It is an unreasonable amount of time before reality sits so heavily that it can no longer be ignored. Rhys lowers his head, burying his nose in her hair, pressing his eyes shut tightly.
"I…."
He knows he needs to release her from her service before the challenge. The words are so simple, but right now he cannot bring himself to say them. It is not that he likes that control of her or wants her to serve him, it is just that he does not want to cut that last tie with her. That is the selfish part of why he doesn’t do it then and there, there is a legitimate reason that holds him back. He needs more information before he releases her. He knows that she was taken, but that is the extent of the information he has.
He doesn't know who her family is, where they are, if they are still alive, if
