Getting heated

The effect came immediately. Color drained from his face and his eyes widened.

“We don’t speak of her!!!”

He nearly screamed. It almost seemed to be a reflex, just like when Agizul rushed to erase her drawing of the triangle. But was it the same? With the priest, she had felt the dread. A wish to keep her buried and forgotten, fearful to grant her some kind of power by remembering her, by invoking her name.
Taking her own musings about the role of the seer into consideration, Alexis wondered if it could be the other side of such a fear for the Brotherhood. Veneration.
In any case, she felt, with that fear binding his tongue, she wouldn’t get any answers regarding her out of him.

He was staring at her, still wide-eyed, and probably reevaluating who he was talking to.

“H-how…?”

Alexis held his gaze coldly and continued, ignoring his question.

“Fine. Change of topic. Still related, though. The Ichor of Solitude.“

His mouth was hanging open now as he fought to regain his cool.

“How- how do you know about…?!”

She sighed. Unfortunately, it seemed to be time to turn up the heat. Literally and figuratively. Still looking at him, she set down the dagger and reached out to her quietly boiling mug, nonchalantly picking it directly from the fire just as she had done unconsciously that night in Tarafit Sept.

“I have my sources.”
She brought the mug to her lips and took a venerable sip of the scalding liquid, watching as the assassin’s eyes were glued to her unscathed hand.

“Goodness gracious. How rude of me. Want some tea?”
She asked sardonically and held the mug close to his face in a mock offer, letting him feel the heat that she couldn’t.

If he had gone pale before, whatever color had been left was vanishing now. Trepidation marred his features as he whispered:

“Who… are you…?”

Alexis’s eyes narrowed as she emptied the boiling tea right next to his leg. Not directly on it, but close enough that a few scalding drops found their way on his naked skin, having him gasp at the burn.

“Oh, you had it right the first time.”
She slowly stood and pulled back her sleeves, towering over him.

“I’m a bitch.”
She walked over to him and pulled him up by his collar, faces mere inches from each other.

“Let me show you how much of one I can be.”

Alexis dragged him over to the fire and dipped down with him right over it, barely holding him above the dancing flames. He had to do some serious work himself, precariously balancing on his bound feet to push his middle up if he didn’t want the fire to lick his flesh. Still already painful. Probably. It wasn’t like she could tell anymore.

“What was the hammer’s role in Ziarae’s fall?”
She snarled into his panic stricken face.

“S-sunder the Trinity! B-bring the E-ether forward!”
He gasped, squirming and hissing in her grasp.

“And what was the Brotherhood’s role in that?”

“None! NONE!!”

“Then what’s your business with the hammer?”

“We- we need it! Break the chains, br-break the cycle!”

“Then why break it apart in the first place?”

“Fosia needed to suffer!!”
He screamed.

~You really have friends everywhere, don’t you, Fosia?~

“Why?!”

He just viciously shook his head, gasping and hissing.
Alexis growled.

“Where are the pieces?!”

More shaking his head, even wilder than before. She could see it in his eyes. The Brotherhood knew. Maybe not this one in particular, but they knew where the shaft was. She could also see he was hellbent not to give her more.
…
She could put that resolve to the test.
Just dip a little deeper. Let the fire have a taste of his flesh. See if burning alive would potentially loosen his tongue. And it wouldn’t so much as give her a blister.
She could.

And yet, she could not.
With an infuriated hiss she threw him to the side with enough force to have him roll across the sand.

Staring into the fire, she took the time to breathe for a moment. In and out.

“Chan eil buileach fhathast…”*

She softly whispered to herself.

*”Not quite yet…“