Heir to a Bloody Throne

Chapter Nineteen

Valor hit the ground for what must've been the third time that day.

He held still, jaw tight, as his blindfold was untied and removed. Once it was off, he blinked once, then teleported to the doorway on the other side of the room, reaching for the handle.

"Not so fast, there." Again, weakness washed over him, and his legs crumpled beneath him as it became impossible to hold his own weight. He slumped against the door, still grasping at the handle, before turning to shoot the sorcerer a weak glare.

"It was worth a try."

"No one can say you've lost your spirit." Null was standing in the center of the room, not far from where Notch had dropped him. The man in question was standing a few feet away with the blindfold, undoubtedly having lunged after him when he teleported. The room was small, built of stone bricks, and almost entirely empty. A couple old pieces of furniture were placed along the far walls, dusted with cobwebs. An abandoned fortress?

"Go on." Null waved Notch away, who frowned but obeyed. Valor watched as he disappeared through the exit on the other side of the room, then looked back at Null, focusing on the blood-red amulet.

"Well?" Val spoke. "Why am I here? Going to gloat? Question me again?"

"Neither. Although-" Null held up one finger, beginning to amble towards him. "I do have one question for you."

"Spit it out, then." Instead of doing so, Null curled his hand into a fist. Valor felt an unpleasant sensation in his chest, and his stomach dropped. Had he riled him up too much? Instead of the crushing feeling, though, Null merely jerked his hand towards him, and Valor was yanked through the air away from the door. He yelped as he hit the ground again. What was that?? Was he tired of telling Notch to drag him around?

There were about five feet between him and the door, now, he noticed as Null began to speak. "I've accepted that you're unwilling to tell me anything of value, but I am curious... how did you know that the Viscount was a fake?" Valor blinked.

"Who?"

"The man you killed on your first appearance in Hadleigh- I assume that was you." Null side-eyed him. "Though that could have been your father. Regardless, how did you know?" Valor stared at him dumbly, processing this.

"Fake?"

"Oh please don't tell me you didn't know. That would just be embarrassing." Null kneaded his forehead with two fingers.

"It wasn't me, it was my father, I was not informed." Val lied. "How do you- what do you mean fake?"

"I fail to see why you need to know, but I suppose." Null paced around him slowly. "I replaced him directly after he'd left the capitol to keep them from interfering. The moment he arrived in position, he was killed. I'd never understood how you - or your father - found out so quickly."

"My father has many sources." Val lifted his chin proudly. "There is little that escapes his sight." His impulsive move had ended up being a stroke of good fortune, then. Not only had he not killed an innocent man, but Null's henchman would undoubtedly have been a thorn in his side.

"And yet he let you fall into my clutches."

"That was my error, not his."

"Undoubtedly." Null agreed. "And you seem quite confident that he will come for you."

"He will. I don't know why he left you alive before, but he will not make the same mistake this time."

"I don't doubt it." Behind him, Valor heard footsteps, and Null looked up. "What do you think you're doing??"