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Oriel leaned against the wall with an expression of such disgust, Aspen was surprised the Captain didn’t shrivel on the spot. “So this was for money. You were willing to sell me out for a few coins?”
Nalha grew paler. “I’m nearly forty-five, and it’s been hard lately. I have men to pay, and I thought-I thought maybe I could get a small holding for such a service. I’m-”
“It’s okay if I’m taken back, enslaved, tortured, and raped, so you can have a small holding and sit on your arse? You think it’s okay to have your men rape someone I love?” Oriel leaned forward as Nalha started to speak. “Shut the fuck up. I’m still talking. You’ve spoken to my Father and had us on your boat. Even if I’ve never specifically done anything for you, I've also never done anything to you. I expected you to have some common decency to get us away and keep your fucking mouth shut. I guess you never figured that there might be a reward in the future from me if I get my Kingdom back. What’s in that cupboard over there?”
Aspen eyed the lock on a cupboard by the bed and assumed weapons. Nalha confirmed it, and when Roth let a tendril of lightning curl around his forefinger, he blurted that the key was in a little locked box under the bed. Roth still let the tendril escape his finger and head right for its target. Nalha squeaked when it hit his bare chest.
Oriel found the flimsy box and busted it against the floor. Inside was a key, several coins, and a couple of useless trinkets. When he opened the cupboard, a few crossbows waited on the racks. They had already been drawn, and Aspen spotted two much smaller ones too. They could be drawn by hand but weren’t as powerful. Still, a bolt to an unprotected chest could kill.
Oriel pulled out a metal one and handed it to Aspen. “I know this is heavy, but it’ll handle your fire. Roth, take this one.”
Aspen sat on the edge of the bed with the hefty piece. His archery lessons had been a long time ago, so the crossbow might be pretty useless.
“If you let us all go, I’ll tell the men to let you have the lifeboat. You can row to shore with no problem. We won’t bother you, and I won’t say a single word about you or your friends. It’ll be like it never happened.” Nalha squirmed in the chair as Oriel approached with two pieces of cloth that were intended for cleaning and polishing the crossbows. “I’ll even give you money-”
“I don’t want to hear any more of your shit.” Oriel shoved a piece of cloth into his mouth and tied the other strip of cloth around Nalha’s face. “First, I’ll remove your other fingers.”
Nalha’s gagged screams grew worse as each remaining finger was cut off. The severed pieces remained on the floor as blood dripped from the stubs. His shaking grew with each cut, and he kept pulling on the ropes so hard, his wrists started to bleed.
Aspen had never seen such rage on Oriel’s face before. Nalha made a high-pitched noise when Oriel drove the dagger into the back of one hand and surely severed a few tendons. Aspen swore he heard a bone crack.
“That’s for Aspen.” Oriel twisted it, and Nalha’s eyes seemed to bulge out of his head. He didn’t scream, but Aspen thought he might pass out.
“Cut off his dick,” he whispered.
“What?” Oriel’s expression only softened when he glanced at Aspen.
“I want you to cut off his dick. I bet he would have had a turn with me too if they’d gotten you tied up and out of the way.”
“Oh, I promise you, Aspen, I will.” Nalha started sobbing at those words, and he shook his head as Oriel stood in front and held up his blood dagger. “Don't try to pretend you wouldn't. If you were willing to sell us out, what's a piece of ass to you? You don’t even know Aspen and probably wouldn’t get anything for him if you turned him in. I’m sure Roth also would have been another hole in your eyes.”
Nalha was a shaking, sobbing wreck by the time Oriel finished carving the word “traitor” into his chest. Blood ran from the cuts and coated his torso. Some had dripped on the floor, and the front of his trousers were soaked. Considering that he seemed to be nearly in shock, it was a wonder he hadn’t passed out yet.
“Now, here’s what we’ll do,” said Oriel. “There’s…eight left?”
Roth glanced at the door. “I think that’s right, not counting the Captain.”
Oriel thought for a moment. “If they’re loyal to him, they’ll want to save him, but they’ll also want to save themselves. We can let them get off on one of the lifeboats. There are three, but they can fit in one. We can pretend to agree to send the Captain down on a separate one. This is what we’ll do.”
Once they were fully prepared, Oriel opened the flap on the speaking tube. “Is someone there?”
A second passed before a gruff voice answered. “Yeah. If you think-”
“I think you know threats are useless when I’ve got your Captain, and I don’t need to channel my fire.”
The fairy on the other end shut up real fast when he heard that.
“I'll set this whole fucking ship on ablaze before we fall to your men. We’ve got nothing to lose at this point, and if you fuck with us, some of you will die for sure, including your Captain. I’m willing to let you all live and go free if you all get in a lifeboat. Once you’re down, we’ll send the Captain in another. The shore isn’t that far, and you can row. You’ll get there soon enough. If you refuse, I'll slit his damn throat and set the ship ablaze. Your choice.”
Oriel squinted as Aspen caught the gruff voice again, but it was lower. The sailor must have been speaking to everyone else. After a couple of minutes, he spoke.
“How do we know if you’re lying? You could’ve already slit his throat.”
“How do you know if you’ll survive if I set this whole ship on fire? Do you think I give a fuck at this point?"
Another pause. “Is the Captain alive?”
Nalha made a desperate noise through the gag.
