Page 4 of Lethal King

No one knows she followed me here. And no one ever will, I promise myself

“Come with us,” the largest guard bellows. His paper-white skin glistens with sweat. The heat has only gotten worse. It feels like this whole place is about to burst into flames.

But there’s nowhere else to go.

“Now, girl!” the other echoes.

He takes a threatening step forward, and I instinctively flinch away. Fear grips me like a noose. I know who they’re taking me to see.

Egon. Their boss.

He’s the man who bought me from my father. The man who turned his back on my village, then had his men burn it to the ground.

The man who dragged me here.

He’s already killed everyone I’ve ever known or loved. He’s made me an orphan, a prisoner, a ghost.

I may only be eleven, but it already feels like I’m dead.

What more could he want from me?

“Are you deaf?” The big ogre shouts.

“Grab her,” his partner commands.

I want to turn away and run. But there’s nowhere to go, and if I try to hide, they might find Willow. I won’t let that happen.

So, instead of delaying the inevitable, I let the monster’s icy grip dig into my flesh. He yanks me forward, and I’m hauled out into the hallway. I try not to look back over my shoulder. Willow is safe, I tell myself. They can’t know I have anything left to live for. There’s no doubt in my mind that they would kill that too.

“He said to meet him in the library,” one of the men grumbles as I’m pulled towards a rickety flight of stairs.

Loose floorboards creak under our feet. Dust shakes from the ceiling. Wallpaper sags and peels. Even the cracked windows are foggy from the growing heat.

Before coming here, I’d never seen a house this big, or this dilapidated. It’s a perfect setting for my nightmare. And the deeper we descend into its rumbling belly, the hotter it gets.

“In here, girl.”

Suddenly, the ogre leading me along stops. With a single shove, he sends me tumbling through an open doorway.

I’m immediately hit by a wall of insufferable heat. It’s the kind of heat that makes your eyes water and your throat burn, and my vision blurs as I trip into a hellish room.

Even through the tears, though, I can make out the intense orange glow raging out from the massive fireplace ahead. The scorching fire is so intense it seems to bleed through my skull and grab hold of my swollen brain.

My tears quickly evaporate.

This is the belly of the beast. This is hell. And there’s no turning back.

I can feel the two ogres standing firm behind me, guarding my only exit.

“Come here, girl. Come stand beside your king.”

The new voice is one I instantly recognize.

Egon.

The man who took everything from me.

“Don’t make me ask twice,” he warns.