Rex sighed, a sound that was disturbingly close to contentment. He closed his eyes for a moment, his grip loosening slightly but not releasing her.
"You know, Valentina," he murmured, almost to himself. "Feeling you like this... the way you tremble, the way you break under my touch... it makes me forget all about the destruction I've caused."
"All the beautiful chaos I've unleashed."
He pressed his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply. "Makes me almost want to spare Aethelgard... Almost."
Valentina's blood ran cold. The threat was wrapped in a caress, making it infinitely more terrifying.
'That's it,' she told herself, forcing her body to relax despite the screaming alarms in her brain. 'That is the key.'
'He is the one who holds the leash of our entire civilization.'
'His whims are our laws... If his pleasure depends on my submission, then I will give him everything.'
'I will be his perfect, broken thing.'
