Dagger like, his attention focused at the female creature that seemed to mock him with both her touch and her words. The very pride that had gotten him in this predicament in the first place reared its ugly head and curled his upper lip. Like some sort of dark, sullen god, the Timekeeper glowered down at the nymph like he might give a voice to his outrage. Power surged under the enchantment, pulsing wickedly underneath her fingertips; it was the kind that consumed where her tricks with water soothed. He would have been a liar to deny the soothing feeling of the rains running in rivulets down the planes of his chest and lower.<br/><br/><br/>His nostrils flared as he sought a balance with his temper and once again smoothed the crimp in his brow. As weary as he was, Tavyan knew that the key to his freedom was not to snap at the waif that smirked up at him with guileless blue eyes. Still, his skin jumped when her fingertips trailed then left him – reminiscent of how long it had been since he had come in contact with another. His lips remained a thin, puckered line on his face when he spoke again, his voice booming with the undercurrent of what she had cracked open with her own counter enchantment. Smart of her still to not fully release him.<br/><br/><br/>“You are a little fool if you do not fear the reason why I am here. I do not think you are enough of a fool, however, to overlook<b>what </b>I am – I know what you are, little nymph that plays in the clouds.” His lips curled again, this time cruelly, as he regarded her. There was a cunning in that midnight stare now that he was aware and not in so much pain as he had been. “The two courts of the<i>aos si</i>fight for power, their two queens petty, vain creatures that strive to out due the other. It is the way it has been for a long time and will no doubt cease to end unless their immortality wans. I am Tavyan Frey, once an ambassador of both courts; now I am here because two children have been given too much power. Neither like hearing logic; they simply wish to hear what they please.”<br/><br/><br/>He paused now, his long frame stretching as he once again checked the bonds that held him steady. Even though the small cuts had been healed and his agitations soothed, he was still suspended. Frustrated now, he inclined his head and fought to stay still. His voice rumbled again, this time with a warning edge. “If you wish to meddle in the affairs of the Winter queen, she enjoys creating decoration out of little nymph’s intestines so that she can hang them frozen from her bannisters. The Summer queen is no better, for you enjoys to be entertained, and will make sure that you dance for her until your feet have been worn down to bloody stumps. Both, I am sure, will find you a delight.”<br/><br/><br/>Curiosity melted some of the arrogance from his face as he regarded her more closely now. “But surely you will not risk your fate so freely to free a stranger? There must be a price.”