Page 56 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
Ylva remained utterly still, watching the warlock as though he were a reflection that had not quite decided how to behave. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. His brow furrowed, his gaze lingering on her with something close to disbelief, until at last he cleared his throat.
‘I assumed you were dead,’ he said slowly. ‘It seems I was mistaken. They made you valkyrian.’
Ylva said nothing.
‘Then I suppose,’ he continued, studying her once more, ‘that you do not remember me.’
‘Should I?’ The words slipped from her lips before she could stop them, andshe immediately cursed herself for speaking at all.
The warlock shrugged, already turning back to the papers spread across his desk, as though she had lost her importance in the span of a breath. ‘Well…’ He paused, then added casually, ‘I am the reason you died and became valkyrian, so…’ Those purple eyes lifted again, settling on her with deliberate intent, waiting for shock, for fear, for something.
Ylva nearly gave it to him.
Nearly.
Instead, she locked her astonishment deep within herself, swallowed it whole, and forced it down into the darkest place she could find. Later, she told herself. Later she would unravel his words and let them tear her apart if they must.
Not now.
‘Take your clothes off,’ the warlock said, already turning back to his papers as though the command were no more significant than asking for silence.
Ylva did not move. A faint crease formed between her brows, the only sign that she had heard him at all. Minutes passed. When it became clear she had no intention of obeying, the warlock finally looked up, irritation sharpening his features.
‘Are you deaf?’
‘No,’ Ylva replied evenly.
‘Then do as you are told.’
‘No.’
Rage and confusion twisted across his face in equal measure. ‘Undress.’
‘Why?’ Ylva glanced around the chamber, taking in the bed, the desk, the open space. ‘Am I to be given new garments?’
‘No.’
‘Then why would I undress?’ Her blue eyes narrowed, coldand steady. ‘If you intend to rape me, I will kill you.’
For a heartbeat, his eyes widened. Then he leaned back in his chair and smiled, slow and curious, as though she had said something mildly amusing. ‘Is that what you fear?’
‘Why would I not?’ Ylva did not flinch beneath his stare. ‘All women fear such a monstrous violation.’ Her voice did not tremble; it hardened instead. ‘Consider this your warning. If you so much as try to touch me, I will fight you with every last breath and every ounce of strength I possess.’
The warlock chuckled, low and amused. ‘You could try,’ he said lightly, ‘but I wield blood magic.’ He lifted his tattooed hands, and in that instant Ylva’s body betrayed her entirely. Every muscle locked, rigid and unyielding. She willed her fingers to move, begged them silently, but nothing answered. Panic flared bright and sharp in her chest.
‘See?’ he said, stepping closer. ‘There is nothing you can do against me.’ He closed the distance until his breath brushed her lips, invasive and deliberate. ‘If I were you, I would stop making threats you cannot keep.’
Ylva clung to one small mercy: though her body was bound, her voice was not.
‘Use all the magic you like, warlock,’ she said, her words steady enough to make him pause. ‘Freeze me. Break my arms if you wish. I will not obey you. I will fight you.’
The warlock smiled, slow and intrigued.
‘Is that so?’
She could not nod, but her blue eyes burnt with an answer he could not mistake.
‘We shall see,’ he replied at last, turning away as if bored. He returned to his desk, and with the casual flick of a thought, the blood magic released her.
