NINETY ONE: You Remember That?

"When you said that you wanted me," Kel began, her breath catching uncomfortably in her throat as she spoke, "what did you mean by that?"

"Hmm," the emperor remarked thoughtfully. 

Kel was too afraid to look at his face, almost certain her worst expectation would be manifested there. 

As she studied the wall next to the bed, suddenly, the emperor's soft fingers brushed against her cheek. She tried to shake it off, unwilling to be distracted from the matter at hand, but the emperor's hand remained firm. Slowly, he pressed against her skin until she found herself spinning her head back toward him under the pressure.

She gulped and blinked a few times before finally daring to meet his eyes. His red irises weren't cold and dark, but they also weren't glinting with emotion. She wasn't sure what to make of his expression because it was one she had never seen from him.

"What did I mean?" the emperor repeated softly. "... Something like this?"