“I promise I’ll help you save her.” I spit out blood before running my tongue along my teeth to make sure they were all there. “We’ll find a way. We just have to be smart about it.”
A tear slid down his cheek and rolled onto his scar. He heldup his fists, ready to fight as he gestured for me to stand. I accepted his offer. He needed this. He needed to let off some steam, and I was happy to oblige.
Finally, I’d be able to spar someone who could give me an even match.
THIRTY-ONE
SCOTLIND
Kole had tiedmy arms and legs to the ground behind me, forcing me to sit on my knees and stare at the bedroom door. He looked at me afterward, long enough that I thought he was going to say something, but then he stormed out of the room, leaving me with only the dead servant’s rotting body for company.
I had no idea how long I was left alone, trying not to hyperventilate, before the King walked in.
He nudged the dead servant’s head with his boot, turning his neck so his vacant eyes were staring at me. “I think this will serve as a reminder,” he crooned. “We wouldn’t want your friend to share the same fate as him, now would we?”
He crouched low, his boots stepping over the dried blood, so his face was directly in front of me. “Where’s my daughter?”
I didn’t answer.
“Where’s my son?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. I could feel the vapor Alluse fading from my system, and with it, I started to feel Tezya’s emotions again. Only little bits here and there. Anger. Guilt. Worry. Rage. Hopelessness.
I tried to reach out—to talk to him—but he was too far away or maybe the bond was fading. I had no idea how it worked, but all I got were random feelings at random times. Feelings that made everything worse. Was he still in Lux? Was he back at the camp? Would they evacuate and move everyone? The only comfort I got was knowing he wasn’t with the King. He wouldn’t be asking where they were if he had them. Tezya was safe.
But it also confirmed no one was coming for me. I could have accepted my fate if I was the only one who’d suffer from it. But now that the King had Vallie and Miles… I didn’t know what to do.
“You’ll regret not telling me.” He straightened, then motioned toward the door. Soldiers were waiting on the other side. They dragged Vallie into the room, then left without a word.
She was crying softly, her amber eyes were swollen and red, but otherwise she looked okay, or as good as she could be. I didn’t see any visible signs of torture. She was washed and dressed in a thin white slip. Even after being starved, she still held onto her feminine figure, and the fabric of her gown did little to cover her.
“Come here,” he ordered.
Her bare feet started padding across the marbled floor, but she froze once she looked down and saw the decaying body next to me.
“I said come here.”
Her full lips trembled as she started walking again, slowly, softly, hesitantly. She stopped once she stood in front of the King. Her feet were just out of reach from the pool of dried blood. I could tell her breathing was ragged, she was struggling to take a full breath.
The King’s eyes drank her in. “It’s a shame I’ll have to ruinyou.” The King turned to me. “This is your last chance. Who will you pick? My son or her?”
I couldn’t. I couldn’t choose. Giving up information on Tezya would be equivalent to murdering thousands of Advenians and destroying any chance of ever defeating him. And there would be no way of knowing if he’d even honor his word. He could still kill Vallie after I told him everything. But to not say anything—I couldn’t let him hurt her.
Vallie noted my hesitancy. “It’s okay,” she sobbed. She knew nothing about Tezya, of what he was trying to accomplish, but yet she was giving me permission to not speak. Even though she was scared, even after knowing the King would harm her if I didn’t talk…
Tears swelled in my eyes, matching hers. Vallie was too good. Too good for me, too good for this world. “Please,” I begged the King as hopelessness settled inside me. “Please, don’t hurt her.”
“That’s really up to you.” He walked across the room toward the oversized mantle. I twisted on the ground so I could still see him. Vallie was left standing in front of me, her body hadn’t stopped trembling.
He dragged a chair across the room with one hand, a dagger glinting in his other.
“Does this look familiar?” he asked as he twirled the blade. “It’s the same one my son stabbed himself with in order to protect you.”
Vallie gasped, finally noticing what was in the King’s hand, the terror of the situation fully sinking in. Her eyes flicked from the blade to the slit across the dead servant’s neck. She went to take a step back, but the King stopped her. “I didn’t say you could move.” He waved his hands, using stolen ground magic, creating roots out of nothing before winding them up Vallie’s legs and holding her in place.
“What do you want to know?” I whispered, my voice defeated through sobs.
“Everything.” He smiled triumphantly. “I’ll start with easy questions. For every question you don’t answer, your friend will pay the price.”
