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moisture smeared across his fingers. A sniffle escaped her. He twisted round to look at her. Another tear slipped down her cheek. She lifted her hand and wiped it off.
    “What’s wrong?”
    A sardonic smile twisted her lips. “You keep asking that, and the answer is everything.”
    He waved for her to sit. When she took a seat, she hunched over and let her hair fall forward. She had to keep it together. It wouldn’t do to completely loose it. Blubbering was not going to endear her to him, but she really wanted to cry. She scrubbed her face and pushed back her hair to reface him. He still sat in his chair with his mask pointed at her. It was like sitting with the grim reaper. He was humanoid but devoid of humanity.
    “Do you really have to wear that thing?”
    His back stiffened slightly, but he merely nodded. She slumped at his response. She folded her arms across her stomach. 
    “I wish I were home,” she said. She smirked to herself and clicked her heels together three times while whispering for each click, “There’s no place like home.”
    When she looked back over at him, she couldn’t help the shudder that ran through her. He just sat there! No fidgeting. No shrugging. Nothing. With the helm on, he was faceless. Emotionless. She was miserable, and he just sat across from her. No comfort. No consolation. No connection. She’d feel better if she were alone.
    “It has been a long day. You should get some sleep.” 
    She nodded and sighed. “Maybe I’ll dream of something nice.”
    He didn't respond. She cast her eyes to the bed and then back to him. The question was obvious.
    “I am the lord,” he replied. She snorted. Yeah, he was the lord, but he wasn’t a gentleman. She curled herself into the chair. She knew that she wouldn’t be very comfortable, but other than the floor, there was no where else for her.
    He did retrieve a heavy blanket from the chest for her, but as she reached to take it, he drew the blanket back before she could grasp it. “I am going to douse the fire and blow out all the candles. You are not to spark any light within this chamber. I sleep lightly, so do not think you will be able to accomplish anything without my knowing. If you attempt anything, I will kill you. Are we understood?”
    She blinked up at him. He was serious. He would kill her. She nodded jerkily. He gave her the blanket. She wrapped it around herself tightly, but the shivers that went through her were not caused by a physical chill. He went around the room extinguishing the lights. She'd closed her eyes before he was done. Exhaustion was tugging at her, and her creeping sense of hopelessness leached away any wariness she might still harbor.
    Naomi’s sleep was muddled with half formed dreams and nightmares. She struggled up to consciousness, but it took her a few blinks before she realized she was awake. She couldn’t see anything. She flailed out a hand to turn on a light but met only emptiness. She scrunched her brow in frustration. She was still half asleep when she lurched up out of the chair. The blanket made her stumble and grumble. She kicked the blanket loose and cast it aside. She raised both hands before her as she tried to find her way. She wanted to turn on a light. She knew there was a light switch on the other side of the living room. She went toward it only to bump into a mysterious bed, and the hand that wrapped around her arm made her yelp.
    “I did not figure you for such a fool, Naomi. I thought you'd wait a full week before attempting this.”
    “Let go of me!” She blindly swung at her assailant. She hit his shoulder.
    He released her arm, and she fell back onto her backside with a jolt. “Help! Police!” she screamed. A spark of light blinded her as Tavik lit a bedside candle. His mask was in place. The grisly metal face snapped Naomi into the present. She wasn’t in her apartment, and she had just struck the true owner of the room, the one who had vowed to kill her if she tried