VI: Confrontation

There were plenty of places where she could go after being granted release from Korriban.  

Anywhere at all.

Instead, Gavira found herself tracking down the whereabouts of her former husband.  Despite everything she told herself, she was not finished with dealing with him.  She wanted to make him pay for what he had put her through.  She could have taken out his organization with strategic hits, but why go after the underlings when she could lop off the head of the beast?  Anyways, it would take too long to figure out which people she needed to eliminate in order to send a clear enough message to the man before coming for him.

Gavira had every intention of running Heyx through with her lightsabers, watching him writhe on the red blades until the life ebbed from his eyes.  She would have without hesitation, except for the fact that he had a child in the room with him.  

That was something she hadn’t counted on in all of the scenarios she had considered.

She kept her hands at her sides where she had the golden lightsabers hidden beneath her tunic as Heyx laid a hand on the young boy’s shoulder.  The child couldn’t have been more than a few years old.  He looked very much like his father already.

    Gavira’s lips twisted.  Heyx hadn’t wasted time in finding himself another woman to bear him an heir.  She knew she could deliver a devastating blow to him by killing the boy, but she would never stoop to that.  The child hadn’t done anything wrong other than being born into a twisted family.  It was the father who deserved punishment.

“Send him away,” she said coldly. “If you would prefer to have a living heir.”

Heyx gave a sniff of amusement at her demands, but he complied, bending to whisper something to the child before shooing him off.  The boy’s stride slowed when he passed Gavira, eyes flitting over her before he caught her gaze and zipped out through the doors.  When Gavira looked back at Heyx, he was pouring himself a glass of something that smelled strong.

The audacity!

He was acting as if she wasn’t ready to murder him on the spot, which she was.

“What are you doing?” she snapped.

“Having a drink,” he replied casually, holding the glass out towards her. “Would you care for one, Saffra?”

She gripped the glass through the Force, hurling it across the room.  Heyx stared at where the shards and blood-red liquid now stained the far wall with a look of mild upset.

“You just smashed ten thousand credits.  What a waste.”

Gavira inched closer towards him, reaching for one of her lightsabers.

“My name is not “Saffra” anymore.  You should be on your knees begging me not to kill you.  I’ll give you ten seconds to—“

“Please, Saffra, can we dispense with the theatrics?” Heyx drawled, pouring out another glass. “You aren’t going to kill me.”

Gavira closed the gap between them, whipping out Master Ravaln’s former weapon and jamming it under Heyx’s jaw.

“One flick of a button and you’re a smoking corpse on the floor,” she hissed.

Heyx didn’t look the least bit terrified of the threat.  She wanted to taste his fear thick on his aura, but try as she might, she couldn’t even muster up a sense of mild annoyance in him.  If anything, he felt amused.  It infuriated her even more.  He blinked at her, a cool smile spreading onto his face.

“You’ve had ample opportunity to kill me in the past few minutes, or would you rather drain me like you did your parents?”

The chilled metal she had lodged under his chin wavered.  Of course he would know about that.  She just didn’t think her family would be interesting enough for him to keep tabs on once he no longer required her in his life.  But…they were important figures.  It would no doubt have spread throughout the network of nobles and rich individuals on Anzat what had happened to them, and how she was the most viable suspect for their grisly murders.

She pressed the lightsaber more firmly against his skin.

“Your Luck has nothing to offer me.  I’ve had better.”

“Then hit the button,” Heyx said, watching her closely.  He took a sip from his drink. “Go right ahead.  Orphan my son.”

Gavira’s mouth went dry.  He had said the right words to save himself.  He knew how she felt about children, having been so desperate to have her own and failing him thrice.  Heyx might have been a terrible person, but she didn’t have it in her no matter how hard she tried to kill him and shatter his son’s life.  A flawed parent was better than none, as she was sure that whoever the mother was had been removed from Heyx’s household as soon as he had gotten what he had wanted from her.  She lowered the weapon slightly, silently admitting defeat.

Heyx tapped the side of his glass with a well-manicured finger.

“Just as I thought.  My Dear Saffra, you are still very much the young woman you were when we parted ways–”

    You mean when you excised me from your life like a tumor.

“–You might think that you’ve grown stronger and more resilient, but we both know that you still bow to my will.”

    Anger flared in Gavira’s chest.  She clenched a hand into a fist at her side, debating on striking him or Force-throwing him the length of the room so he could hit the same wall now painted by his first glass’s contents.  It wouldn’t be a hard enough launch to kill him…just enough to shatter several bones in his body and give his ego a check.

    Heyx swirled the drink around in his glass, watching her over the rim before taking another sample.  He moved close enough so that she would be inclined to step back.  Gavira held her ground, not wanting him to see how intimidated she felt.  Heyx made sure to enunciate each word carefully so that what he had to say would sink in:

“Saffra, I own you.  The fact that I cut you off is of no matter.  You still have your invisible chains connecting yourself to me.  You sought me out, didn’t you?  Just the way a loyal pet returns to its master.”

“You assume a lot,” she whispered, fighting to keep her voice hard.

“I know how people operate.  You’re simply following a pattern I’ve seen so many times before.”

    “And what does your experience tell you about vengeful women, Heyx?”

He regarded her silently, steadily.  

“You’re different,” he observed.

“And you haven’t changed at all,” she returned.

She wondered if he was considering killing her.  She wondered if she could do to him what she had done to her parents and her master.  A closer inspection into his eyes answered that question: he wouldn’t allow it.

    She could still stab him.  That option was one he wouldn’t be able to dodge with how near he was now.  She continued to stay her hand, cursing his logic and the child caught up in this mess.

    He tilted his head a little, shifting closer.  Gavira felt her heart jumping up into her throat as she felt his breath on her cheek.  She expected him to administer more cutting observations, not to whisper flirtatious prattle in her ear, or tease at a kiss.

    “I’ll admit that I have missed your company at night,” he murmured. “You must be so very lonely now.”

    “What makes you think that I haven’t replaced you too?” she countered.

That caused him to pull away quickly as he looked over her face, his eyes squinting and some of that arrogance gone.  Good.  Let him muse over that and lament what he had so casually tossed aside without a second thought.

    “Shouldn’t you be going now?” Heyx said, a drizzle of boredom in his voice as he raised the glass to his lips once more. “Or were you working on a rehearsed speech to spew at me?”

    Gavira’s lips thinned.  She drew back.  Every muscle in her body wanted to quiver from the adrenaline and fear pulsing through her.  She had Master Ravaln to thank for her composure, hiding the internal turmoil behind a veneer of coolness.  The golden weapon was hidden away and clipped onto her belt.  She kept her shoulders squared, her back straight while they continued to hold each other's gaze, waiting to see who would break first.

    “Consider this a warning,” she said.

“Mmm, I don’t think so.  It’s a very hollow threat if you aren’t considering going through with killing me.”

    Damn him.  He was right.  Gavira wasn’t so cruel as to wish death upon his son, but if the boy was as entangled in his father’s affairs as he would be given his up-and-coming role…he would have plenty of enemies gunning for him.  There was a reason why Heyx was an only child to his late father.

    “Keep an eye on that welp of yours,” she replied, lifting her chin. “If I hear he’s gone, then you can expect a visit from me.”

    Heyx snorted.

“If we’re exchanging threats, then I better not come across you ever again, Saffra”–the smile he directed at her was a leer–”Next time I won’t be so nice.”

    “Likewise.”

She only left when she saw his eyes jitter to the side.  It wasn’t until she was well out of his estate that she realized she had seen a wet, thin sheen on his brow.  If she hadn’t outright caused him to shake in her presence, she at least knew she had disconcerted him enough to sweat.