Steel Princess (Royal Elite 2)

“It was cold,” she says with a detached tone, her face emotionless. “Do you know how cold it gets when you’re drowning? When you’re suffocating? When you’re gasping for air but all you get is water?”

“No.”

She scoffs without humour. “Of course. You don’t feel.”

“Do you have a purpose behind this?”

She stares at me for a beat. Silent.

I stare back, keeping up with her silence game.

This is one of the methods Jonathan taught me and Lev. Silence can be used to your benefit.

People are usually burdened by long, awkward silence, and would be compelled to fill it or give you the answer you need.

Elsa better not be using that tactic on me because it takes more than the silent treatment to crack me.

I try studying her for a tell, but she remains as blank as a board.

Hmm. Interesting.

Since when did she become unreadable?

When I learnt about the drowning, I called Jonathan. He said he never spoke with Elsa at RES. Besides, the whole thing is supposed to be in my hands. Jonathan wouldn’t interfere.

However, the intuition I had since practice refuses to disappear.

“Has it been fun all this time?” she finally asks.

“What?”

“The whole deal about destroying me for what my parents did.”

My head tilts to the side.

She’s not supposed to know that.

Jonathan doesn’t lie. If he said he didn’t talk to her, then he didn’t. Besides, he likes taking his victims by surprise. It’s not in his best interest if she learns that piece of information.

“How did you know that?” I keep my voice light.

“I have my ways.”

I narrow my eyes at the tone she said it with. She’s challenging me, and the beast inside me is clawing to rise up to it.

Easy, boy. Not now.

“I asked you a question,” she continues.

“What question?”

“You know, I didn’t want to believe it, but it makes complete sense now. After all, you said you’ll destroy me upon first meeting. Did you know my background since then?”

Silence.

“You won’t answer that? How about this one?” She pauses. “Didn’t your mother commit suicide or something? How could my parents kill her from Birmingham?”

Just how much does she know?