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CHAPTER THIRTY

Khol

Iwoke up with pain gnawing at my gut and what felt like a hole in my heart. The sound that woke me up was the sound of metal being banged against my prison cage. My entire body ached as I peeled myself off the floor. I felt drugged and numb.

A couple of guards unlocked the cell and carefully secured my wrists and ankles with chains—the same exact chains that were used to detain monsters and violent convicts. I was too weak to resist them so I didn’t even try. I had lost the will to live and preserver. I felt in my gut that something bad had happened and I didn’t want to think on it now.

“Come!” The guard who pulled me along wasn’t one of mine. He was from the Isle.

“Where…?” I croaked.

“The Queen requests your presence,” he said.

I groaned. “I don’t wish to speak to her.”

The guard tugged anyway. Had I possessed the right mind and strength in that moment, I would have wound the chains around his neck and lopped off his head with it.

Of all the places, he could’ve dragged me, he chose the dinner hall. Sanjit and my deceitful brother were already seated at the table with steaming hot platters of food large enough for a party of twenty. Except for two maid servants, Ghid, Sanjit, and myself, there were no others in the room.

“The guest of honor has arrived,” Sanjit chimed in. “Have a seat. Have dinner with us. They made pie. My favorite.”

I didn’t move.

“Don’t be a fool. You haven’t eaten in a day, dear Khol.”

I looked up and grimaced.

Sanjit nodded to the guard, who then pulled me over to the chair. I sat down and my gaze traveled to Ghid who had a sickening smile on his face.

“Why the fuck am I here?” I demanded.

“I have a proposition for you,” Sanjit said, and then motioned to Ghid. “We have a proposition for you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It is so.”

The door to the dining hall opened and another guard walked into the room. “My Queen?” He walked straight toward Sanjit.

“Why do you interrupt my meal, Larj?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

“It is important. It’s about the pirates,” Larj replied.

Without a word, Sanjit bent two fingers in a come-hither motion. Larj came forward and then leaned down to speak in Sanjit’s ears.

Ghid sat straight up in his chair. I could tell he was eager to hear some news too, but everyone in the room could tell who was clearly in charge.

“What!” Sanjit exclaimed, bursting up out of her chair. Some utensils jumped off the table and clamored to the ground. Some servants ran up to retrieve them from the floor and then scurried out of the way.

“Everyone, get out! Leave.” Sanjit demanded.

The servants and guards left the room.

“What is it, Sanjit? Tell me,” Ghid said, leaning forward in his chair.

“The Norjal…they have all been slaughtered.”

“Hu…what…who…?” my brother stammered.