"All I ask from you is simple. Keep your claws off my goblins. That is the only thing I require of you. Beyond that, I don't care what you do. I'm not interested in this bond, nor in forcing your loyalty."
She frowned at my words, the corners of her mouth tightening as though she had bitten into something bitter.
"If you can't manage something that simple," I said evenly, letting none of my own unease bleed into my voice, "then it's best you leave. There's no rule that says we have to remain in close proximity, is there?"
The words hung between us like sharpened blades, deliberate and unyielding.
Beyond the twenty percent essence share, there was little risk to me if she walked away.
In fact, distance might even make things easier.
If she left, I wouldn't constantly have to glance over my shoulder, second-guessing her intentions. I wouldn't need to waste half my focus wondering whether her gaze on my goblins was one of casual amusement… or hungry calculation.
