Mark woke with a start. He’d been feeling a soothing warmth all around him when his mind had finally managed to kick in and sound the alarms. His hand was grasping the knife instantly, his eyes looking wildly around the room in an attempt to spot the direction the danger was coming from.

He was met with silence.

The sun outside had dimmed, the shutters were closed, and there was no real source of light within. He could vaguely make out the bodies in the room. Noah was still in the corner, tied up, slumped, breathing deeply. Shery was on the smaller half-sunken bed, snoring. There was the soft sound of water, and Mark’s eyes turned towards an object that hadn’t been there when he went to sleep.

A tub.

In the dim light, he couldn’t quite see the details, but he could spot the glimmering surface and the naked woman within. Brye’s back was turned to him, her head leaning against the bath’s edge, the only part of her that was visible. Everything else was submerged in the steamy tub.

“I’m keeping the others asleep.” She commented in a slow whisper. “I’m finishing my dip, so take your own if you want.” Her hand peeked over the water’s edge, gesturing at a bucket next to the bath. “Scrub yourself a bit before jumping in though, don’t want to dirty the water too much.”

With a soft sigh, she pulled herself up, slowly rising from the steamy water. The light from the window streaked inside, reflecting against her naked, wet body, leaving her curves contrasting with the dark. Her face hidden in shadows, Mark could still see the two golden orbs that stared at him with intensity. She stood there, hands not moving to try to cover herself and slowly teasing the skin of her hips.

“Why did you save me?”

The question was blurted out before Mark could even stop himself. It had been a constant intrusive thought at the back of his head ever since they’d escaped the Court. And he’d been unable to hold it off.

“You could’ve left me for dead.”

Brye turned away, looking at the two sleeping occupants in the room, and then glancing at the door. Her ears rotated and twitched, attentive, and clearly seeking out something Mark would be unlikely to detect. Eventually, she appeared satisfied with whatever she’d found.

“I saved you because I wanted to.” She finally proclaimed. Her hands began to glow with a dim purple light, casting her amused expression in a soft lavender light. Brye moved her palms towards her hair and shoulders, slowly caressing them in a downward fashion. In their wake, her skin and hair were left dry and smooth. “Not that I’m not being selfish. You’re worth several times your weight on elemental stones. And the Boss will want to meet you at the very least.”

The young man scoffed, prying his eyes away from her body as she stepped out of the tub. “And who’s this ‘Boss’ of yours, anyway?”

“He’s the Boss.” The fox shrugged simply. “Far as I can tell, he controls most of the underground, at least in this chunk of the kingdom.”

Mark snorted, standing from the bed and moving towards the bucket. “So what? Local drug dealer works for him or something? Why not find him and make a call?”

She didn’t answer his question. The maiden merely shook her head with a dismissive flick of her tail. Turning to face him, she cocked her head, stepping closer. Mark froze as she did, raising his arms in preparation to struggle, the knife still firmly within his grasp.

“Not going to do that.” She chided, cocking her hip and stopping close enough the dagger was almost poking her shoulder.

“Why should I trust you?”

“Have you ever been able to stop me?” She smirked, waiting for only a heartbeat as she stepped closer, grabbing the edge of the blade and pressing it against her stomach. Slowly, she dragged it up her body, drawing a sharp breath, pressing it against her throat. The human was left transfixed, unable to look away as she pulled it higher, kissing the tip of the sharp metal before closing her left eye and leaving it to press against her eyelid. “There.”

“What?”

“You want to kill me?” Her singular open eye glimmered golden in the dark. “That’s where you ought to stab me.”

“I-.”

“Either trust me, or kill me.” Brye pressed, letting go of the blade. “No room for middle-ground.”

He couldn’t move, his body remained fixed in place, a lump in his throat cutting his breath short. With a growl, he pulled the blade away and threw it to the ground, the clanking metal loudly speaking the words he could not coalesce into his mouth.

“There, much-.”

Whatever she was going to say, she clearly didn’t expect him to lunge and kiss her. He weighed more than she did, and that alone caused her to tip over. They fell, and she reacted. The human landed on his back, with Brye straddling his hips and clenching his throat with one hand. Anger flared in her eyes. Warm water that had spilled from the tub drenched the floor and his back.

“The fuck was that for?”

Mark laughed. “You weren’t reading my mind.”

Brye’s tails flicked. She let go, and for a fraction of a second, she flushed. The naked fox left his lap with an annoyed growl. “Do your own bathing.” She proclaimed, vanishing. The sound of ruffling fabric told Mark she’d teleported onto the bed and dove inside.

The young man kept a mild sense of accomplishment, stripping off of his clothes down to the briefs. He found the stool and the bucket, and used them to quickly scrub away most of the grime from the wilderness off of his body. The cool cold water woke up his mind and left him feeling far better than he’d been hours ago.

With his eyes turned towards the tub, the human hesitated only as he noticed Brye looking his way. She’d used the sheets to cover herself all the way save her head. The vulpine maiden’s gaze remained firmly fixed on him, expression entirely unreadable as he stripped the final piece of cloth and dipped into the warm waters. If he had to bet, she was being pissy at having been one-upped for once.

He ignored it, turning to the bath. Mark cringed a bit at how hot the water was, making his submersion slow and steady. Though it was certainly not unwelcome, it didn’t take too long to adjust to it and just lay with his back turned towards the larger bed. His gaze bouncing between the window and the other two occupants in the room.

Eventually, he just stopped letting his thoughts wander and locked onto Noah. “I’m sick and tired of having her be a prisoner.” He proclaimed with a grunt.

He was aware Brye was listening, but the fox held back her comment for several long seconds. “If you want to kill her, the Boss likely has a few psychics under his thumb that ought to know how to pull it off without turning it into a brain-butchery.”

Mark submerged himself into the water, allowing the heat to suffuse into his body. His thoughts kept bouncing between so many things he couldn’t quite decide on which one to focus on. “And what if I don’t want her dead?”

The laugh was mirthless, cold and cruel. “Do you own her, then?”

That startled Mark. He turned to look at her as she lay on the bed under the sheets. His brow furrowed as he then glanced back at Noah and her sleeping form as she was curled up in the corner. The idea solidified in the back of his mind. “She tried to kill me.” He said with a slight frown. “I get to decide what happens to her.”

There was no room for any other option. Noah was dangerous, but she’d proven just how capable she could be if she wanted to. As soon as he’d said the words, it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The resolution crystallized with a snap, and Mark suddenly realized Brye was laughing louder now.

“Ok, then, Mr. Offworlder, you decide what happens to her.” There was no small amount of mirth in Brye’s voice. The maiden wriggling on the bed as she turned away from him. “But if you want help, you will have to ask for it.”

She snapped her fingers, and Noah abruptly drew breath, squeaking awake and rapidly looking around the room. Her eyes met Mark’s, and she froze, curling tighter into the corner, round ears perked and attentive, her whole body tense and attempting to make itself as small as possible.

Something soft and smooth caressed Mark’s thoughts. He tensed, eyes widening as he suddenly realized someone was touching his mind.

Noah’s eyes abruptly sharpened, glowing with a soft violet light.