Page 61 of Kingdom Of Veil And Vow

“Don’t worry. Just answer some of my questions, and then we can move on to the more fun part of our meeting.” His hands land on the tops of my thighs and squeeze, his fingers draping dangerously close to their apex.

“Don’t t-touch me-e,” I drag out, the words slurred.

“Shh, don’t fight it, shifter. The more obedient you are, the less pain you will be in.” Standing, he spins and looks at the various weapons hanging along the wall in front of me. “When Simon gave me the gelsemium tincture, I was unsure of how it would work. He said I just needed to pour it into your water and wait.” He looks at me from over his shoulder. “Guess he really knows what he is talking about, huh?” I growl, and he laughs at how the sound comes out muffled before turning back around. “Though he wasn’t very specific with the dosage. So, hopefully, I didn’t give you too much.”

My head lolls to the side, my eyes fluttering open and then closed. Shutting them, I’m thrust back into that bedroom. The light wood floors and the thick comforter at my back. The pink fabric tied above me, and Kenji’s hands… His hands grabbing at flesh that wasn’t his to touch. You are my price.

“Wake up.” A rough hand grabs my chin, jerking my head upright. “There is no rest for you, I’m afraid.” He bends over, moving close enough that I can see the blond stubble on his chin and jaw, the cracking of his dry lips. “It’s remarkable. I dropped you off in the dungeon weeks and weeks ago, yet somehow, you look even better than you did that day.” His tongue darts out to lick his lips, hot breath tainted with alcohol coasting over my mouth. “Seems someone has been well cared for.”

He steps back, palming the dagger strapped to his thigh. Deliriously, I think about how stupid it is that there is an entire room filled with different methods of inflicting torture, and yet he has chosen to use the weapon he carries on his person at all times. But whatever hilarity might have arisen at the thought is quickly doused when he brings the blade to the top of my knee, angling it so the tip pierces my skin.

“S-stop—” I gasp out between heaving breaths.

But he ignores me.

“You might not know this, but there is a position open in the king’s Trusted. One of three that were vacated when Princess Rhea betrayed the king and ran with that mage prince like the little whore that she is.” He angles the blade, metal scraping against my kneecap.

Stars burst across my eyes as I scream, but I’m stuck where I am, despite how my muscles strain to get me away from the pain.

“And I am going to prove to the king that I deserve to be the one chosen for the role. The king’s advisor is already mentoring me, and it was him who suggested I come down here and see what information I can get from you.”

“You’re p-pathetic,” I manage to grit out, clearing my tears with a few blinks. “I’m not answering your q-questions about Rhea.”

The commander’s eyes darken, a shadow sliding over his face as he drags the blade up an inch and then two. It’s a shallow cut, but I whimper all the same as warmth drips over my leg and iron fills the air. “The princess? Oh, you haven’t heard the latest, have you?” His heart beats quickly, excitement growing as he lifts the blade and cuts not my skin but my pants, all the way to the top of my thigh. “Though I suppose news is hard to come by down here. Your precious princess is dead, according to the king’s council.”

My ears begin to ring, the panic surging through me given more vigor at what he’s just said. “You’re lying.”

Temporarily distracted by the shake in my voice, Commander Miles glances up at me, lips pulled to the right in a smirk as he takes my expression in. “I’m afraid it’s the truth. The princess is dead, and I no longer give a shit what secrets you are keeping about her. What I want to know is how Xander has been helping you.” Sheathing his dagger, he then grips the two pieces of fabric, tearing them open farther until the expanse of my leg is exposed. “There it is.” His fingers glide down to the scar from the arrow, and he presses down at the center of it hard. The pain is dull, a lingering sort of throb that pulses to the beat of my heart, but it robs me of breath all the same. “We are both tainted from that day in the forest,” he says, holding up his opposite hand, almost lost in the memory. On his palm is the evidence of my bite indented on his skin, and I wish I could do it again. “Remember when I told you that you would pay for that? Consider this visit part of my retribution.”

Standing again, he reaches for a dark corkscrew-shaped item hanging on the wall. Against the other weapons there, it looks too small to do anything meaningful, but in his hand, it transforms into something more menacing.

“So, little kit, make this easier on yourself and tell me how Xander has been helping you avoid the king’s wrath.” He pauses, pressing the sharp end of the coiling metal to the top of my leg.

I gasp and raise my head, hitting the back of the chair as I force my lips to pinch shut. He’s lying about Rhea, Xander would have told me. Wouldn’t he?

“What information have you told my fellow guard?”

I will not break. I will not break. Not for him. Not for anyone.

The commander twists the instrument as he applies more pressure, and a whimper crawls up my throat. “Did he promise you an escape? Freedom?”

I say nothing.

He stares down at me and shakes his head. “You bring this on yourself.” Throwing his weight onto the corkscrew, it pierces my skin easily, settling down into the muscle, and I scream, squeezing my eyes shut as fire licks up and down my leg. “Tell me, little kit, are you working together?” I clench my teeth as he pushes down again, my vision flashing white as my throat grows raw. “Or maybe”—he eases the pressure, allowing me a full breath before continuing his torture—“it goes even deeper than that. Simon is so sure Xander is hiding something.” Silence. He begins to twist, and the room shakes. Or maybe it’s just my head as nerve endings fire and agony barrels into me.

Do not break.

Commander Miles’s blows out a frustrated breath, though his wicked smile remains in place.

He had come to the dungeon dressed in his full guard attire, keeping his gaze on the ground so that, wearing his helmet, I wouldn’t recognize him. And I hadn’t. Not when he tossed the waterskin through my cell door and laid a tray of food down right after. Not when I knew he was waiting at the base of the stairs farther down the hall, while the other guards normally left and came back. In truth, I didn’t exactly care why he was lingering, only that he left me alone. So I drank the water and ate some food, and I didn’t realize anything was wrong until my knees had already given out beneath me and I was sprawled on the ground. The commander appeared outside of my cell a few seconds later, looking victorious.

Does Xander know he is down here? He edges around the chair, his grip still tight on the corkscrew in my leg. I’m alone. Just as I was with Kenji. Just as I was when those men chased me through the Spell. And just as I was when I listened to Rhea scream beneath the king’s fists. When I watched her escape with Flynn. Alone. Alone. Alone.

His fingers dig into my hair, and he yanks my head back, a clammy temple pressing to my own as he invades my space. “Why are you protecting him? It won’t change his fate.” He smells of sweat and alcohol, and I’m forced to take the scent of him in with every breath. “He’ll end up dead, little kit, just like the princess,” he whispers, my heart careening in my chest at his words. His arm tenses before he rips the corkscrew out, my scream shredded just like the skin at my leg. “Another scar added to such a pretty body,” he whispers, his tongue flicking out to lick the edge of my ear.

My body trembles of its own accord, the immobilizing effect of the tincture still keeping me somewhat limp in the chair as I struggle to draw in a deep enough breath. He’s lying. He’s lying. He’s lying. He’s—

“Whether it be by another blade or my cock, there is only one way this en—”