The "Doctor" within me was screaming that I was losing my mind, that the "Laurent Resonance" was a parasitic force that was rewriting my morality. But the "Sovereign" didn't care. I felt more alive in this moment of dark, twisted authority than I ever had in the clean, sterile halls of a hospital.
I reached down, not to touch Dorian, but to lift his chin with the tip of my finger. He looked up at me, his eyes glazed and submissive, waiting for a command he would obey to the death.
"Get up, Dorian," I said, my voice devoid of warmth. "Clean yourself. And remember: if you ever think of me as a 'prize' to be won again, I will make sure Kaelen doesn't just kill you. I will make sure you live forever in this exact state of hunger."
Dorian nodded, a jerky, frantic motion. He scrambled back, his hands trembling as he tried to adjust his clothes. He looked at me one last time—a look of pure, terrified worship—before he turned and vanished into the shadows of the library.
