A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Chapter 273: Chapter 273 - Confrontation

'She'll still need to come to me, though,' Erik chuckled to himself. He ignored the door he was staring at, and turned towards the exit.

It was time to start learning the Frostvolt technique.

As he walked towards the entrance, the door behind him cracked open a little, and two crimson-lined black eyes poked out, watching him leave with a frustrated glare.

Struggle appeared in Emily's eyes, but before long she snorted angrily and slammed the door closed again.

Meanwhile, Erik just grinned and kept walking.

Not much later, he found himself inside the library, holding the Frostvolt technique with an excited smile. 'This is the best smithing technique I've ever held in my hands… and now I can learn it.'

Eagerly, he turned towards the exit with book in hand, intending to head to the forge and start practicing straight away. Aside from being excited to learn it, it was also a good idea to have some experience with exactly what this technique was capable off, before he went into the designing phase.

When he walked into the passageway connecting the library hall with the main hall, however, he was surprised to find Emily there. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and she glared at him angrily.

Inwardly, Erik groaned. 'Uuuugh, I guess I feel strangely proud that she couldn't wait any longer, but damn. I was looking forward to getting started on my smithing.'

Still, he didn't show any of that on the outside, and simply smiled calmly at Emily. "Hey, Emily. Getting some reading done? I'm sure there's plenty of books here on dealing with corruption and maybe even techniques involving the affinity of darkness."

"Shut up!" she exclaimed, his words having only made her angrier. She knew he was playing with her, there was no other reason why he would ignore her obviously distressed expression.

"Something wrong, Emily?" Erik asked, putting on the most innocent expression he could muster.

Emily took some frustrated strides forward and stood right in front of Erik before poking him in the chest with her finger. "Of course there's something wrong! And you know exactly what you're doing! Do you like doing this to me, huh?!"

'Actually… yeah, kinda,' Erik thought inwardly, but naturally didn't voice that thought. Explore more stories with m,v l'e-NovelBin.net

"I don't know what you mean, Emily," Erik forewent his innocent expression and now simply smiled calmly at her.

"You…!" Emily began but the words got stuck in her throat. She took a moment to force them out through the power of frustration. "You owe me…!" Unfortunately, the she still wasn't able to say the last part of that sentence.

"Oh?" Erik kept smiling calmly, only infuriating the angry girl more. "What do I owe you, exactly, Emily? You need to be clear. And if you need my help with something, it wouldn't hurt to ask nicely."

Emily remained quiet and kept staring at him angrily. Yet, surprisingly, her anger suddenly began to fade, and she hung her head low. Her trembling hand found it's way to gripping his shirt at chest height, while she softly muttered a question, "Why… Why are you doing this?"

Her previous emotions had made way for sadness while she continued, "I know you have… fond feelings about me, and you made me admit I had them too, but why are you making this so hard for me…? You don't make Astrid work for it, so why me?"

Erik's gaze softened, and he carefully lifted Emily's head with a finger under her chin. When he looked into her eyes, he could see her hurt and sadness.

"Because Astrid is honest with her feelings," Erik softly explained. "But you aren't. I had to make you admit your feelings and desires. But that isn't a one-time deal and done. You may have voiced your feelings out loud in a particularly charged moment, but now I need you to confront them right here, and with a clear mind. So tell me, Emily.

Tell me what you want me to do."

That was all true, of course, but he greatly enjoyed this as well.

Struggle appeared in Emily's eyes. "I…" she stammered while Erik's piercing amber eyes bore into her soul. She tried to look away, but felt herself unable to.

Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore. "I… Back in Frostvik I nearly got myself killed and screwed up the plan, because I couldn't control myself. I let the corruption take a deeper hold, and if it weren't for you I would have fallen right back into my old ways of abusing Emma. I— I deserve to be punished. Please punish me…"

Her words made Erik's excitement for smithing take a back seat as his his lower brain started taking over. He smiled softly, and kissed her on the lips, before releasing her. "Good girl, Emily. Shall we go then?"

But Emily kept standing there and holding his shirt, forcing Erik to either wait or drag Emily with him. "Before we go anywhere…" Emily mumbled. "I need you to admit something too…"

Erik raised an eyebrow and slightly smirked. 'I think I know where this is heading,' he chuckled to himself. "I guess that's only fair," he nodded. "You'll need to be more specific, though."

Emily looked him in the eyes, here sadness and fury gone, but some frustration remained. "You enjoy this, right? I don't doubt that this is good for me… in a way, at least. Nor do I doubt that you care for me, but you enjoy doing this to me, right?"

Erik chuckled, and could only nod. "Absolutely, I do. Does that disturb you?"

Emily sighed, as if some burden was lifted of her shoulders. "No, it doesn't… In fact, it makes me like you more. It may even turn me on a little…"

Erik smiled and got an idea. He lifted his hand and started petting Emily's head. "Good girl."

A shudder went through Emily's body and struggle appeared in her eyes, but she didn't move.

Finally, he let her go, and walked towards the main hall. "Come on than, Emily. Let's scratch that itch of yours."