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The guards held Armin firmly, their iron grips ensuring he couldn't move more than a fraction of an inch. His muscles strained under their hold, but resistance was futile. Kyralia, however, was forced to her knees before the King, her defiance muted by the rough hand of a guard pressing down on her shoulder. She didn't struggle, but her eyes burned with unspoken fury.
"I should strike you both where you stand," the King growled, his voice dripping with venom. His beady eyes darted between the two, their shared defiance only fueling his rage. "But that would be too swift a justice for my taste," he sneered, the corner of his mouth twitching with malicious glee.
"Do what you must to me, but leave her be," Armin said firmly, his voice steady despite the tension crackling in the air. True to his role as both knight and gentleman, he stood unwavering, even as the guards tightened their grips on him.
The King's lips twisted into a cruel smirk. "I will do as I please to my wife," Edward declared, his words laced with venom. He was taunting Armin, poking at his helplessness. The knight struggled against the iron grips of the guards, his muscles flexing with the effort, but they held him firm, unwilling to relent.
Edward took a step forward, his regal robes swishing with each calculated movement. "But alas, there is more than meets the eye," he mused, his tone dark and foreboding. He stopped before Kyraila, towering over her as she knelt, defiant even in her vulnerable position. Slowly, the King extended his hand, his index and middle fingers sliding beneath her chin, lifting her face to meet his gaze. His smug, all-knowing expression made her stomach churn, but Kyraila didn't flinch or look away, her strength refusing to falter.
Edward let his fingers drop, withdrawing with deliberate slowness, as if savoring the power he held over her. "Bring it," he barked, snapping his fingers with a sharp crack that echoed through the chamber. One of the guards immediately stepped away, disappearing into the shadows.
Within moments, the guard returned, carrying a lengthy bundle wrapped in pristine white cloth. Whatever it concealed, its significance was clear. The room grew heavy with anticipation, the tension thick enough to cut with a blade. Edward's eyes gleamed with twisted satisfaction as he turned his attention back to his wife and her forbidden lover.
