But I knew it was a farce. Dahes could haunt her in death worse than in life.
Her bare feet hit the steps. The sentries didn’t care that her ankle caught, that her bone twisted at an angle and snapped as they kept dragging her up, up, up.
“Please…” Her sobs wrecked me, like a dagger was carving my own heart out, and twisting deeper and deeper with each new shrill.
She was going to die right now because of me. Because I let my emotions slip during the fight, and now Dahes knew.
He always acted out whenever he was pissed, always killed more, tortured more…
She hit the top step as her sobbing grew, the crescendo blending in with my pounding heart. Blood was already smearing the dais from her ankle.
“I’ll do anything, please…” she begged, but Dahes wasn’t even looking at her.
Her stomach hit the first spike as she wailed, and I had to force myself to not look away. The smell of urine filled the air, and Dahes clicked his tongue.
Don’t cry, Magnolia. Just watch. Calm your mind. You aren’t here. This isn’t happening.
More shrieks filled the room, her pitch rising to un-Sunly octaves as I tried to hide my own wince at her agony.
Another spike pierced her arm. Then another went through her leg. More screams…
Breathe. One. Two. Three. Four. Exhale.
Blood poured down the spikes, spilling over the dais, and mixing with her urine.
Six seconds. Seven. Eight?—
Why wasn’t she dying?
Nine. Ten. Eleven…
Her wails became gurgled, her breathing ragged. Her face paled, slowly draining of color.
Her head lolled, impaling on another spike as her body went limp.
Silence filled the throne room for a heartbeat. One single heartbeat, and then…
“Come to me, little ghost.”
I started walking, not on my own accord—Dahes was using our deal against me.
“Nollie, stop!” Hael’s voice rang out across the throne room, and Dahes’ back straightened at the nickname.
My breathing rose, my vision blurring, as I tried to blink back more tears.
I kept walking, trying to ignore Hael’s screams for me as I climbed the steps.
I didn’t stop until I stood before him. The girl’s blood seeped across the floor and onto my bare feet as I moved. I hated that it was still warm. It was covering his throne, even more spilling over his dais, but he didn’t move. He remained lounged like there wasn’t a dead body still impaled on it. His legs spread wide, his fingers softly drumming the armrest, while he managed to stare down at me even though he was the one sitting.
The clash of metal rang out behind me, and I knew Hael was fighting his way through the sentries again.
“Don’t fucking touch her,” he screamed, his voice rattling off the empty stone.
Dahes finally rose, his hands clamping over my shoulders as he spun me around, forcing me to look down at Hael.
He punched the nearest sentry, breaking free of their hold, before three more pinned him down.
Dahes hands moved to my neck. His fingers felt like ice as they ran up my skin, such a contrast to the warm blood I was still stepping in. He pressed his palm against the cut he made on Perinth, reopening the wound as pain seared through me.
