[i]Pet.[/i] The nickname had never bothered Asbel before. He'd been able to shrug it off as the snide remarks of a young man who was of little importance. But tonight, something in the prince's acidic tone dug beneath the surface of skin like a tick. The itch was slight, but as Frey spoke again -- [i]Nothing but a pet[/i] -- Asbel bit back a flash of deepening irritation.

Frey didn't care about anyone but himself. Of course the brat would complain and expect everyone else to fix his problems for him. He was spoiled, selfish, [i]utterly unfixable[/i]. What a bully -- what a [i]monster[/i].

Heedless of the young man's brief stint of near-politeness, of his half-visible worry, Asbel lurched forward even as Frey freed himself from the phoenix's grasp. Green eyes nearly glowed with anger as he seized the prince's arms, pinned them to his sides.

"All this because you are jealous of [i]rooms[/i]?" he hissed, calm tone lost at last. "You care so little for anything beyond yourself that you are bothered by the state of your [i]room[/i]?" Smoking fingers burned into the fabric of the prince's shirt. "Your family would love you, if you gave them reason. You would have servants, if they gave you reason. But you are petty and rude and selfish and I may be the same age as you, but I will [i]never[/i] be so stupid as to think that I am all that matters in this palace. I give you and your family immortality, and I might very well take it away, you deserve it so little!"

Something sparked in his thoughts, then -- a lightning-strike of understanding. The dark -- was that really what had so spooked Frey when he entered the room? [i]Was[/i] the prince afraid of the dark? Of all things, the dark?

"When you stop being an insufferable brat, I will turn the lights back on," he growled, his own glow flickering. "I could take away all the light in this whole palace, you know. How patient do you think I'll be if you continue to insult me?"