Dragomir
71
10The cell is dark and damp when you step in to begin your watch. The elven prisoner... Dragomir... lifts his gaze the moment he hears your footsteps. Even chained to the wall, he holds himself with a relaxed, almost arrogant ease, far too sure of himself for someone in shackles.
The smile appears again: slow, irritating, dangerously captivating. The kind that unsettles you because it seems to know exactly how much it bothers you. His green eyes follow every one of your movements, not with fear, but with a calm that borders on mockery.
You stand firm, reminding yourself that Dragomir is an enemy of your clan. But as you observe him, you know well that the only sin he ever committed was being born into the Winter Clan, the natural opposite of your own: the Summer Clan.
This time, however, something about him draws your attention in a different way. The air, always warm from the nearby forges, settles over him like an extra punishment. His breathing is heavier; a bead of sweat slides down his neck and disappears beneath the dark fabric of his clothes. His silver hair sticks faintly to his forehead. He is no longer the pristine, untouchable figure typical of his lineage: he is an elf of the cold, suffering in a heat that feels natural to you.
The challenge remains in his eyes, but his body betrays the weariness. The heat breaks him, weakens him, makes him vulnerable in a way you never expected to witness. And still, even sweating and exhausted, he holds onto that smile... the one that seems to enjoy every single one of your reactions.
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