7.120 - Coliseum IV

"My uncle's too, probably," Elida continued casually. "Two of my cousins. Some others. The list is a bit informal." She shrugged, as if she hadn't just revealed her plans for cold-blooded murder. "Does that clear everything up?"

Natalie stared at her. Elida's grin grew, and Natalie became extremely aware that her cock was resting on the woman's face—it was a wholly inappropriate position for the sudden gravity of what they were talking about.

Elida seemed pleased by how Natalie didn't know how to respond. She grabbed Natalie's cock and put the tip in her mouth, giving the gentlest bite. "Don't worry, Natalie," she murmured, lips tickling her cockhead. She winked. "I'm not some kind of psychopath." She paused, then tilted her head. "Oh, interesting. I guess it's true, if the Coliseum didn't stop me from saying that. Or at least I think it."

"Why?" Natalie asked.

The amusement drained away, and Elida studied her coldly. "Because I am, as we all are, a product of my environment."

She took a breath in, then smiled sweetly.

"But that goes beyond the scope of the question. You have your answer. That is what motivates me." She pecked a quick kiss onto Natalie's cock head.

Natalie had no clue what to say. Her head spun.

She couldn't realistically have expected the Passion of Rage to choose someone who was satisfied with their life as its champion. Maybe in the best interpretation she could have hoped for a righteous sort of anger—a crusader, angry at the world for its injustice. But no. Elida was motivated by a very personal anger.

She wanted to murder her own father. And several other Parda-Halts, before dismantling one of the oldest and most influential Houses in the kingdom.

Why?

What had they done to her?

"You think it's justified?" Natalie asked quietly.

Elida's eyes flashed, and her grip tightened around Natalie's cock. Natalie was having serious second thoughts about this situation.

And yet, awfully, somehow she found herself even more erect than before, her arousal only surging at the fact she had a very angry, potentially psychopathic woman's hand around her cock.

Danger did strange things to a person.

"Justified?" Elida asked, voice clipped. "Yes, Natalie, it's justified. And don't ask me why for your next question, or I'll make you regret it."

Natalie swallowed. She believed Elida, at least. She wasn't planning murder for the fun of it. The Coliseum guaranteed truth … though this kind of truth was entirely up to perspective.

It wasn't like Natalie couldn't conjure up reasons a person might want to kill another. That happened all the time.

Her own family though?

Then again: Parda-Halts. It seemed their reputation wasn't undeserved. Even one of their promising scions hated the House so much she was calculating its bloody downfall.

This was what Natalie had feared when she'd promised to stay silent. That something important would be revealed—something she might have a moral obligation to pursue.

Then again, it wasn't the worst case scenario. Criminals were hanged or put to death all the time. This trial would be extrajudicial, yes, but somehow, by the cold fury burning in Elida's eyes, Natalie knew, bone-deep, the sentence would be far from undeserved.

Heavens Above.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure it's very shocking," Elida said, mastering her expression. The smirk was back, but the mask seemed more obvious than usual. "If you could stop gawking like an idiot and return to the task at hand, I would appreciate it. The only thing you have any talent in is using this stupid thing of yours, and I'd rather we have a proper payout at the end of this assignment. So hurry up and do your job."

Natalie frowned at her.

Elida rolled her eyes. "Oh, fuck off. This has nothing to do with you, and I don't want your help, and definitely not your pity. You're way more interesting when you're angry—everyone is. I don't want you playing nice. So, seriously, get back to work, you dumb bimbo."

"Elida, I—"

"Jordan? That's her name, right?"

Natalie went still. "What?"

Elida's smile widened. "She's painfully average. I'm better than her in every way. Three times the delver, to name the obvious, she's barely even okay by Tenet standards. I'd be a better fuck too, if that's what it takes to bring you over to the team."

"Elida."

"The Beaumon would be annoying, but I guess I could suffer it. That white-haired whore you dragged from your hometown is alright, I suppose, but—"

Natalie grabbed Elida by the cheeks and squeezed, cutting the words off. Elida's green eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

"So? Shut me up, or I'll keep going," Elida said through the grip on her face, lips squeezed in a way that made her words come out garbled.

To say that Natalie was conflicted would be an understatement. Elida was obscenely good at getting her blood boiling. Fitting, she supposed, considering her sponsor. She gritted her teeth hard enough her jaw ached. Insults thrown at her were one thing, but Jordan? Sofia?

"The mage has the social skills of a stunted toddler, so she's an easy choice to throw aside too," Elida started, and Natalie didn't have much option anymore. She grabbed Elida's hair and pulled her down onto her cock, plunging deep, sliding into her throat and properly putting a gag on her.

"I don't know what happened to you," Natalie said, flustered in all sorts of ways, "but that doesn't give you permission to be a vile bitch to everyone and anyone you come across."

Beneath her watering eyes, Natalie saw, to her horror, sparkling amusement. This was the response Elida had wanted. Genuinely.

"Why?" Natalie asked incredulously. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you want me to hate you?"

Elida pulled off, coughing and sputtering. Natalie had only gone a few inches in—she really was inexperienced.

"Not hate you," Elida clarified, wiping her lips. The runny makeup and saliva-sickened face really did something devastating to Natalie's arousal, no matter the circumstances. "Make you angry."

"Why?"

"Why would I want to make you angry? Natalie, try putting that poor, desolately unused walnut in your head to use for once."

Natalie's face reddened, and only half at the surge of anger. Because … Elida was right. It was a dumb question. She knew why. Had from the start.

Why would the champion of Rage want to make people angry? It wasn't even just Elida's base personality—it helped her somehow. Natalie benefited from the lust of both herself and her partners. Why wouldn't Elida have something similar?

"That's still no excuse," Natalie bit out.

"I despise people who whine but never act," Elida sighed. She lifted her hand and flicked Natalie's cock—not playfully, but rather hard enough to sting and make her take a step back. "If you've got a problem, do something about it, you sanctimonious bitch. And are you going to waste all morning on this? Fucking hurry up. We have two more fights to get through."

Natalie growled, grabbed Elida's hair, and decided, genuinely this time, that she was done being gentle.