Moon Flowers (Book 1 of the Flower Trilogy) #Wattys2016 #Featured

CHAPTER TWENTY - PHI (Edited)

PHI'S POV

The brutes dragged me inside the fortress. I ended up in one of the thralls' typical houses, with a turf roof and wattle walls. But the inside of the home was shining and golden, much more spacious than what one would have thought from the outside. It had spear-shafts for rafters, a roof thatched with shields, and more doors that I could count. Despite all the splendours, an uneasy smell of raw iron and earth filled the air. A smell of blood, cruelty.

At the end of the great hall stood a high and massive throne with runes I had never seen before carved into its wood. There sat a man with a long red beard. He wore eye-patch over his left eye, giving him a threatening look..

As I draw closer, an uneasy smell of raw iron and earth filled the air. A smell of blood. Synonym of his cruelty.

"At last," he said. "You have kept me waiting, my dear."

He rose from his chair and smirked. His purple mantle licked the floor while he walked around me like a vulture circling its dead prey.

I met his twisted gaze. Disgusting. A one-eyed freak.

"Keep looking at me like this," I growled, "and I will gauge your remaining eye out."

He chuckled.

Sicko.

His thralls held both my arms and, despite my efforts, I could not free myself. My threat did nothing to him.

"I was not aware you were this pretty," he continued. "Many people would have paid a great price to have a bride of such beauty. No wonder he kept you hidden all this time."

"Yeah, well, he is good at that," I replied. Thanks, Dad.

Normally, I would have found the idea of treating someone like property in exchange for money revolting. At that moment, however, it was the fact that my own father and king had been lying to me about who I was, about who he was, that bothered me most.

Wotan's icy gray eyes met my gaze. I felt as if he was trying to pierce through my thoughts. I looked away.

The man was indeed making my blood curdle. He had a livid skin tone, a high forehead, and thin lips that stretched out into a cruel smile.

"My name is Wotan," he said. "I suppose you have heard by now we will soon become man and wife?"

Hah! "I will never consent to that," I replied.

I spit out the words, meaning every word of it, every letter. We both knew that there was no exchange of power if a marriage was not consensual.

Of course, the concept of agreeing to a marriage was loosely defined. A person could be coerced into giving their consent.

But even if he tortures me, I will not give in. Never!

My defiance did not please the Evil King. At his command, the thralls let go of me. I tried to move but could not run or raise a hand to slap him.

I was trapped in my own body. A bird in a cage.

Wotan stepped in closer. I could feel his breath on my neck. I turned my head away and closed my eyes.

"You won't consent yet," he said in my ear. "But you will soon enough."

His mindless beasts took a hold of me again and threw me in a room behind one of the many doors.

I was alone. It was almost a relief. I could not bear being touched and stared at by those monsters. The coarse touch of their skin, their glowing blank eyes, and their heavy paced walk.