sqwarkdemon

“It was some intense training, but you don’t need to worry. You said Sophia is here? Just her, no Alexis or Cyrilo?”“No, sir.”“Interesting. Please show her in and make some tea. Tell her I’ll be down by the time it’s ready.”Of course,” she said with a bow.After Shannon departed, Noah gave himself a quick birdbath with a damp cloth to wipe off his sweat. The training had been intense indeed. He also needed to stop his nosebleed before he saw Sophia.

After exploiting a gap in her attack, Noah lunged and swung at her, his blade coming within inches of her throat as she backflipped beyond his reach, kicking his sword to try and knock it out of his hand. He succeeded in hanging on and went in for a thrust, but she parried his attack and countered with a diagonal slash, stopped by him catching her blade with the guard of his sword. The two of them went back and forth, launching attacks at each other while struggling to endure the onslaught they were both receiving.

“Now, what’s in here, I wonder? Liquid pleasure, which will enslave your mind and bend you to my will for the rest of your life, offering everything you have for another taste? Or maybe it’s a vicious toxin that will have you screaming and writhing in pain, biting your wrists in an attempt to kill yourself, with every second feeling like a lifetime spent in the heart of a bonfire? Pick a vein, and let’s find out. Or…” He brought the needle right up to her eye, making her shudder in terror. “I can always go in through the mucus membrane. Yes, that sounds like fun. Now take a deep breath and think of home.”