His eyes slid to Helena instead, a small smile tugged at his lips, casual and cruel, the kind that made Helena's feet turn to ice.
"Do you like this guy?" he asked.
Helena's breath caught hard in her throat, her mind spiraled, fear colliding with instinct. If she nodded, she felt like she was signing Lukas's death warrant. If she shook her head, she'd be lying so badly it might be worse.
Her words spilled out before she could stop them.
"Take me instead," she said, voice choking, "Spare him. He's innocent, h-he doesn't know anything."
Wang Xiao's gaze on her now, slow and unhurried. Strong body, disciplined posture, royal blood hidden beneath a soldier's skin, under any other circumstance, she would've felt the weight of his eyes crawling over her.
Right now, fear drowned everything else.
"Well?" Wang Xiao asked again, letting a thread of pressure seep into his voice, "Do you like him or not?"
