Pawns in the game

[Oriena]

Defiance sharpened Jaxen's grin, its edges alluring the whisper of satisfying memories. The intensity of that devilish stare made Ori more inclined to purr than the glamour and illusion of simple words, but the sting of insult was not without its consequences. The look she returned was all softened edges and calculated innocence.

She hoped his knee fucking hurt.

"More than several,"
she amended. Not a threat. Nor a warning. Not intentionally at least. She was briefly amused that Jaxen didn't chose to divulge what she was. The discretion might have mattered once, but no longer; she'd decided at Sofiya's grave that she was done hiding. Not that it meant she planned to register either.

Her eyes trained on Manix at his refusal. "How morally conscious. I wonder if everyone else will be so enlightened?"
Something old reborn? Ori's soul could have been through the wringer a thousand times already for all she cared. What difference did it make? If Manix desired scholarly companionship, he'd sought it in the wrong place. "It's just semantics. Who the fuck cares what they call us."


Her brow's rose at Jaxen's accusation, and for the briefest of moments the surprise showed in her expression, before the amusement hooked a smile in its wake. Now where did he find out something like that - and, more to the point, why had he bothered looking? Throaty laughter hummed from her lips."Do you dig into the background of all your one night stands, Jaxen? That must be very tiring."


She wondered if perhaps he'd discovered that the night of the party the Ascendancy had extended an invitation. And that she had dismissed it. Or if he just inferred the most salacious possibility from the black gaping holes bribery and discretion had placed in her files. Not that that explained the why. It pleased her nonetheless. Of course it did.

He'd intended to unhinge her - and he had, to a degree, but if he meant to also shame her by revealing the "benefactor" behind her wealth, he'd be disappointed; Kallisti was a jaded mockery of its illicit roots, and Oriena did not care for pride so much as she did vengeance. In fact, if Jaxen buried to the truth of it, it was not Oriena he'd make and enemy of. A tantalising prospect.

She teased with a smirk, the glitter in her eyes a touch brighter. She did love to play, and secrets were her currency. "I'm hardly about to divulge pillow talk."