Claudia entered the chamber, her serpentine eyes gleaming with manic delight. Her burned arm had healed during the past month, but the scars remained—permanent reminders of the Heavenly Flame's wrath. She walked with a predator's grace, her hips swaying slightly as she circled the stone chair where Kael sat bound and broken.
She stopped in front of him, tilting his chin up with one finger. His silver-flecked eyes were half-open, glazed, barely tracking her movement. She smiled.
"I will ensure he cooperates," Claudia said, her voice smooth, carrying the warmth of a snake coiling around warm prey. "For different reasons."
She wanted information about his bloodline. And if they could break him—no, when they broke him—he would obediently become a puppet for the Heavenly Flame. But most of all, she simply enjoyed watching strong things break.
