A Kingdom of Tales

Chapter 44

"Do you think I'll let them take her?" The emperor bellows at a stone-faced Yuri. "Do you think you can threaten me into letting her go? I am the Emperor of Edessa. I'll do what I see fit."

"They're sending a team of strong men and women from the great houses, father. They won't spare you. By torturing Jasmine, you're threatening their kingdom. I beg you to reconsider."

"Your treason will not be forgotten, daughter. Corresponding with our enemy. I'll wage a war against their king. He is sick and won't fight back." He laughs. "I'll stain their soil with the blood of Alistir for wronging me."

"You are talking like a madman. You have a larger army, but if you fight on their land, they'll take us down. Queen Regent Aurelia is a fire wielder too, and so are her children. They'll burn us all."

"I'll duel her then. A one on one fight with no powers. It's a law of theirs. I'll claim their lands and butcher their king."

"This is the talk of a fool, and you know it. She'll turn you to ashes before you even touch land and have a chance to challenge her. She is not nearly as powerful as her brother was said to be, but even the smallest of flames will kill you." She lets out a breath-like laugh. "I don't want to be empress yet. I don't want to be an orphan. Don't do this."

"How many men are they sending?"

"Five. There are three women and two men, but they're all from the great houses. Two of them are Foxes. We don't stand a chance."

"Mind manipulators? Nothing a pair of darts filled with sleep serum can't fix."

"You truly are a fool. I pray they take mercy on you." She leaves without another word.

A bubble of laughter rises up my throat. Aren't those the exact words the empress said to him before?

"You're awake. Good. We have to get you ready to meet our guests." His smile makes me shudder. Nothing good can come from this, but at least it will get me out of this room.

I'm dragged out of the torture room by two guards. I look around as we walk, hoping to see Miles. To see for myself that he's really fine. Alas, he is nowhere in sight, not even in the cell he was in the last time I saw him.

I'm taken to my old room, where I find everything as I left it; even the blanket and pillow are on the floor.

I find two women in the room. The maids that used to dress me. It takes me a moment to remember their names. Alisa and Jude.

They bathe me to remove the grime and dirt from my body. A month without a bath really does mess up how one smells. My hair is in such tangles that Alisa takes the time to gently brush it out while Jude scrubs my body with vigor.

It's a good thing their here. I don't think I have the energy or the patience to do this myself. I was barely able to walk up the stairs, my legs failing me every few steps. I suppose that's the effect dehydration and malnutrition have on one's body.

It's worse because my body uses every scrap of food I get to heal itself. I have no marks on my body to prove what happened to me—not a single scar, except the ones on my back.

I hear Jude gasp loudly. She must've seen the scars. He never let them heal properly, experimenting on ways to make them scar.

Sometimes he left a small knife embedded in the skin to stop the wound from closing for hours.

Sometimes he kept cutting into it as it healed.

Sometimes he burned into it to see if it would affect the healing process.

Sometimes he broke the bones of my back to see if it would stop them from healing at all.

I hadn't had a chance to look at the skin because there was no mirror down there.

"Who did this to you, princess?" Jude says after recovering from the sight of my back.

"It's alright, Jude. It doesn't hurt anymore." It's a blatant lie. Every time I move, they hurt. Unfortunately, my healing powers don't come with pain numbing.

I pull my knees to my chest and lean my head against my knees to give her better access to the skin of my back. She washes the skin more gently than she did the rest of my body, being careful of the scars.

The price of my mistakes will be etched on my skin—and Miles' forever. It will be a painful reminder if I ever act that impulsively again. It's a lesson I'll never forget.

Maybe I can heal his scars. I don't know how strong my healing powers are, but maybe they're strong enough to wipe my mistakes from his skin.

I promise myself to ask him when I get the chance.

When they're done bathing me, they take me back to the bedroom. They walk on either side of me, steadying my body in case I fall.

I find a dress on the bed. It's a forest green dress. It had a puffy skirt, a tight bodice, and no exposed back this time. Good, at least my back won't be bared for everyone to see.

While Alisa grabs the dress, I take a moment to study my reflection in the mirror. I look skinnier than I've ever looked. My cheeks are no longer full and round and look hollow. My thighs are smaller than my arms were before, no longer sleek with muscle.

I turn my back to the mirror to address the elephant in the room.

Ugly.

That's the only word that comes to mind when I see my back. The lashes have no pattern to them—an irregular arrangement of red marks. Darrow truly is an artist, isn't he?

I promise myself to kill him after I kill the emperor. I won't feel relief until they're both cold in their graves. I will kill them for what they did to Miles. For what they did to me.

They won't see it coming.