Of Blood And Royal Bones

Chapter 16: Vicious Thievery

Two rights, one left before the demons threw her roughly to the stone floor in front of the dais in the throne room. Again she rose swiftly to her feet and again the blanket of darkness slid from her eyes to reveal the wretched form of Duevell as he sat– fingers gripping the arms of his black throne– looking back at her.

    He sneered at her with malice. She only straightened up even more, tilting her chin up in challenge.

    "His beast will come for you if you kill him." She threw at him bravely.

    He narrowed his black eyes at her. "When I am through with him, he shall wish to be spared by Death's lovely touch."

    Kassia felt her toxic breath rumble in her chest, but she kept it at bay. She knew what she must do.

    "My threat is not marked with permanence, Beauty. You and you alone possess the power to spare your friends."

    "You lie." She growled.

    He raised his eyebrows in amusement.

    "You wish to murder us all."

    "You are sorely misinformed." He proclaimed. "It is Adem who shall strike you all dead, not I." A wicked smile spread across his sinister countenance exposing his long fangs. He stood from his seat and stepped down from the dais.

    Kassia flinched at his height; he stood several heads superior to her.

    "Before I can make certain of your death, you must serve me. Tell me, Temptress, have you reconsidered your answer? Have you grown wiser on the decision to correct your mother's unjust Law?"

Her hands began to shake as he slowly closed the space between them. "M-my answer remains unc-changed." She stuttered.

He snatched her neck in a thick, large hand and pinched her jugular with ease.

She spluttered as he pulled her up to balance on the tips of her toes, blood rushing to her face from his firm grip. He smelled of rotting flesh and burnt bones and she scrunched her nose at the odor.

He brought his face down to hers and brushed his nose across her cheek. "I was hoping for a much more proficient answer by now." He breathed against her face. Then, there was a pause in his mannerism. A slight shift in his confidence. His grip tightened all the more around her throat and she could feel the looming presence of unconsciousness lurking behind her eyes. "You have it."

What did she have? The remnants of her sentience searched for a viable explanation for his claim but found none.

"Give it to me now." He commanded in a low growl.

Her throat ached as did her head and she prayed the pain would cease soon. She prayed for a release from her corporeal form though she was uncertain when it would finally come. What was more, she was uncertain of what exactly she was meant to be handing over, though she was unable to voice this as his constriction upon her neck kept her from speaking.

He gripped her even tighter and pulled her further off the ground, her feet now dangling freely below her. She grabbed at his rough hand and attempted to peel away his fingers but to no avail.

"GIVE IT TO ME!" He roared in her ear.

Black spots started to absorb her vision and she knew she'd soon go limp. She felt his free hand explore her body until it landed on the belt of her ironclad skirt. He felt around it until he discovered something hard strapped against her back and pulled it free. The dagger that Jurgen had gifted to her for her eighteenth birthday.

He threw her to the floor with a scowl, and as she gasped for air the shadow demons swooped down on her and dragged her from the throne room. She barely felt the pain of their grip as they escorted her back to her cell in the dungeon. She hadn't slept in what must've been nearing two days and she'd eaten nothing. Her empty stomach's signals did nothing save for acting as an anchor to reality.