The shout echoed through the room like a sharp bell, piercing the charged atmosphere as she called out of my sister. "Let go of my sister!"
Lyerin's grip on Corora loosened, and his head turned toward the sound.
The small girl seemed determined, though her voice trembled slightly.
Lyerin smiled, a cruel glint in his eyes. "Corona," he drawled, his tone mocking. "Why are you so upset? You think I'm hurting her?" He lifted Corora a little higher, just enough to make her wince, her breath catching as she tried to suppress a pained cry.
"Aren't you hurting her?" Corona shot back, stepping closer, her youthful defiance barely masking the fear beneath. "Isn't she your girlfriend? Don't you care about her?"
Lyerin's smile widened. "Ah, girlfriend." He mused aloud, almost as if testing the word. "Is that what she is? Just because I said so, right? I told her she'd be mine, so now she's my 'girlfriend'? Is that how it works?"