Ryker’s words floated back across my mind. This was nothing but amusement for the king, just like the maze, except this was so much worse than the tease of the unattainable prize in the middle of Ivan’s labyrinth.
Look away!I gulped as I tore my attention away from the man and back to theshow.
I could face the direction of what was happening, but I didn’t have to see. I kept my attention on the sky and the birds soaring high above. They had no idea what was happening here, and I envied them their oblivion.
Up in the clouds, they were free from the pain, sorrow, and fear now woven into the very tapestry of Tempest. My once vital, beautiful realm was a place of suffering.
It had to stop.
I should have stayed away, but every crack of a whip drove my determination to bring down Ivan and his cronies deeper. Even if it killed me, I’d see them defeated and stripped of power.
I had no idea how long the beatings lasted as I remained focused on the sky. They had to go on for at least an hour, maybemore, before the whips stopped falling. The screams ebbed, but the whimpers and sobs did not.
When the screams remained silent, I tore my attention away from the sky and back to the misery before me. My stomach sank when I saw a guard moving forward with a pair of loppers in hand.
“Lery,” Scarlet whispered.
My hand tightened on hers. The lump in my throat, which had made breathing difficult, swelled until I nearly choked on it.
I somehow managed to swallow it back as a murmur ran through the crowd. When Ivan lifted his hand, all sounds ceased.
“Bring me their pinkies,” Ivan declared.
Before the guard moved toward the prisoners, a surge of life filled some of them, and they started screaming. Their feet flailed in the blood-soaked grass as they tried to gain purchase on it.
I understood their desperation, but they couldn’t break free of the pillories. The first amsirah screamed as, with a crunch that I would hear for the rest of my life, he lost first one pinky finger and then the other.
Tears burned my eyes, and acid burned my chest as I focused on the sky again. Before, I shut out some of the sounds and awfulness, but I couldn’t this time.
Scarlet’s other hand wrapped around my arm, and we clung to each other as the guard made his way through the prisoners. When he finally finished, many of the amsirah around us trembled while a couple wept, but they hastily wiped away their tears; sympathy could spell death here.
Some of the other guards had been collecting the severed appendages; they placed them on the ground near Ivan’s feet.It’s like some sacrificial offering. Like he’s a god in this realm, and we’re the lambs.
And that’s exactly what it was as he smiled at all those severed appendages with a look of smug superiority. A fire of hatred burned inside me; I never thought I could abhor someone as much as the duke, but Ivan had proved me wrong.
When the last pinky was placed at his feet, the king rose from his throne. He continued to smile as he strolled over to stand behind the weeping prisoners.
He waved a hand at the battered amsirah as he declared, “Anyonewho dares to try rising against us will face this fate and worse. Their lives are no longer theirs; they aremine. Rise against me, and youwillpay the price. I have sacrificed so much to keep you all safe, and I willnottolerate dissension in my realm. If you defy me, youwillsuffer the consequences of your actions, and youwillsuffer them foryears.”
That final word caused some of the prisoners to cry out while others sobbed louder. Many hung limply, either too exhausted to lift their heads or unconscious. Their fate was something I couldn’t begin to imagine, but it could be mine one day.
No, mine would be worse if I was ever caught or my secrets came out.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR
Ellery
I wasn’tsure how many of the amsirah breathed as Ivan’s words hung heavily in the air while he turned to stare at all those gathered around. I had no idea what this asshole had sacrificed, other than some carisle to pay the warlocks to trap us here, but I would make sure he lost everything in the end.
This man had done nothing but cause us all heartache, yet he told us he was doing goodforus. Worse, he wantedusto believe it.
I wasn’t sure if Ivan believed what he’d said or not, but either way, he was batshit crazy.
“No one is to touch them, feed them, or do anything for them,” he continued. “If you’re caught trying to offer aid, you will join them!”
The crowd shifted uneasily around me. Flies were already starting to gather around the thirty-six men and women who’d dared to fight for their freedom.
We were bringing The Hollows money; Ivan brought them terror. This was supposed to have been a day of hope for thosehere, but that hope had been sucked away. No matter what we did now, it wouldn’t return, and I wasn’t sure the return of the Hooded Robber would be enough to make them fight anymore… not after this.
