NERVOUSLY, ZARDAYNA GRIPPED at her dress and staggered away to the nearest table. As soon as her fingers contacted the fur-matted chair, the flames of the candles flickered and relit themselves. Zardayna stumbled back, eyes agape with incredulity. She glanced around at the other candles to find the very same phenomenon transpired, but no one appeared too fazed. Rather, they were relieved.
Suddenly, a hand was on her shoulder. With a small gasp, Zardayna spun around, alert. She came face to face with the general she'd been gaping at, a comforting but knowing smile taking hold of his lips. "Are you well, darling? You seem a little pale." Zardayna brushed off his hand. His masked concern could've convinced anyone in the brothel.
The general didn't seem bothered by her reaction. He fell back on the stool across from her and motioned for her to take the seat opposite. Zardayna was hesitant to oblige. She knew there was something off with him.
"I couldn't help but notice you staring," he remarked. Zardayna didn't rise to the bait. She kept silent, surely waiting for him to pounce. He didn't. "What a lovely necklace. Wherever did you get it?" From the luring smile, Zardayna recognized the trap. If he thought he'd gain something by speaking with her, he wasn't going to get it.
"Why do you care?" she questioned.
He gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I'd just thought I'd inform you that staring is rude."
Zardayna wanted to throttle him. "What do you want from me?"
His eyes faked an innocent façade. "What? I can't have a chat?"
"You're not here to make friends."
He tilted his head to the side and put on a sly smile. "On the contrary, darling, I think we'd make excellent friends."
Zardayna was fed up; She couldn't continue playing his games. Agitated, she said, "You can stop mocking me. If you're going to kill me, do it."
His eyes widened momentarily. "Who said anything about killing you?" He set aside the candle blocking his view. "I'm here to make you an offer."
"I'm not interested. You can go back to hell," Zardayna replied, tongue seething.
"I think you'll want to hear it," he said before she could get up to leave. "I know what you are. You're lucky you haven't been caught yet wearing that."
Zardayna halted, while her eyes narrowed. "What I am?" Though she never knew her heritage, she believed she was a human and nothing more, but the general's words lingered in the air.
"We're more alike than you think," he said.
Then and there, Zardayna wanted to knit his smug smile and douse him with poison. "We're nothing alike, and I haven't a clue what you're talking about."
The general looked taken aback. His eyes searched hers before glancing at her amulet, mouth parted. "It seems I've made a mistake," he uttered as he raised his hand to rest his chin.
Zardayna was unsure of herself. He didn't remind her of the monster she'd encountered so long ago, for he possessed human qualities she would never have associated with it, but the thought occurred that he was deceiving her. "You're not that monster, are you?" She asked him, trying her best to keep her voice even.
His eyes trailed back to hers once more. "Dare I ask what monster you're referring to?"
"Don't play games," she told him. "Did you kill my mother?"
A shadow fell across his face. His eyes stared through her, an empty gaze staring into a distance. "I've killed many people, darling. Keeping track of them is pointless. I doubt I'd remember your mother."
A boiling rage sheathed itself inside her. Zardayna had wanted to argue, but she quickly fumbled for her amulet and held it up for him, its melancholy beaming underneath the candle light. "Then you don't remember this?" she asked him.
Curiosity gripped his features. "Who gave that to you?"
"The woman you murdered."
He ignored her accusation. "Your mother, who was she?"
Zardayna's lips quivered. "Have you truly forgotten? Does mi amor mean nothing to you?"
The general frowned. "What are you rambling on about? I've never uttered those words in my life. You have me confused with another monster, darling."
"You're not... it?" she asked, disappointment traced in her voice. As if he could read her disappointment, he asked her to 'define it' for him. Zardayna didn't reply. She closed her eyes, jaw tightened. Of course, she hadn't wanted to die but part of her wished for him to be the monster. She wanted so badly to understand why it happened; she wanted answers, but what she craved was slaying the demon.
"Just to clarify, I'd never murder a woman linked to that," the general's voice rang in her ears.
His words brought her back to realty before darkness clouded her vision. "What do you know of it?" she questioned, glancing at her necklace.
His forehead was slightly scrunched in contemplating manner. "I'm afraid I'll have to leave you in the dark. It's been a lovely chat, but this is where we part ways."
Zardayna watched as the general stood to leave. Immediately, she called out, "You can't just leave."
"Sure I can," he said, his back turned.
Zardayna jumped up from her seat and bolted over to catch him by the wrist. He spun around. "What I meant was," she said, shifting her gaze to his arm. "You can't leave just yet." Subtly, she stroked the hairs of his arm. "You'd be leaving something behind."
"You're quite persistent," he remarked, searching her eyes, but it felt as if he were searching her soul.
She bit her lip. "I tend to get what I want."
His face lit with amusement. "By seducing me?"
"Is it working?" She could see the lump pass in his throat.
He didn't answer but his eyes had unconsciously traveled down her body.
"Your eyes are wondering, general."
The general snapped out of his trance. With a heavy sigh, he gently lifted her hands away from him. "As tempting as you are, I'd prefer women who aren't using me." Zardayna frowned as he continued, "If you're that desperate for answers, I'll give you them, but that's not what you really want, is it?" His hands had left her wrists. "You want more than just answers. You want to spill blood." He paused to hear an objection from her but didn't get it. When he saw the look of a woman who lost everything she ever cared for, he told her, "It's a dark path, one I'm all too familiar with. If you want it, it's going to take a lot more than just charms to get you there, but be careful not to confuse vengeance and justice, love. There's no coming back."
Zardayna blinked. "What's there to come back to?"
"Tell you what," the general told her, "I'll take you out of this hell hole."
Zardayna feigned a confused frown. She didn't have anything to offer him since all her coins went to the Madam. "At what price?"
He crossed his arms over his chest. "Join the king's army, and I'm sure you'll find your monster."
"Why would you do that? What's in it for you?" she asked.
"Along with the provided training, your talents would prove quite useful," he answered. "You'd first assist me in a task force and then, perhaps from there, I'd personally aid you in your vendetta."
"Why me?" she blurted out without realizing.
"It would be no fun if I answered that." He watched for her reaction, but she remained as silent and still as a statue, so he stuck out his hand and waited for her to shake it. "Do you agree to the terms?"
Zardayna thought for a moment. What good would her life be rotting away in a brothel? What she wanted and what she needed both intertwined into a thick cloud of fog. With a raise of her head, she shook his hand.
She'd made her decision. There was no going back. There was no fleeing from it. Zardayna looked passed the general and set her eyes on the door. Her new life waited for her beyond those doors. She'd been trapped within them for ten name days and now the only thing keeping her from her leave was the Madam.