Zayn studied her, letting silence stretch between them.
Right now she didn't have that smug confidence. She wasn't teasing him, wasn't smirking or trying to get under his skin.
She looked small.
Vulnerable.
Like someone who had already accepted that they were going to lose.
Zayn drummed his fingers against the table, exhaling sharply.
"Alright," he said, his voice softer than before. "What's in it for me?"
She looked up at him, eyes searching his.
Then, without hesitation, she said:
"I'll give myself to you."
The words hung between them, heavier than the air in the café.
Zayn blinked, not sure if he had heard her right. "...What?"
The Witch Princess swallowed, her throat bobbing.
"I mean it," she said, and for once, there was no teasing lilt to her voice. "If you help me… if you fight for me… I'll give myself to you. Completely."
His stomach tightened.