The Skin Thief

Chapter 81

Kiora

Kiora blinks in shock. For a few moments, her mind is blank.

"You see, she knows nothing," Athan hisses. Kiora rolls her eyes and turns to the emperor.

"I was taken aback, is all, Emperor. It isn't every day one lays eyes on a beaten prisoner from another realm." The smug look immediately falls from Athan's face and Kiora suppresses a smirk.

General Castor steps toward the prisoner and glares down at him.

"What is it you need from me?" Kiora asks him. She looks back at the prisoner and winces as a thread of bloody drool spills from his swollen lips.

"Who is he and where is he from?" General Castor asks.

"He's from the Fourth Realm," Kiora replies, stepping closer. As she does so, the guards holding the prisoner immediately move in front of him. Kiora raises an eyebrow and looks down at his wrists, which have been rubbed raw by the heavy metal cuffs that have been locked around them.

"How do you know?" the general asks.

"His uniform is one from the Fourth Realm. The flag on his sleeve is that of Etrayer, the most powerful country in the realm."

"Wonderful, she can tell us what realm he's from. But that still doesn't tell us why he's here," Athan says, rising from his throne behind them.

The prisoner looks up at Kiora with bloodshot eyes, his expression pleading. It has been a while since she's spoken Etrayan. The last time she travelled to the fourth realm was going on five decades ago. She thinks for a few moments whilst the emperor bickers with General Castor.

She takes a deep breath and moves a little closer to the prisoner. The emperor reaches out, grabbing her arm roughly and pulling her back. She shoots him a harsh look and raises an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Do you want to find out why he's here?" she asks.

"He is dangerous," the emperor replies, his voice a low growl.

"And are you saying you don't trust your guards, or General Castor, or even yourself to protect me should this chained and beaten man somehow attack me?"

The two share a heated glare as Kiora's question hangs heavily in the room.

"This was a mistake," he says through tight lips. Kiora gently pulls her arm out of his grip and turns from him. Then, she crouches down to look at the prisoner closer. He stares at her, his eyes widening with awe as he sees her properly. Kiora smiles softly and then speaks, her Etrayan slightly broken after years of not speaking it, but understandable.

"What is your name?" she asks, her voice soft.

Behind her, some of the lords and noblemen gasp in shock.

The prisoner gulps and tears gather in his eyes.

"Madden," he replies.

"Why are you in the Fifth Realm, Madden?"

"I..." he stammers, starting to tremble. "It was meant to be safe." His voice shakes with fear and Kiora smiles gently. Something about it feels off. She doesn't let that reflect in her expression though. She wants him to see her as naïve, and gentle.

"What was?" she continues.

"I was just here to observe. I wasn't even meant to step foot in a city or even be seen. Just stick to the jungles, they said. No one would find me." As he speaks, his words get quicker, his voice more shrill with panic.