Gunnar
The room smelled of her panic, wrapped in something infinitely sweeter.
I kept her pinned against the dark wood of the bookshelves, my shadow swallowing her entirely. My chest heaved as I stared down into her wide, terrified eyes. For the first time in seven agonizing years, the black rot clawing at my insides was dead silent. The sudden absence of the agonizing pain was driving me unhinged.
I wanted to drag her back into my space, to wrap my hands around her small waist and press her into the desk until I figured out what kind of creature she truly was. But a warlord couldn't afford to show vulnerability, especially not to a captive.
I pulled back just an inch, my blood-red eyes narrowing into a glare.
"Listen to me very carefully, scrap piece," I rasped, my voice dropping so
