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“Noticed what?” My hand holding the dagger shook slightly, not necessarily from fear, but because of how cold I was becoming.
He smiled, his tongue running across the inside of his bottom lip. “That poison is working better than we thought, considering you haven’t even noticed that the Red Bones have infiltrated the castle.”
“What?” I asked in shock, my balance faltering, causing me to take a few steps back.
“Although, it did take me quite a while to find you.” In an instant he shoved me against the wall, hard, my shoulder blades bruising from the impact. “Were you hiding from me?”
My head spun and I could feel myself slipping away. The Red Bones are here in the castle? Is everyone okay? My heart hurt out of fear for my friends, and I prayed that Saeva was only bluffing, though I knew deep inside he spoke the truth.
He hissed, “All these years we tried to figure out who the royal assassin was, who was killing our men and spoiling our plans. Turns out all along it was the little bitch who sold me out.” Saeva swung his fist at my face and I heard the crunch of bone as my nose broke, blood spilling down my face. He swung at my skull two more times, using his anger to fuel his attack. He grunted in frustration, shoving me to the ground as my head banged against the stone, causing my vision to go black and my ears to ring. Unimaginable pain struck every nerve in my body, and I had no control over the tears that slid down my cheeks.
“Not so powerful anymore, are you? You little piece of shit.” He kicked me in the gut, and I hurled at the impact. I felt excruciating pain in every part of my body, including my soul, as I knew that this was where I would die. I never got to say goodbye to the ones I loved, I never fell in love, and I never truly felt what it meant to be loved. I never got to choose my own path and follow my heart’s desire; I never got to see the world and meet the people in it. I would never get to watch Miles ascend to Captain of the Royal Guard or watch Amica finally live out her fairytale wedding. I’d never see Stella become the first woman to join the Royal Guard and change the course of women’s history. I will miss them so much. As I lay there, accepting that this was my fate, all I could do was simply hope that I would be missed just as much.
“Now, don’t go dying on me just yet,” Saeva said with amusement. “You still need to be punished for the shit you’ve put me through.”
I did my best to hold in my sob as I saw him pull out the whip tucked inside his jacket. I would not allow him to see me cry in my final moments. Even if I couldn’t stop him, I could at least stop him from getting any satisfaction.
He rolled me over with the toe of his boot, and I barely had enough energy to turn my face to the side, my cheek pressed against the cold ground.
Crack!
I felt the whip beat against my back, sending sheathing pain across it, slicing the skin open so warm blood spilled across the floor.
Whip!
Slash!
Crack!
I was flayed over and over and over again until my back was practically raw, and I prayed to the stars that death would soon overtake me.
Tears flowed down my cheeks out of my control, and I lay on the cold stone floor in a pool of my own blood. My chest felt a little lighter and I smiled as the pain began to slip away. I would soon be free of this world.
“Rhia!”
Is someone calling for me? Or is that just my imagination? Shouts filled my ears and I wondered who else had joined Saeva to torture me. Suddenly, his hands were ripped from my body, and I fell to the floor like a ragdoll. I heard the sounds of fighting and eventually the sound of a snap, but it took everything in me to even determine what was real.
Hands wrapped around my body, and I was limp in someone’s arms as I was lifted off the bloody floor.
Please don’t steal my body. I want my friends to visit my grave.
You’re not dying, Rhia, hold on. Stars, please hold on.
Was that Bennett in my head?
I opened my eyes to see that it was Bennett who cradled me in his arms. I hadn’t even noticed we were running. Horror was stuck on his face as we ran and ran and ran. I’m not sure why we are running though, because I don’t want to run, I just want to sleep.
I closed my eyes again. I was so exhausted.
“Don’t close your eyes!” Bennett yelled at me, holding up my head as I lost all strength.
I cried.
My chest shook, but I wasn’t all sad. The pain had finally left me. It was over.
“It’s funny, isn’t it, Bennett,” I croaked out, my voice hardly a whisper.
“No, Rhia, this isn’t funny to me.”
