding nothing back, I am so sick of the men in this world-their entitlement and ego. Good looking or not, they all acted like spoiled devil spawn!
He stared at me for a long, quiet second before turning and walking away. I let my breath out, my muscles still trembling with anticipation and tension. But when he walked away, my shoulders relaxed, and for the first time, I really understood what saying, `Letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding` meant! But the last of it never left my lungs before a hand grabbed my hand, holding it hard before a needle slid in.
Blinking in surprise, I somehow felt stunned and relieved simultaneously. My eyes trailed over his hand, how his fingers looked so much darker than my skin. The pressure of his hold was evident on my hand, crunching up between his fingers. But it didn't hurt, not really. I could picture these hands around my neck; I'm sure his fingers would be able to wrap all the way around-the darker color of his hand against my pale, delicate skin while my cheek gradually blushed furiously.
My heartbeat felt like heavy thuds in my throat, and I quickly looked away. It felt like losing contact with his skin broke me out of some spell. So, I stared wide-eyed on the floor; what the hell was wrong with my head? Ans with a frustrated sigh, trying my best not to overthink it. I don't need to explain it; understand it. It's just freaking annoying! Just then, Loki caught my eye. Studying me with his head slightly tilted to the side, like he saw something he didn't see before, and to match his stupidity, I grimaced and stuck my tongue out. His face never changed; he kept staring, making my skin crawl.
"Do you have what you need?"
"Yes, this first time around, I do."
The dragon king's voice sounded distanced; his thoughts were everywhere else than here.
"And?"
On the other hand, Loki's voice was impatient and dragged out the word to the point that he remined me more of a spoiled brat waiting for the gift he knew he would get because he felt like he deserved it.
"It is too early to say, but it is worth studying."
"Great! So, back to what I want! Can you get me her beast?"
His tone changed drastically, peaking up and filled with hope and anticipation.
"Get you, her beast? Do you want her wolf?"
The dragon's attention turned back to this room, to Loki, and goosebumps crawled up my arms at the change. On the other hand, Loki didn't seem to notice or care. I'm not sure what it was, but he continued as hopeful and energetic as he started.
" Yes! Such a simple payment for such a great gift, don't you think? That mate of hers killed it, so I can't reach it. But you can!"
"Mate? He did what?"
My heart almost jumped straight out of my chest, and Loki stumbled back as a rumbling roar filled the room. Hiding it poorly with nervous laughter, Loki was clearly affected by this creature's anger and lifted his hands,
"Calm down! I didn't ask him to do that! I just brought you here. All I need is her wolf, the rest of her is yours! Okay?"
"Leave."
The command was surprisingly calm, firm, and left no room for questions or objections, but bone-chillingly calm compared to the utter rage that shook the entire room just seconds ago.
Loki mumbled something under his breath as he walked over and leaned down to free my leg,
"No! Leave. You have 5 minutes."
"Calm down, lizard! I have to get her off the chair first, and then we will be out of your grumpy lack of hair!"
Loki hissed,
"You are leaving alone. You now have 3 minutes before I alert the guarding dark fey."
I frowned at Loki's obvious distressed reaction. No doubt he, for some reason, was scared of the dark fey, but was he threatened enough not to take me with him?
"I always wanted a god specimen in my collection, so by all means, stay!"
The dragon encouraged, and this tipped the scale for Loki.
Muttering curses, the dark hurricane lifted from the ground around him and devoured him whole. Within seconds, he was gone.
I was left alone, strapped to a chair in the dragon's clutches.
My nose wrinkled in disgust when I turned to look at him, gulping down the blood he had collected in the vail. Then his eyes set on me as his head jerked in my direction, and all I could think of while he closed the distance between us with long, calm strides as I tried to break his nose and spat in his face!
Leaning back and pressing myself further into the hard wooden chair, his pupils again changed into small black lines when he bent down over me. Leaning closer and closer, I eventually squeezed my eyes shut. It was all I could do to create some sensation of space between us. No matter how hard I fought it, a pathetic sob pressed up my throat as his massive hand locked around my chin.