She rushed out the words, then took the bottle from him and downed so much she started to cough, the purple-red liquid sputtering from her lips and staining her silver scales.
“Easy,” he said, reaching out to rub her back without thinking about it.
She didn’t flinch away from him. She didn’t even hesitate. To Keaton’s surprise, she leaned into his touch, pressing closer to him so that their thighs touched on that log.
Okay, she’s definitely had too much to drink.
He plucked the bottle out of her grasp and brought it to his lips again before offering it to Cassia and her warriors.
“Lord Havron was different,” he finally said. “He was mistreating Adriana.”
“They all mistreat their minions,” she answered with a huff. “Beat them, rape them, work them to the bone. This is part of the pact minions accept to get what they need.”
“But I’m not—”
She leaned forward, and for a moment Keaton thought she might ram him with those deadly horns. But she grabbed him by the collar instead, forcing him to look at her.
“If you want to change things, you’ll have to use strength to do it. That is the only thing dungeon lords understand.”
“Can’t we just…”
Keaton let his words trail off, realizing how naive they sounded. Can’t we just stick to our own dungeon, play house by ourselves, and ignore the outside world? It was a nice thought, but even he knew that wasn’t going to happen. If nothing else, the daemon who’d made this deal with him wouldn’t let him rest. She needed something, and he suspected it wasn’t the recipe for domestic bliss.
Silence fell over the camp, interrupted only by the sickening pop of blistered flesh as the rodent carcass became indistinguishable from charcoal. Orbon pulled it from the skewer, seemingly not bothered by how hot it was, and chomped down on what Keaton assumed was once the creature’s head.
“We should all get some rest,” he muttered. “I’m gonna go take a piss, then I’ll take first watch.”
He needed some air; needed some space from this suffocating camp. Needed to do something about that clawing inside his brain that tried to point him back toward the crypt.
Keaton’s mind was a bramble sinking into a fetid bog.
He’d always had periods of dark thoughts, but these were darker than normal. As he walked, patrolling the surrounding area, he found himself wondering if he should ever go back to the camp. Something inside of him said this conflict was just the start of many. That he wasn’t meant to be a leader, and his lieutenant knew that. Why else would she challenge him so?
It didn’t matter that Keaton logically knew she’d been one for challenge when he met her. It didn’t matter that this was a fair disagreement to have, when he was going against the grain. For some reason, his brain latched onto this feeling of betrayal, and the warm embrace that could be offered to him if he just… left. It was the strangest feeling, and Keaton shook it off several times. As he made his way back to camp, spotting the smoke as it drifted upward in the night sky, he couldn’t help feeling as if those weren’t his thoughts at all.
“If you’re trying to fuck with me, don’t waste your time,” he grated out.
“Lord Keaton?”
He hadn’t realized how close he was to the camp when he spoke. He also hadn’t realized he wasn’t the only one awake. Despite taking a fairly long walk to give everyone time to wind down, he returned to find Adriana still awake and alert, her golden eyes fixed on him in question, her brow furrowed with obvious worry.
“Sorry, just… thinking out loud,” he said, offering a half-hearted smile. “What are you doing up?”
“I wanted to speak with you,” she said, her voice quiet. Her hands wrung together in front of her, but she didn’t avert her gaze. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier. I didn’t feel like it was my place.”
“I know you’re not a lieutenant, but you’re a trusted advisor. I always want to hear your opinion.”
She was quiet for a moment, processing his words. Keaton gestured to the log they’d been sitting on before and she joined him there, adjusting her tail so it settled behind her instead of under her.
“I can give it now, if you wish,” she said softly.
Keaton just nodded, giving her an encouraging smile.
“I think it is admirable that you wish to avoid killing…”
“But…?”
“But I do think it is naive,” she finished, looking away from him.
On instinct, Keaton reached out to grasp her chin. Her scales were smooth and cool under his fingers, her more human skin warm by contrast. He turned her to face him once more and was caught for a moment as her lips slowly parted. Something urged him to lean forward and bridge the distance. He could see that yearning in her eyes, could practically feel the fine tremble of anticipation in her body. It was in his own, too, that moment suspended in time as his gaze moved between her eyes and her lips.
But Keaton controlled himself, blinking away the haze of want. He focused only on her eyes, ignoring the disappointment he saw there.
“Don’t be afraid to speak your mind with me, Adriana. I’m not going to punish you for it.”
“I know.” Her voice was so quiet; barely above a whisper.
“I appreciate the honesty. I’m from a world that’s pretty much built on lies, so this is… refreshing.” He glanced over to where Cassia rested, her halberd clutched close even in sleep. “Even being challenged is refreshing. It’ll keep me from getting too much of an ego.”
A smile stretched across her lips but didn’t quite meet her eyes. “Then why do you look so troubled?”
Keaton opened his mouth to refute that, but if she was going to be honest with him, didn’t she deserve the same courtesy? He allowed himself a few moments to collect his thoughts, to decide if he was really going to do this, then began to speak.
“I wasn’t brought to The Labyrinth by choice. I had no idea what it was or what I was doing there. I was sitting in a jail cell awaiting execution just a few minutes before I killed Lord Havron.”
Adriana’s eyes widened, her mouth working for a few moments before she finally managed, “How can that be?”
“I was approached by a spirit. A daemon.”
Something flashed in her eyes, like fire and fury made manifest. Her expression darkened, her lips pulling almost into a snarl, exposing those sharper canines.
“Daemons are not to be trusted,” she said in a low growl that Keaton found equal parts alluring and terrifying.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Why do I want women who can break me in half?
A question to examine another time. For now, he had to calm Adriana down. “I’m aware. She didn’t leave me any choice. It was either do what she wanted or die. So… I let her bring me to The Labyrinth and I killed Lord Havron.”
Her expression changed, that anger faltering until it was snuffed out by something Keaton liked much less: Another round of disappointment.
“I thought perhaps you’d wished to save me… I’m sorry, that’s so foolish. Here I am telling you you’re naive, when I—”
“I did,” he said quickly, cutting her off. “I thought about just walking away and taking my chances… until I saw the way he was treating you.”
Adriana met his gaze once more, and Keaton felt himself falling into those golden depths. He drifted closer, nearly able to feel her breath on his face. Then she jerked away from him, breaking the spell. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and looked anywhere but at him, so Keaton obliged by sitting back and giving her space.
An awkward silence settled in the space between them, though he soon found himself contemplating his dilemma. Eventually, he spoke his thoughts aloud.