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I thrashed and squirmed.
I kicked and punched.
But nothing helped.
The four men didn’t drop me or let me go.
“Don’t tire yourself out, Aslan,” Cem muttered. “We have a big day ahead of us. Today is the day we begin your training for real. No more short lessons. No more half-strengths. Today is the day I break you, so I can mould you into who you truly are.”
Chapter Forty-Four
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Aslan
*
(Heart in Maori: Ngakau)
*
Two years...
“AGAIN,” CEM COMMANDED.
I didn’t have time to tense before the familiar zapping surge of electricity tore through my muscles.
My teeth clamped down on the rubber bit shoved in my mouth.
My hands spasmed.
My bones smoked.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t—
The sizzling, snapping pain suddenly stopped, and my entire body went from seized to floppy. Gentle hands landed on my sweaty cheeks. The rubber bit was removed from between my teeth. My father’s face appeared in my still jerky vision. “You are my son. You are strong and smart and ready to take your place at my side. Who are you, Aslan?”
His words weaved around my electrocuted brain. The mind-washing was familiar. Implanted thoughts that didn’t belong slowly wriggled their way into my psyche.
I’d lost track of time.
My skin was pale from lack of sunlight.
The strength I’d cultivated from exercise had long since wasted away.
Some days, I had enough power in my arms to feed myself, but most days, after a particularly gruelling persuasion session, I could barely swallow.
Those days were the ones when my father was the kindest.
He’d unstrap me himself. He’d bathe me himself. He’d tuck me into bed and hold up a cup of the sweetest tea to my lips. He’d whisper how wonderful life would be once I woke up to who I truly was. He’d push back my overgrown, tangled hair and murmur just how proud he was of me. Just how far I’d come. And how much further I had to go.
Thanks to the sugar in the tea and the kindness of his touch, those nights I actually slipped into dreams instead of nightmares. I dreamed of standing tall and proud on two legs, not one. I swelled with gratefulness at the fortunes in my bank accounts and the many employees at my beck and call.
I forgot that my empire was built on the blood and bones of others.
That the kingdom I was to inherit was rotten at its core.
