Vérzavar Ház

Chapter 3: An Exercise in Futility

Pollux smiled at him. Slid a hand around the Hind's blood-splattered throat and kissed under her ear. "Do you like the way my lover looks, princeling?"

-House of Sky and Breath, pg. 776

Air hissed through Ruhn's gritted teeth, his eyes shut so tight he could see stars. He willed every ounce of his physical and mental strength into his gift. If he could get a single word to someone, anyone... He wasn't sure what it would mean - as little as confirmation that he was alive - but he needed to try. He wasn't willing to give up on his life just yet.

Flynn!

He took a deep breath and held it, his entire body tightening as he desperately pushed his message into... wherever it might go.

Dec!

Sweat dribbled down over his temples and cheeks as his lungs began to burn, teeth grinding so hard he thought they might crack.

BRYCE!

Silence. Deep and dark and agonizing.

With a snarl he loosed the breath he'd been holding and greedily gulped at the stale dungeon air. "Godsdammit," he groaned, leaning his head back against the cell wall. Lifting his chained wrists he wiped the perspiration from his brow, likely only leaving smudges of dirt and grime in its place.

"Is the little prince upset?"

Ruhn's head lolled to the side, finding a wicked sneer painting the face of the golden angel. He rolled his eyes and turned his face toward the ceiling, his gaze falling on the hook at its center. Where he'd be hanging in a few short moments.

"Of course not, Mister Angel Sir," he shrugged before shooting Pollux a sideways glance and a shit-eating grin. "Everything is super-dandy." A low growl rumbled from the angel's throat, and the Valbaran prince realized then that the Hammer was wound far more tightly than he'd ever seen. It was a concern. He was practically feral as he stalked to the far wall and yanked on the chain, pulling a stumbling Ruhn from his metal bed.

"You would think, after so many weeks, that you would have learned to keep that attitude in check." The Hind stepped through the cell door, her golden eyes alert. Dark with warning.

No. It couldn't be a warning. That tight expression and those slightly narrowed eyes... perhaps it was contempt. Ruhn scoffed. "Come on, now. You know I can't hide who I am." He tilted his chin, giving the spy breaker a patronizing look. "And I know my attitude is what you love about me."

He should have felt a smug sense of triumph when he saw the muscle in her jaw twitch - the only outward sign that he'd struck a nerve. But the success rang hollow in his chest, and the echoes of her voice came unbidden to his thoughts. The warm tones of Agent Daybright cracking and breaking against his mental defenses.

"Don't worry, Princess. He'll get his attitude adjustment today," Pollux crooned. The dark-haired fae was distantly aware that the Hammer was still speaking, but he zeroed in on the pet name. Couldn't understand the things he felt when he heard it. The way his stomach twisted, his jaw clenched and blood boiled. And yet he latched onto it, because he was Ruhn fucking Danaan, and he gave zero fucks. So he tilted his head back with a howl.

"Princess? Who knew you were such a simpering beau, Pollux?" The angel tugged the chain again and Ruhn winced as his wrists and shoulders were forced to hold his full weight. The Hind remained silent, her beautiful face cold and stoic, like the many carved statues one could find in the temples throughout the Crescent City. If he hadn't known better - hadn't felt her skin catch fire beneath his fingertips - he would have wondered if the smooth contours of her cheeks and jaw were as cool and hard as the metal and stone around them.