CHAPTER 11
Rizika was feeling all better because her wounds were healing. Then the slight relief she felt crumbled when she opened the door. The menacing man was sitting on a chair by the table, his eyes on the gadget he was holding.
She heard another cry from a far distance. Then her forehead knotted if she heard it wrong because it sounded the same noise from his phone.
She swallowed hard. She really wanted to know what time it was already. It couldn't be morning yet. But she felt like she only slept for a few hours.
Then the man raised his eyes on her. She moved back to the bed while rubbing the towel on her soaked hair. It was making her nightdress wet too. She didn't know why the man was there again. She thought she would have some peace alone while awake to gather her thoughts and think of a plan. But there he was, blessing her with his presence again.
[System: Mission Task: Make—]
'System, deactivate.'
She didn't let it finish. It irked her that every time she saw the man, the system would remind her of all the glorious tasks she had to comply with. As if his presence alone wasn't enough to get her all riled up. But she had to adapt somehow. Set aside the ridiculousness of her situation and start with her main mission, which was to retrieve the Autonus artifact. That's what she should prioritize. Damn the system.
"What's that noise?" She can't help but ask. She already had an idea what it was, but she could just be imagining things. It was a torturous cry of women.
"Did that noise wake you?" She was surprised upon hearing his voice again that sounded casual. Whatever it was that his phone was playing, it quieted down. So, the noise was actually happening in the present.
"Kind of." She mumbled.
Vex took a deep breath. "Come here." He stared directly into her eyes. There was something in his tone and voice that sounded more than just a command. It was an absolute will that should be followed whenever given to anyone.
She closed her eyes. Trying to forget that he was there even for a second. She just got out of the shower, and her body was bathed with cold water. But she was now quickly feeling the heat rising in the room. Sighing, she thought that if she were any other women with a romantic mind or in feminine endeavors, they would have melted in just the presence of this man.
"Do you want me in bed with you?"
Her eyes snapped open. He hasn't taken his eyes off her. Then she heard another shrill tone from the same voice before.
Her fist clenched the towel tightly, and she stood up, forcing her feet to move forward. As she came close, she just noticed that his shirt changed. It was navy blue earlier. Now it was black. There was no gunholster or any weapon on him as far as her eyes could see. His citrusy scent clouded her senses.
Vex placed the phone down on the table. Her eyes caught something red on the phone that made her curious and glanced at it. Her breath hitched as she saw two bound women surrounded by fire. They were sitting on the floor with all their sobs and cries, begging for their lives. The fire started to reach the women's toes, which made them shriek in pain. She was not hearing it from his phone. No. She was actually hearing it in reality.
The Scorching Room was where they burned people alive or dead. It was a bit close from the private cells to where he kept his captives that were still breathing. He intentionally set it there so the breathing ones would know how lucky they were not sent into that room. It would serve as emotional torture to make them hear people beg for their lives. It makes confession easier.
He studied the woman's face as she looked at the phone. There was surprise in it. He can see the reflection of fire from the screen to her pupils. It was mesmerizing to witness. It suits her. The fire was burning in her eyes.
She was just within arm's length from where she was standing. He could grab her and make her sit on his lap. But he restrained himself from doing so.
Then she turned to him. Her face was hard. There was no pity or disgust upon seeing the women's flesh being eaten by fire. She didn't recoil or anything.
"Why are you showing me this? Would you burn me like them?"
Not that kind of heat. A smile tugged on his lips from the automatic response of his mind.
He picked up the phone and called one of his men who was operating the Scorching Room. "End them on five." He hung up and placed the phone back on the surface.
In just a few seconds, the women's heads burst as they were shot on the forehead. Blood oozed out of the wound. The bullets went past their skulls. And the noise they heard was gone.
He half expected for her to ask why he burns those women and what they have done, or she could have exclaimed that he's a monster. But then, of course, Albria's half population was of monsters, beasts, and any other creature of darkness. And she's a soldier. The scene wasn't new to her. It was refreshing to see a woman not cower in front of ugly things. But then she hadn't seen yet how monstrous he was, despite his appearance. And his urge to pull her to him elevated.
"No." And he saw her blink in surprise.
It was a relief for Rizika that she wouldn't end up like the women in the screen. At least not yet.
"Would you let me go then?" She was taking her chance.
A short pause. They were staring at each other. It was like they were reading each other's thoughts.
"You came into my estate. My property. Uninvited. Why would I let you go?"
She sighed. He's right. Even though he shot her, he also treated her and gave her clothes.
"Why won't you?" She questioned back.
The electric blue of his eyes was burning her inside. She never felt it towards any man. She doesn't indulge herself in pleasurable things. Her entire focus was to rank up in Albria and to achieve the position of general. And she succeeded being the first woman and the youngest to achieve such honorable rank. And even after she made it, she was busy with a lot of missions and war for protecting the kingdom. Her knights were like her siblings under her supervision and she never had feelings with anyone. Men and women look up to her. But there was just no ounce of romanticism in her.
But this man over here. He made her feel strange things. And she hated it.
Vex grabbed her wrist—was about to grab her wrist. But she caught his hand and bend it upwards. He didn't as much grunt and he used his other hand instead. Her strength was nothing compared to his. She gasped when she landed on his lap and instantly coiled an arm around her waist. The towel she was using fell on the floor.