Page 72 of Secrets of Ruin

Although she had met the amsirah king before, she wouldn’t have recognized him until Ryker spoke. When she last saw King Leonidas, he was a robust man with auburn hair, a thick red beard, and twinkling brown eyes. His laughter had been contagious.

Now, he was a gaunt shell of his former self. His skin was so pale she doubted he’d seen the sun since the ophidians took him from the ghouls.

He blinked against the light as he ducked his head and his broad shoulders hunched forward. He stood like he’d been in that crouched position for too long and couldn’t reach his full height.

Pieces of silver netting bound his hands; it also encircled his ankles. He was so thin that all his bones stood out against his naked form.

“Motherfucker,” Ryker snarled.

Leo lifted his head and squinted his eyes before closing them and lowering his head again. “Ryker.”

Leo’s voice came out as barely more than a croak as he tried to scan around him again before giving up. Dirt smeared his naked body; she wondered if they gave him buckets to bathe in too.

“Leo.” When Ryker stepped forward, the emperor rested a blade against the king’s throat.

“Stay where you are,” the emperor commanded.

His voice haunted her nightmares and sent a shiver down Kaylia’s spine, but it also ignited a fury that could torch the rest of this hellhole. The emperor made her skin prickle with alarm, but she’d gladly tear off his tail and bash him to pieces with it.

Leo sucked in a breath as the blade bit into his skin and blood trickled from the gash. When one of the dragons dove down, Lexi waved it away.

Terror flashed across the emperor’s face before he relaxed again. So, he’s afraid of the dragons.

If Kaylia didn’t think it would be too easy a death for him, she’d love to see the emperor get eaten by one of them. She wanted to hear him scream.

The dragon returned to circling in the sky as what remained of the ophidians emerged. They slithered over to their emperor and formed a circle behind him. Only fifteen of the monsters remained, far too many for her liking.

“We’re going to leave this realm,” the emperor stated, “and you’re going to let us.”

When Ryker stepped forward, Leonidas hissed in a breath as the emperor pressed the blade deeper into his throat. More blood trickled from the wound he inflicted, and Ryker froze.

“You’re not taking our king with you,” Ryker stated.

“And who is going to stop me?” the emperor demanded.

Leo’s vision cleared enough for his eyes to find Ryker. “Kill me if they try to take me.”

Kaylia’s heart clenched, and Ryker blanched at his king’s command. She knew what they’d endured in the dungeon, and while she couldn’t see Leo’s back, whip marks and gashes marred the front of him.

His haggard appearance, grimy skin, and disheveled hair told what he’d endured here. He was the ophidians’ prize possession; he was kept here instead of the pyramid so they could always monitor him, but he hadn’t avoided their cruelty.

She understood why he’d far prefer to perish than remain under these monsters’ thumb. She’d survived months with them; he’d endured a year.

“Shut up!” the emperor hissed.

When Leo threw himself forward into the blade, the emperor grasped his hair and yanked it back. The tip of his tail encircled Leo’s waist, locking him in place.

“I’ll give you back your king.” The emperor pinned Lexi with his unrelenting stare. “But she’ll have to agree to let us leave. The dragons won’t follow us into our portal.”

He glanced at the dragons and then focused on Lexi again. Lexi glared at him before shifting her attention to Brokk and Ryker.

“We are here for you,” she said. “You have to make the choice.”

Brokk hesitated before replying. “This is Ryker’s decision to make.”

When they all looked at her, Kaylia pondered it before nodding her agreement. She wanted nothing more than to see all the ophidians dead, but they’d come here to rescue Leo too.

Ryker and Tucker had already sacrificed and endured so much that they deserved this break. They would kill the remaining ophidians.