Daughter of Ice and Fire

Seven

"Up," the guard demanded. "The King awaits."

"Let him wait," Lihleih muttered, drawing herself tighter.

"Bitch," the guard hissed, grabbing her chains and hauling her off the board. "You will show respect."

Fighting the wave of nausea, she swallowed hard. Refusing to let him see how much he was hurting her, she glared, coughing up a wad of phlegm and spitting in his face. "Why should I?"

"Because he is the King. YOUR King." The guard backhanded her, splitting her lip and drawing blood. She surged forward, fingers curving into claws. The guard pulled the chains up, dragging her hands over her head and lifting her off the floor. "I think not," he drawled. "The King has ordered us not to kill you. But he never said we can't discipline you as we see fit." The guard placed a heavy emphasis on the word discipline, leering and licking his lips as he did so.

Pain slashed through her shoulders and she groaned, unable to hide how much he was hurting her. Gritting her teeth, she pushed it away, drawing on her anger to keep herself from blacking out. "Try it and it will be last the thing you do."

"And how, exactly, do you propose to stop me?"

She remained silent and simply glared. The guard started to raise his free hand but then dropped it. Muttering, he lowered her to the floor. "Who wants a girl who dresses like a boy anyway? Gods know what you actually look like under those clothes."

"Coward," she spat, locking her legs to keep from falling over.

"Pah. I'll take my pleasure from real women. Ones who don't pretend to be something they're not."

"You wouldn't know a real woman if one crawled into your bed."

"Enough!" The guard hit her again, causing her ears to ring and her vision to double. Staggering, she clenched her fists, hating how helpless she was. The guard grabbed her hair, tilting her head back as he bared his teeth. "You're in no position to fight so I suggest you stop. Before you get really hurt."

Seething, she relaxed her fists. The guard was wrong but letting the Rage take her again wasn't a smart move. Especially since she still had no idea what had happened the last time she did. Or any of the other times she let it take over.

"Good. Now let's go. We've wasted enough time and the King doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Hauling her out of the cell, he dragged her down the dank hall and up a set of slick, stone stairs. Her feet banged painfully as she stumbled to try and keep up. Slamming the door at the top open, he pulled her down another hall, this one much cleaner and drier, until he reached a pair of large heavy oak doors. Stopping in front of them, he pulled her forward until his face was inches from hers. "If you value what's left of your miserable little life, you'll not challenge the King."

Lihleih smiled, showing teeth. "You think I'm afraid of him?"

"You should be."

"Why? He's taken everything from me. I have nothing left to lose."

"That may be true. But he can make your last minutes in this world unpleasant. Very unpleasant."

The guard pushed open the door and dragged her into the room. Thankfully, his pace had slowed and she was able to keep up. A long, bright red carpet stretched the length of it, a single immense chair on a raised dais at the end. The room itself was almost empty and her chains clanked loudly, echoing around the marble hall. She could see the King seated on his throne, but her vision was still fuzzy and his features were a blur. Stumbling behind the guard, she instead focused on the things she could see. Despite what she had said, she was still determined to escape if possible. If only to kill everyone responsible for the deaths of those she loved.