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“You act as if you’re not in chains, Little Mouse.”
“You’re right, I might be without my magic, but currently, so are you.” His eyes widen as they flick to his cuff and back to me. He’s used it all up in his show of dominance. I’ve out played him and like a mouse in a maze, he took the bait. “It’s not the high king you need to prove your worth to. It’s me… So, what will it be, Asmo? Are you going to earn your freedom, or are you going to rest in peace?”
I remove my touch, taking a step back before I speak again. “Let’s not forget, if it weren’t for you evading my sword with your runes–like the cockroach you are–you’d be long gone. And I know for a fact, you haven’t replaced them.”
He doesn’t answer, but the subtle movement of his eyes gives away his move. Asmo plunges forward, trying to grab me in any way possible, but my boot kicks up, snapping him in the jaw. He recoils back and I bolt for the door, rounding the vast dining table. Right before I reach it, something slams into my back, sending me toppling forward as the sound of glass splintering sounds next to me. I catch a glimpse of a cut piece of a porcelain plate.
The fucker threw fine china at me! How rude.
I try to push to my feet, but his hand latches around my ankle and yanks me backward. Instead of fighting it, I grab the glass shard, clutching it in my hand. He rolls me over, his body pinning mine to the ground and for a moment, time stands still. His amber eye flicks between mine, and if I didn’t know any better, it’s almost as if he’s not in the present. He’s somewhere else. Darkness crawls through his skin, turning the amber eye jet black. It even swirls beneath the surface of his scarred one, hinting at hues of gray.
Taking my shot, I adjust my grip as his demon side wanes. His lips part as I thrust the glass upward, stabbing it into his chest right as he begins to speak.
“Fine, we’ll–” His voice cuts out as his gaze travels to the space between us, where my hand still grips the broken glass fragment. Blood trickles over my fingers, dripping down onto my stomach. “Youstabbedme.”
He lifts, and I scoot backward toward the door in frenzied movements. Just as I’m out from under him, I turn over, crawling on my hands and knees toward the door. Grabbing the handle, I pull myself up, only for him to slam the door back shut the moment it creaks open. Spinning, I find his dark eyes on me, an arm propped on either side of my head.
“As I was saying…” he breathes heavily, not bothering to stop the bleeding. “You have a deal, but we do this my way.”
***
Asmo didn’t elaborate much on what his way entailed, other than that we need to buy time before we try to escape. He’ll keep the high king’s hands off me, and make sure I’m not tossed into the dungeons. But he wants to cash in on his reward first.
“You’ve done your kingdom a great service,” says a voice I know all too well. I yank hard onto the shackles around my wrists, pinning me in a sitting position against the wall above my head.
“Agreat service indeed,”I whisper, mimicking the king’s ridiculous tone and mocking his words. Fucking asshole. Just wait. I’ll make sure you never speak another word again the moment I get these damn cuffs off.
“Thank you,” Asmo says, and the sound of metal grinding hits my ears. He traded me. That rotten bastard. I’m still pissed that he planned to hand me over to that wretched mad man, all in the name of ‘saving civility.’ One thing is for certain, he can shove his civility where the sun doesn’t shine.
I won’t kill him, but should he go back on his word, I can name a number of hexes, any of which I could cast on his piece of shit soul… I’ll make his life a living Hell, and it’ll make his past look like a fucking children’s bedtime story.
“I’ll need you to stay until after the address is over. I want them to see my prize. That’ll boost morale.” Papers shuffle and footsteps echo through the observatory. We’re in one of the tall towers, where the king supposedly steps onto the balcony to address his people, but I’m secured to the wall right outside the room. It deprives me of the chance to see what fate has in store.
“While you were gone, we readied our forces,” the king continues, “They’re congregating just outside the castle as we speak. We set sail around the mainland in the morning, and within the next week, we’ll take Hell Hold. All I ask, in exchange for your complete and unabridged freedom, is you fight for me one last time. You know that castle more than anyone else here. We could use your expertise.”
“It would be an honor.”
I jerk harder on the chain and the clang of metal radiates through the hall. Surely they heard it inside, but if they did, they don’t fucking care about my struggles. They’re positive I won’t manage to break free, but they have yet to encounter someone like me. I don’t give up, and I’m done putting all my cards in one basket.
They’ve taken my sword and dagger, but they haven’t taken off my armor. Using my lips, I pull at the armor piece that curves around my shoulder, hoping to dislodge the metal pin that holds it to my body. My neck strains painfully, as I work at it until it partially pops free, sending the pin tumbling onto the floor out of my reach.
“Fuck.”
Twisting, I try to maneuver my feet and stretch out the full length of my body. My boot barely reaches it, and I slowly roll my ankle, inching the pin closer and closer, until I can kick it toward me. The problem is, I have no idea how the hell to get it from the floor to my hands. Catching my breath, I look from the lock holding the chain that connects my shackles to the wall, then to the pin. It’ll be next to impossible… but fuck, if that isn’t my middle name lately.
An idea forms, and I scrunch as close as possible against the stone wall at my back, using my boot rattle the pin until I can turn it right side up and stab the tip into the rubber of my sole. From here, I try to lift my leg, but no amount of effort will get it close enough to my hand.
Even through countless days of Kai attempting to bend me into a pretzel, I’m not nearly flexible enough for that. Dropping my leg, my breath mists in the stagnant air, clouding almost from the coolness of being so high into the atmosphere. I twist my hands, awkwardly spinning around to place my front to the wall, and try again, using my body weight to push my leg closer, but it’s no use.
One last try, I stand, hobbling on the pin to keep it from pressing farther into my shoe. I do a strange form of a pigeon pose, and get the closest I’ve come to reaching it. Backing off, I try again and again, getting closer with every attempt, until finally my fingers manage to pinch the metal pin and I yank it free from the rubber. Making quick work, I pick at the lock. I won’t be able to get the magical shackles off, but I can at least get free from the wall, and thanks to Finn, I’m more than capable of handling myself without my magic and power. I just pray it will be enough.
The lock pops open and my eyes shoot wide, the air trapped in my lungs in a silent squeal.
I did it. I fucking DID it!
Glancing down the passageway, I don’t see anyone. The only two voices that carry from the room behind me are the King’s and Asmo’s. If I’m lucky, I bet I can make it down to the stairwell at the end before they notice I’m gone.
There’s no way I could fight both of them without my magic. Really, either. I’d be a sitting duck. The best thing I can do is escape long enough to get these things off my wrists. Surely there’s a key somewhere. Then, I’ll be sure to do what I should’ve planned originally.
