Kiora

The emperor pauses. Silence hangs in the air and Kiora looks at him expectantly. Slowly, he stands. All the remorse is gone from his face. Instead, gracing his lips is a smile. He raises an eyebrow.

"Kiora," he sighs, shaking his head. Slowly he steps toward her. Kiora doesn't look away from his intense stare.

"I see what you're doing now."

She raises an eyebrow.

"I may have slighted you, but not enough to give you one of my dragons," he continues, coming to a stop right in front of her. Kiora shrugs.

"It was worth a try," she says, shrugging casually.

His smirk grows and he stares down at her with an intense hunger. His intoxicating scent overwhelms her, and she resists the urge to embrace him.

He reaches out, pulling at a strand of her hair. "You're learning how to play, I see. I have to admit, that was good. You really made me feel... guilty."

"You should feel guilty. My anger toward this situation is not fake. You abused my trust. You did hurt me, Athan."

"And you think it warrants me gifting to you one of my dragons?" he asks.

Kiora steps into him, her chest brushing against him.

"Not yet," she says, "but I expect one eventually."

"Expect?" he asked, his voice a mixture of shocked and amused.

Kiora nods her head.

"You owe me."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" he asks, still not breaking away from her stare.

Kiora starts laughing and once she starts, she can't stop. She can't even believe he asked the question.

"Do I really have to answer?" she finally says between her giggles. "Do I have to remind you how I came to even be here in the first place? How I pleaded for you to let me go? Not only do you force me to stay, but I have to deal with your shitty wives and their cruelty without any protection from you. I have been trapped behind these walls for months, alone, whilst your perfect High Lady plots against me to take away what little freedom I have. Well, I won't have it, Athan. If you want me to stay here, if you want me to be your wife, then I demand more."

He narrows his eyes at her, but she speaks again before he can interrupt.

"I want to fly, Athan," she says breathlessly, looking into his eyes dreamily. Something softens in his gaze. "Can you imagine it? Us, together, flying side by side."

"What makes you think I won't be able to have that with Lady Illyria?" he asks.

Kiora chuckles. "Her dragon is the size of a dog," Kiora replies. "I would be very impressed if it could carry anything more than a babe."

"It could grow," he argues.

Kiora raises an eyebrow at him. "I may never have seen a dragon up close before I came here. I still have yet to see any other dragon but Illyria's. But I've been around for a long time and travelled to this realm more than once. I know how dragons work, and how they grow. Keeping them caged up and on display like a status symbol will not encourage growth. Plus, I asked around, he is five years old. If he had grown up in the dragon nest, he'd be the size of a building by now. That dragon will never grow any bigger than he is, he's been chained up far too long."

He raises an eyebrow, impressed.

"And how can I be sure that if I gifted you a dragon, you wouldn't do the same?" he asks.

"Because I know how it feels to be trapped, to be forced to be someone's trophy on display. I will not inflict such a fate on another creature."

He hums thoughtfully, ignoring Kiora's comments about being trapped.

"And what if I can't risk you getting hurt?" he asks. Kiora steps around him and walks over to the table where a knife rests. She takes it, spinning it in her hand elegantly.

"Kiora?" the emperor asks. Then, his eyes widen as she holds the point to her chest. She smirks at him, then plunges it into her skin.

He gasps, and jumps forward, reaching for her desperately.

The sound of grinding fills the air as the blade cuts through the ice of her body. By the time the emperor reaches her, Kiora's hands are back by her side and she is staring up at him casually, the hilt of the blade sticking out of her chest.

His mouth drops open and he stares at Kiora, grabbing her face so she can look into his eyes.

"You're okay?" he asks, panic shaking his voice slightly. Kiora swats his hand away and walks over to the chair, taking a seat delicately and leaning back in the chair, the knife still buried into her chest.

It hurts, of course. No, more than that, her whole chest feels like it's on fire. But she ignores the pain and stares at Athan. He looks from her face to the dagger, then back to her face again.

"I don't think you quite understand what I am, Athan," she says to him, "and the power I hold."

She wraps her hand around the hilt and slowly pulls it from her chest, the horrible sound of grinding filling the room. She winces a little bit as she yanks it free, then drops the blade on the table. It clatters loudly. Kiora turns to Athan so he can watch as her skin melts back together.

"You were right, all those months ago. I am not like your other wives. I am two hundred and fifty years old. They are like silly little children, all vying for your attention. I have travelled the world, I can speak hundreds of languages, I have seen governments rise and seen others fall."

Kiora looks at Athan, glaring at him, threatening him. The words spill out of her.

"Trust me when I say, you do not want me to go to war with them, because they will lose. You know, Illyria's brother told how important she is for your reign. How her safety here is the very thing holding your empire up. He also told me that if I hurt her in any way, then I would suffer in ways I never have before." Kiora laughs at that. "But what can he do? I can be killed, yes. Beheading or Dragonfire will probably do the trick. But by the time he realises I can't be killed like a normal person, well, it would already be too late for him."

Kiora's hand rests on the blade once more and she stares at the gleaming silver metal. "There is nothing a mortal man can say to me now, after everything I've been through, after all that has happened to me, that can hurt me. I have lost everything. My home. My sisters. My freedom and, thanks to Illyria and her scheming, I lost my books and you. The only things that brought me a tiny slither of joy in this place."

Her head snaps back to Athan and she stands, walking over to him slowly, still carrying the blade. He stares at her, his eyes darkening with an intense hunger.

Kiora meets his stare, her own deadly cold and cruel.

"I don't care about your precious empire. I don't care about Illyria and her position in this court. If she wants to go to war with me, then I will fight back and, no matter how long it takes, I will destroy her. I, unlike her, have all the time in the world. And if destroying her destroys your empire, then so be it."

She puts the dagger back in his hands, wrapping his fingers around the hilt. "So, Athan. Stop thinking of me as some delicate little doll. My body is not that of flesh and blood. I am a Winter Priestess, created to summon and walk through storms that could destroy cities. You do not need to worry about me getting hurt. Give me a dragon. Let me be your ally instead of your enemy. Use my knowledge. Use my invulnerability and create a space for me here where I can thrive. Because if you leave me to fester with those pathetic women, then I will turn all my attention on revenge, which I am very much entitled to, and it will be devastating for you."

Silence, thick and tense fills the room. The emperor stares down at Kiora, his eyes burning. Kiora can't decide if it's rage at her threats or lust. Perhaps it's both.

"Are you threatening me, Kiora?" he asks, his voice deep, his words seductively smooth.

Kiora smiles beautifully, refusing to cower, to be scared. She's done enough of that.

The emperor lifts the blade to her throat, running the cold metal gently against her skin.

"I should have your head for that," he says lowly.

"You won't."

"What makes you so sure?" he asks.

"Because you need me," she replies simply, not going into detail.

Athan lowers the dagger and then drops it by his side, the blade clattering on the stone floor and filling the tense silence.

He reaches out for Kiora, his hand snaking around her hips. Kiora's breath catches at his warm touch, and she lets him pull her into his chest. His scent overwhelms her once more, making her toes curl. His warm breath tickles her skin and his eyes stare at her so intensely, that chills ripple across her body.

He pushes her back. She almost stumbles. Her back hits the wall, leaving nowhere for her to escape. Then, his lips are on hers.

Kiora sinks into him, her hands immediately finding his chest. She slides them under his shirt, her cold fingers running up his hard, smooth chest.

He groans against her lips and his kiss becomes more intense. Kiora kisses him back with the same hunger, revelling in the feel of his soft lips against hers. Heat spreads through her as he pushes against her, pinning her even harder against the wall.

Then, he's pulling away, leaving a strange coldness behind. He stares down at her breathlessly and brings up his hand. Gently, he cups the side of her face, his thumb stroking her cheekbone.

Kiora stares up at him through her lashes and he gulps.

"You're magnificent," he whispers.

Kiora smiles at him, biting at her lip Then, she gently pushes him away. Reluctantly, he lets go of her.

"I am, aren't I?" Kiora jokes. He laughs and holds out his hand. She takes it and he leads her back into his study where the fire roars and fills the room with a warm, golden light. Kiora takes in deep breath, a sense of relief washing through her as she smells the musty paper of the books.

"You may have your books back," he says, "I truly am sorry, Kiora, for what I did. Soon, I shall explain my reasoning and why I did it. But now, let's just enjoy our time together again."

"I think that is a wonderful idea," Kiora replies and walks over to the shelf, pulling out a red, leather-bound book. She takes a seat back in the chair, smiling happily at the familiar sound of the shifting leather.

The emperor chuckles and sits in his chair. Kiora smiles and lifts her legs to rest them in his lap.

"I've missed this," he says as he starts gently rubbing his hands up and down her skin.

"Me too," Kiora agrees.

"I don't want to lose this again, Kiora," he says lowly. "But understand, I cannot show favouritism. If you are about to go to war with Illyria, be very careful. Do not underestimate that woman. You may have knowledge and age on your side, but she has something you don't."

"What's that?" Kiora asks curiously.

"She's vicious and cruel in a way you never could be."

"And she's your favourite?" Kiora asks jokingly.

"I respect her greatly," the emperor admits. "And, behind closed doors, when it is just the two of us, she is..." he trails off upon seeing the look on Kiora's face. A small chuckle leaves his mouth.

"What I'm trying to say, is Illyria is a formidable woman and she has a lot of allies in these walls and outside of them. She is empress in all but title."

Kiora nods her head, understanding the warning.

"I cannot help you with this little war you two are waging, Kiora. I will not. This is a disagreement between the two of you. I have far too much on my hands to be dealing with bickering wives."

Kiora rolls her eyes. "We both know it is more than that, Athan," she says. "You make it sound as though it's just a petty little argument out of jealousy."

"Isn't it?"

"No," Kiora replies harshly. "This is about power, Athan. Illyria has a lot of it and she will do anything to keep it. She is at war, but not because she wants you all to herself. She is at war because I am a threat to her power and I am at war with her because I have no other choice. Do not make it sound like are two silly little women fighting over a man and that all of this is above you. This is a fight for survival in the cruel world of competition that you have created."

"Power is addictive, Kiora," he says and sighs sadly. "Once you have it, you'll do anything to cling to it. I may have created competition between my wives. But I did not encourage them to fight and manipulate their way to power. They do that all by themselves."

He looks intently into Kiora's eyes, his expression almost sad. "I'm sure you'll see and feel it for yourself once your confidence and influence grows in my court. If you aren't careful, you could become just like Illyria – if not worse. It is very easy to lose yourself in the game and become the very monster you despise. I would hate to see that fate fall upon you."