He idly rubbed his thumb up and down the cluster of smooth scales tracing down her neck out from under her hair, each repetition of the motion making her want to squirm out from under him. Chioni had acquired a general dislike of being touched in her years as a slave, having come to associate it with expectation of some punishment or other cruelty. It wasn't such a severe phobia that she couldn't control it, but she found herself hating the possessive nature of his hands already. She caught him glancing to his brother, clearly relishing the elder's indignant anger as he fondled her.<br/><br/>They could agree on one thing at least--Teryn was not a man worthy of much respect. Fear, maybe, but certainly not any true loyalty. He had enough influence within the tribe to stay in power, but that was mostly due to his wealth and the inner circle he surrounded himself with. The man was a heavy-handed brute, and her time serving under him had not been pleasant.<br/><br/>Value? She looked back to him with a cocked brow. "And what sort of 'value' would that be,<i>dragon? </i>Something for you to dangle under your big brother's nose like a bratty little child, maybe?"<br/><br/>When he commanded her to bow before the king and queen, she remained still for a moment, sizing the two up with a gaze of both scorn and deep weariness. Teryn had had to beat her within an inch of her life before she started showing him any deference, but she had even more reason to hate the overlords of the race that ruled hers. When all you had was your pride, you'd fight tooth and nail to keep it. For a heartbeat, it even seemed as if she might refuse to bow. But despite her nihilistic outlook on life, she had little desire to be burnt to a crisp just yet, and grudgingly lowered her head, holding it there for a moment with a quiet murmur of "M'lords..." before straightening back up again and following Rafaele from the throne room.