The air in the room was heavy with a silent battle. Valen and Eon stood like two statues, their eyes locked. Valen was a man of steel, a veteran who used his gaze to break the spirits of his enemies. But Eon did not break. He stood tall, his amber eyes calm and deep, reflecting a power that Valen could not understand. Neither man blinked. It was a war of wills, and for the first time in his life, Valen felt like he was looking at someone he couldn't push over.
The silence lasted until Teressa pushed past Valen and entered the room. Her chest was heaving, and her face was flushed with anger. She stood protectively near the bed.
"See?" Teressa said, her voice sharp and cold. "Your lords are not here. I told you so. You have broken my door and searched my home for nothing."
Valen finally tore his eyes away from Eon. He looked at Teressa, but when he spoke, his voice was still aimed at the elf. "Yeah, I can see that. But tell me, Countess, what is an elf doing inside a Count's house like this? Shouldn't he be in some dark dungeon, locked up in chains where he belongs?"
Teressa didn't hesitate. "Eon? He is my personal guard. He has earned my trust."
Valen let out a loud, mocking laugh. "A personal guard? I know some nobles keep elves for their magic, using them like tools or secret weapons, but this must be a joke, isn't it! You must have a lot of trust in him, hah! To make an elf, a creature we humans captured and tamed, into a personal escort... what a joke. I dont know how you managed to brainwash him, not bad."
Valen's expression turned sharp again. He looked at Eon and jerked his chin toward the door. "Oi, slave. Come with me."
"Where are you taking him?" Teressa protested, her voice rising in panic. "The search is over! Haven't you done enough?"
Valen gave her a cruel, twisted smirk. "Don't worry, I'm just taking him to the dungeon. You have a basement, right? A place where you keep the rest of your elf slaves? No use denying it. I want to see how the other half lives."
Eon didn't argue. He didn't show fear. He stood up slowly, his movements fluid and graceful, like a predator waking up from a nap. He walked toward Valen with a calm face. Seeing him go so willingly, Teressa bit her lip. She wanted to scream, but she forced herself to stay quiet, trusting that Eon had a plan.
Before leaving the room, Valen paused. He turned his head and looked at the two women lying on the bed. Even though he knew one of them was Elora, the sister of his own lords, he didn't look at her with respect. His eyes were filled with a disgusting, lustful hunger. Seeing them lying there, defenceless and asleep, he licked his lips and smirked. It was a look of pure filth. Then, he turned away and walked out.
Eon just looked down and walked behind. He was observing Valen's behaviour. Trying to figure out his weakness.
Hans, the old butler, was waiting in the hallway. His face was pale,but he still followed behind them. The three of them, Valen, Eon, and Hans, began the walk to the basement.
No soldiers followed them. Valen's men were commoners; they stayed outside the mansion because they didn't have the legal right to trespass in a noble's private rooms. Only Valen, who was a noble himself, had the audacity to go this deep into a nobles house.
They walked down the cold, damp stone stairs. As they reached the bottom, the smell of wet earth and rot filled their noses. Valen saw exactly what the investigators had seen earlier: elves chained to the walls, heavy iron collars around their necks, their eyes hollow and filled with despair.
Valen walked through the center of the room, his heavy boots splashing in the dirty puddles on the floor. He looked at the prisoners with a bored expression, then turned to Eon.
"So, how was it?" Valen asked suddenly.
Eon tilted his head slightly. "How was what?"
"Don't play dumb with me," Valen sneered. "You've also fucked Teressa, haven't you? Knowing her past and how lonely she is, she must have taken a liking to you. Why else would she make you her 'shining knight'? Hell, you even stood face to face with the Denares brothers. I've got to hand it to you. Even I wouldn't dare talk to them the way you did back there. You must fancy that woman a lot to protect her like this, even going so far as to kidnap Lady Elora. You've got guts, that's for sure. So tell me... how was it, sleeping with a noble lady like her?"
Behind them, Hans's face turned red with fury. His hand tightened around the magic wand hidden inside his coat. He wanted to blast Valen into dust for speaking about his mistress like she was some common whore.
Eon noticed Hans's anger. Before the old butler could do something reckless, Eon spoke up. His voice was low, cold, and carried a dangerous edge.
"You must have a death wish captain," Eon said. "Talking about our Lady in such a vulgar way. You think being a Denares soldier makes you invincible, right? but you are wrong. You should restrain yourself... of course, only if you value your life."
Hearing a threat from a slave made Valen explode with rage. He moved faster than a normal human, unsheathing his sword in a blur of steel. He pointed the sharp tip directly at Eon's throat.
"Hah! I have never seen an elf as arrogant as you!" Valen roared. "Not only do you hold your head high against my lords, but you threaten me to my face? Don't you know even if I sever your neck right now, No one would care? There would be no consequences for killing a slave."
Eon didn't flinch. He didn't move an inch away from the blade touching his skin. His eyes stayed locked on Valen's. "Just as I said. If you value your life, you should restrain yourself." Eons eyes were calm, no facial expression.
The two men stood there, the sword's edge resting against Eon's neck. Valen searched Eon's face for a sign of fear, a twitch, a blink, a drop of sweat. He found nothing. After a long moment of silence, Valen slowly sheathed his sword. He wasn't afraid, but he was intrigued. He had a new, dark idea in his mind.
Valen turned and walked into one of the open dungeon cells. A female elf was chained to the wall there. She looked up with wide, terrified eyes as the armored man approached. Valen grabbed her hair, forcing her head back with a cruel jerk. His other hand reached out, about to touch her, to humiliate her right in front of Eon.
But before he could, a Denares soldier came running down the stairs, shouting.
"Captain! Captain, come quickly!"
Valen stopped. He let go of the girl's hair and turned around, looking annoyed. "What is it? I'm busy."
"You must come up to the mansion, sir! The men... they found something. You need to see it for yourself!"
Valen grumbled under his breath. He walked out of the cell and started heading back up the stairs. Eon slowly took his hand out of his pocket. Hidden in his palm was a strength potion. He had been a second away from drinking it and snapping Valen's neck like a dry twig.
As they returned to the main floor of the mansion, they saw a group of soldiers waiting for them. The soldiers looked tense. They immediately led Valen, Eon, and Hans through the hallways.
Eon's heart began to sink. He didn't like the direction they were walking. Hans was also sweating heavily, his face pale. They had both assumed the soldiers were all waiting outside the gates. They didn't realize that some of them had stayed behind to sneak around and investigate the house while Valen was in the bedroom.
As they turned the corner, a single, terrifying thought echoed in both Eon and Hans's minds: 'Did they find the dead counts body? Did they find Alaric and Darius chained up in the secret room?'
If the soldiers had found their lords wearing slave collars, the mansion would become a graveyard within minutes.
With a worried expression they walked behind Valen to the storage rooms direction.
Author note: Will Valen find out about his lords situation, or will he find something else entirely? Share your guess in the comment.
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