Valor watched as she vented on the collar, and though he didn't understand her words at first, he didn't need to. The message came through loud and clear in her tone.
He waited quietly, not wanting to interrupt her well deserved catharsis. This moment was about her and for her, after all—which was a somewhat strange realization.
When was the last time he'd ever put someone else first?
His world was a selfish one. Everyone was out for themselves, vying for power and alliances for their own gain, even his own birth was just to add to the numbers game. He wasn't interested in any of that, despite his family's occasional and disastrous attempts to use him as a pawn, but it was still the reality of his existence. He lived for himself and for his own whims and fancies and screw everyone else, because they would screw him over too if he were important enough to bother with. But Ka'lei wasn't from his world. She existed so far outside it, in fact, that the same rules just didn't apply. And for whatever reason, this just...huh.
It felt good.
And it felt disgusting. This was what some nobility bought. People like Ka'lei. This was what a "slave" looked like. Only there would be no broken chains for those others toiling away in the Houses of people he knew.
Valor sucked in a breath when Ka'lei turned to him at last, bright-eyed in a new way, and he shoved the darker thoughts away. Perhaps he was a fool for what he was going to say next, but gods help him, after everything he'd seen...after this...the thought had been scratching at his mind since that moment in his room, but it was louder now like nails scraping metal, digging in deeper in a way he could no longer ignore.
"You're free," he said suddenly, meeting her eyes. "Truly. You can leave if you want to. I'm not going to make you stay or try to stop you, and it won't offend me if you go. You're not my prisoner, not anymore. But..."
He quirked a little smile, tone playful. "I'd definitely appreciate it if you're still down for our farce. And I'm still down to help you find your brother. I just want you to know that whatever you choose going forward is your choice. Entirely."
He waited quietly, not wanting to interrupt her well deserved catharsis. This moment was about her and for her, after all—which was a somewhat strange realization.
When was the last time he'd ever put someone else first?
His world was a selfish one. Everyone was out for themselves, vying for power and alliances for their own gain, even his own birth was just to add to the numbers game. He wasn't interested in any of that, despite his family's occasional and disastrous attempts to use him as a pawn, but it was still the reality of his existence. He lived for himself and for his own whims and fancies and screw everyone else, because they would screw him over too if he were important enough to bother with. But Ka'lei wasn't from his world. She existed so far outside it, in fact, that the same rules just didn't apply. And for whatever reason, this just...huh.
It felt good.
And it felt disgusting. This was what some nobility bought. People like Ka'lei. This was what a "slave" looked like. Only there would be no broken chains for those others toiling away in the Houses of people he knew.
Valor sucked in a breath when Ka'lei turned to him at last, bright-eyed in a new way, and he shoved the darker thoughts away. Perhaps he was a fool for what he was going to say next, but gods help him, after everything he'd seen...after this...the thought had been scratching at his mind since that moment in his room, but it was louder now like nails scraping metal, digging in deeper in a way he could no longer ignore.
"You're free," he said suddenly, meeting her eyes. "Truly. You can leave if you want to. I'm not going to make you stay or try to stop you, and it won't offend me if you go. You're not my prisoner, not anymore. But..."
He quirked a little smile, tone playful. "I'd definitely appreciate it if you're still down for our farce. And I'm still down to help you find your brother. I just want you to know that whatever you choose going forward is your choice. Entirely."