Insolence a dark ff roma.., p.6
Insolence: A Dark FF+ Romantasy, page 6
I stand by it, though. Like a gyroscope set into motion, my own axis is now consumed in a momentum that will resist attempts to change its course.
A muscle spasms in her jaw, and I await her counterattack with bated breath. But instead of getting upset, she casually bends down to pick it up.
Leafing through the pages, mask still firmly in place, she says, “It’s in Aritertan.”
Not. Fair. I glower until it’s apparent I won’t get a further reaction. “Apparently I’m multilingual.”
I pretend to focus on something outside of the window, disappointed ire gushing through me.
“You must have been well-educated.” Her tone is mild, but her eyes on me are palpable.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason. What do you care where I look?”
I stew on that for a moment. “Can you read it?”
“No. And you don’t need to pout, Tiss.”
I’m NOT pouting. I stiffen, paralyzed, and grit out, “Do you know other languages of any sort?”
“No.” She gives a low chuckle. A quick shake of her head sends her jewelry jingling before she rises to her feet. “Put your cloak on. I want to show you something.” She snatches up her own cloak and takes off without waiting for my answer.
Curiosity overrides my irritation, and I throw mine over my shoulders. Once outdoors, the high priestess roams away from the tower, watching the skies and whistling a long note that dips down at the end.
After several rounds of whistling, I’m still waiting for something to happen. “Any chance that—”
She holds a hand up, and I seethe in response.
She whistles again, louder and longer. This time it’s answered by a brief, throaty shriek that rings out from high above us.
A magnificent black bird wheels into view, making a lazy circle above the lawn.
Smiling, Elodie holds up her arm, whistling high and low notes in quick succession.
The bird plummets acrobatically before landing on her outstretched forearm with gentle precision.
“Hello, Bibi!” says Elodie.
“Hello, Bibi! Hello, Bibi!” echoes the bird, perfectly imitating the high priestess’s voice and folding its great wings. It bobs its sleek head and marches side to side on her arm, doing a funny little dance.
All right. That’s more than a little impressive. I giggle like a moron.
“This is Bibi.”
Bibi hello Bibis several more times, and I can’t stop myself from grinning. “I see that. What a beautiful crow.”
“Raven. Crows are quite a bit smaller and don’t have this shaggy beard under their beaks.” She scratches Bibi’s fluffy neck feathers. The creature puffs them up as if enjoying showing off. “Although both crows and ravens can mimic human speech, other bird calls, and different types of animal sounds. Even mechanical noises and music.”
“I stand corrected,” I say, begrudgingly impressed with her bird facts. “Can I have a pet raven, too?”
The priestess recoils like I struck her. “No! She’s a wild animal. Not a pet.” She gazes fondly at Bibi. “I’ll admit she’s pretty tame, but I never dreamed of keeping her in captivity once she could fly.”
Elodie tells me about finding her injured and alone as a baby, up by the Observatory. She thinks it was a hawk attack that killed Bibi’s mother and left Bibi with a broken wing, but she can’t be sure. “I took care of her and nursed her injuries. We bonded as a result.” She strokes Bibi’s sleek head.
The creature cozies up comfortably to her touch.
I want to be that bird.
Wait a minute.
“She’s smarter than most humans I know. She’s quick to learn tricks, and she’ll even do them when she’s in the mood. She can be mischievous and stubborn to a fault, and she’s real bratty sometimes.” Elodie watches me sidelong. “She likes to do things to get a reaction out of me. But you know all about that. Don’t you, Tiss?”
My hands fly to my hips. I’m about to argue that I’m not a brat, but I’m not actually worked up about it. I just want to see what she says.
Gods dammit. “If you say so,” I finally mutter.
But the truth is, I’m reeling from her subtle handling of my small act of insolence inside the tower. Another part of me is still savoring the devious feeling of dropping the book at her feet and watching her split-second struggle not to react.
“Mm-hmm.” Elodie lifts an eyebrow. “At any rate, she comes and goes as she pleases. This temple is her territory, as am I. She’ll never leave these grounds so long as I’m here. If I ever leave this place, she’ll follow me to the end of the world, I think.”
Bibi croaks, seemingly agreeing.
The way Elodie’s eyes dance as she talks about her raven fills me with warmth from the root of my tongue to the soles of my feet. The pain thrumming in my forehead has dulled to white noise compared to the delight playing out in front of me.
“You can come closer,” the priestess beckons, squinting playfully. “She’s usually pretty docile so long as you don’t pose a threat to either of us.”
The creature is huge up close; the size of a hawk. Her feathers seemed pure black at first, but closer inspection reveals tones of iridescent green, purple, and blue shimmering in the waning sunshine. Elodie reaches into the pocket of her cloak, bringing out a plump berry.
Brimming with excitement, Bibi lunges before it’s offered. Elodie pulls the treat back with impressive reflexes.
“Gently, Bibi,” she chides.
Bibi fixes her with limpid black eyes, issuing several gurgling croaks. Elodie offers the berry again, and again the raven lunges, snapping her beak.
It’s already pulled back, pinched between the woman’s thumb and middle finger before I register what happened. “I don’t think so. You’re just showing off now. Is this because I called you mischievous and stubborn in front of Tiss? She was going to find out eventually. Now take it gently. You know what that means.”
Her low tone has a settling effect on Bibi and me both. She’s so smooth and in control of the obstinate creature. Something inside of me salivates, and I become overly aware of the insistent ache between my legs.
I’ve got a berry you can take gently, priestess.
Oh, gods. I cringe at my own desperate thoughts. I’m in trouble. Send help!
For a third time, she offers the treat. For a third time, Bibi lunges, making aggravated tok-tok sounds and beating her great wings against Elodie. She’s clinging tenaciously to the priestess’s forearm, clearly squeezing too hard with her wickedly sharp talons.
“Nope. Nuh-uh.” Elodie lifts her arm, whistling a two-note ascending signal. “Go, if you want to act like that.”
Wings still outstretched, the raven doesn’t beat them again, but she refuses to take off.
Eyebrows dropped, gaze leveled at Bibi, Elodie lowers her arm and huffs a quick, rumbling growl. It fires off from deep inside her chest, reverberating through Bibi and right into me. My mouth drops open.
Bibi and I both elicit a weak squeak.
Voice low and firm, Elodie warns, “Last chance, Bibi.”
I watch breathlessly as the headstrong raven folds her wings, croaks, and politely plucks the morsel from between the priestess’s fingers. After gobbling it down, she scooches sideways up Elodie’s arm to her shoulder, bonking her small head against the woman’s cheek.
The high priestess purrs in response, scratching her feathery beard, the balance of power seemingly restored.
“That’s a good girl,” she coos as Bibi nuzzles under her chin.
It takes a moment to realize who she’s talking to because something breaks inside of my brain. My vision blots out. A hot, prickling sensation starts at the crown of my head and zaps through my chest, where it erupts in tiny explosions before settling between my thighs.
“That’s a good girl.”
Why did I want her to be talking to me and not the silly bird?
The phrase and the melodic cooing hum with which she said it echo through me like ripples spreading on water. Emotions I can’t comprehend tangle up inside, akin to how I felt after dropping the book at her feet. But also different—somehow more intense. Intimate.
Elodie glances at me, then does a double take. I can only imagine the look on my face, rushing to smooth my features into what I hope is a bland expression.
A lurid smile unfurls across her lips as she runs a knuckle down Bibi’s breast, rings flashing. I have the distinct impression she knows exactly how aroused I am and why.
I can’t hide from her. Even though I haven’t said a word or moved a muscle, her expression tells me she’s seen everything and won’t pretend she doesn’t notice. My pulse quickening, there’s nothing to do but hold her penetrating gaze, defenseless at the idea that my predicament amuses her.
“Good bird, Bibi,” she whispers, nose quivering as if she smells something peculiar.
Bibi babbles several good birds of her own, doing her silly little shuffle dance.
Elodie raises her arm, whistling the ascending signal. With a great whoosh, the raven climbs into the air on mighty wings.
The high priestess hasn’t lifted her eyes from me for longer than a second.
Chapter 7
Itissa
Although I’m fully clothed, I can’t help feeling exposed.
Elodie’s heated stare rakes over me in a way that feels invasive and far too familiar; I’m vulnerable beneath its intensity.
“This attraction between us. It’s powerful,” she murmurs. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
“Oh, gods. Trust me, I’m aware you noticed.” I blush furiously, my fingers going to the end of my braid. “I was fairly forward the other day. But you can’t deny… d-don’t tell me you're not interested, High Priestess. I can tell that you are.”
“Oh, Tiss.” She glances around before moving closer and pulling my hand from my hair. “I won’t deny it. In all honesty, I’ve been struggling to make sense of some things since your gorgeous ass showed up. But it’s not that simple.”
The rude compliment paired with the gravity in her tone stuns me to silence. I’m thrown completely off my axis.
“Let’s find somewhere safe to talk. Come on.” She drops my hand and takes off again, the hem of her cloak skimming the ground.
I hesitate before the shock wears off, then trot to catch up. But she’s too fast, disappearing around the tower and forcing me to pick up speed.
Jogging, I trail her through the interstice between the Orrery Tower and the craggy rock wall. The Observatory looms overhead, casting a shadow so deep the fissure is all but invisible as we approach it.
I don’t see the chasm entrance angled into the jagged stone until we’re nearly on top of it. Elodie spins around, grabbing my hands to pull me into the tiny cave.
It extends back four, maybe five feet before terminating in a blunt dead end cloaked in darkness. Once inside, we’re almost completely hidden.
“Gods,” I murmur, “I wouldn’t have known this was here if I hadn’t been following you.”
“That’s the idea.” She lets me go, her breath clouding the frigid air. “We should be safe for a short while.”
“Now that we’re concealed to your liking, what do you want?” I fire off with more boldness than I feel.
“All right,” she snorts. “Did you think that was cute back there?”
“What?”
She flashes a dark, exasperated look that says, Please be fucking serious. “Dropping a book at my feet? Sound familiar?”
My eyes flare wide. “I seem to be having some issues with my memory of late. You’ll have to forgive me.”
“Pity.” She blinks. “So long as we’re being open about our attraction to each other, we need to discuss your behavior before things go further.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my behavior,” I say, equal parts flustered and strangely excited by this turn of the conversation.
“Mm-hmm. Don’t think I’m intimidated or impressed by the tantrum you threw when I’d done nothing but show concern for your well-being.”
“Oh, please. ‘Tantrum’ is a… a strong word. And maybe I didn’t want your concern. But I suppose that didn’t occur to you, now did it?” I turn aside and brush past her, venturing further into the dim chamber.
Elodie seizes my shoulder without missing a beat, spinning me back to face her. She gives an ironic sort of chuckle, as if she can’t wait to do something about my feigned indifference. Gods help me, it thrills me to the very bottom of my soul.
“If you didn’t want it, then you should’ve said so. You don’t get to push my buttons whenever you feel like it. Not without my permission.”
“Your permission?”
“That’s right. People need rules between them if they want to play power games, Itissa.”
“Itissa, even.” I do my best to sound unimpressed, but I’m riveted.
She advances me backward in the small space until I hit the cold rock wall. Planting her left hand by my head, nose inches away from mine, she croons, “Do you know why the dynamic between me and Bibi works so well?”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“It works because it’s based on mutual trust, respect, and balance.” She uses her right hand to tap my chin, nose, and forehead, punctuating trust, respect, and balance.
I swat the hand away, fury gathering in my belly.
She catches my wrist and pins it to the wall by my left ear. The pulling sensation goes taut at the same moment, and a gasp leaves my throat.
“She was free to fly off if she didn’t like how I was offering treats. She’s not leashed. I’d never tether or hood her. She’s the one who chose to stay. She also chose to show off and misbehave when she’s well aware of the etiquette for taking food from my hand. She decided she was going to be a brat about it.” And the way Elodie says it, her needle-pointed glare boring right through me, I know that she’s calling me a brat, too.
The layers of arrogance and condescension in her unsolicited lecture rankle me. I struggle against her grip, grunting and swearing at her to let me go. But she redoubles her efforts, trapping my legs with her knees. “You do understand what I’m saying, right, Tiss?”
With a growl, my free hand rises to shove her away.
Calmly and unblinking, she catches it. Before I realize what’s happening, both of my wrists are pinned uncompromisingly to the cold rock on either side of my head.
“Passive-aggressive behavior won’t move me. I’m not going to lose my temper.”
“Fuck off,” I spit, wrestling against her grip. “Is that more direct for you?” But it’s no use. She’s taller and stronger than me, and her body is as solid as the rock that’s digging into my shoulders.
“That’s fine,” she murmurs, her relentless control rage-inducing. “Get it out of your system, if you must.” She flashes a cocky half-grin, gazing down at me as if she’s having the time of her damn life.
Heat courses through my chest, and air hisses between my teeth. Why is the thread between us pulsing right now?
Struggling again, I heave a frustrated huff when I register how thoroughly I’m trapped, my breath erupting in clouds between us. But I have no recourse.
There’s no choice but to listen.
“You see, Tiss,” she sighs, her eyes roaming my lips and nose and chin—trembling with indignation—and her gaze feels like a caress. “Sometimes our feelings can be difficult to deal with. Sometimes they’re so big and tangled up, they can cause us to act out.”
“Act out?”
“Mm-hmm. Test clear expectations and push reasonable boundaries. Often just to get a reaction. To try and get attention. Provoke others to lose their temper first so there’s an excuse to react. When we’re bratty like that, we get punished.”
Punished. A sharp thrill blossoms in my rib cage. Completely at odds with my anger, it shoots down, traveling between my legs.
“Reminded how to behave,” she whispers, leaning in to brush her cheek against mine. “By getting ignored”—she kisses my cheek, catching me off guard—“or having privileges revoked.” A kiss is pressed to my other cheek, eliciting a gasp before she pulls back. Her voice drops an octave: “Being disciplined.”
Disciplined. My stomach falls out of me. That’s precisely what’s happening now.
I can’t hold her deep eye contact and glance at the shadowy ceiling, my heart threatening to rupture. The echoing impressions of her kisses throb on my skin, filling me with an intense longing that wars with my outrage.
I want to claw her eyes out. I want to spit in her face. I want to run away, back to the orrery and Sadrie, and cry my heart out, but I don’t know why.
Well, other than the horrid realization that I might be in need of this lesson the imperious priestess is set on teaching.
“Just so you know,” she says, “power games are generally more enjoyable when all parties can regulate their emotions. Everyone stays on equal footing that way.”
For shit’s sake. Suddenly, I can see us both with sharp precision, and I’m embarrassed.
Not only has she been provoking me to show me how it feels, but her focused attention is exactly what I’ve been craving all along. Then there’s the fact that I’m infuriatingly turned on by her impeccable control over me. Especially by being put, literally, in my place.
Unable to juggle so many intense feelings, the anger trickles out of me. Like a fever breaking, the relief is astounding. I heave a sigh.
“Let’s try this again.” She’s been watching me wrestle myself for gods know how long. “Are you certain you don’t know what I’m getting at with all of this?”
I’m beside myself. Something inside of me fractures, breaking open like an egg. “You’re not talking about Bibi anymore,” I whisper while a mixture of titillation and begrudging respect oozes through me.
“No. I’m not talking about Bibi anymore.” Her tawny eyes are ringed with emerald in the deepening shadows. “What am I talking about, Tiss?”
“You’re talking about me.”
“What about you?”
I hold still, not tearing my gaze away. “How I was acting.”
