The Nemean is a nightmare demigod, an oncoming storm. But the seed she grew from was the same, even if she blossomed under alien suns and in strange waters. When she growls in frustration, it’s a disarmingly Redana sound, like when she got her yarn tangled up while working on her latest craftswork assignment[1].

[b]”Little snake.”[/b] One hand takes Bella by the chain, the other pulls her crushingly close, fingers in her hair. Safer to stand by a shuttle’s engines as it launches. Safer to curse Zeus’s name. If she squeezed... [b]”We are [i]not[/i] done.”[/b]

The end of the chain is jerked up and slammed into the wall. The Nemean roots around in the guts of the marble until she finds what she wants: a suitable hook. It’s too high up for anything but scrabbling on tiptoe, collar biting into the skin as gravity pulls Bella down, almost all the way to the ground.

[b]”When I am done with you,”[/b] the Nemean breathes like an oncoming wind, hand still on the small of Bella’s back, [b]”you will be [i]tame.[/i]”[/b] A promise. A reminder of punishments for losing a princess. And then she is gone with a blurred stutter and a sharp crack, leaving Bella trapped[2].

***

[1]: an Empress does not simply know how to command. She knows the mechanisms of the gods. Athena may be the tactician of heaven, but even she may succumb to the allure of a shared hobby from time to time.

[2]: the Nemean never had a Bella of her own. But even Redana would have failed here, wrapping rope around Bella’s wrists and telling her to stay put. Bella is not another biddable part of the environment, and wanting her to stay is an empty wish.