The Infernal King | 1 ✓

CHAPTER XLIV | KEION

BEFORE.

       THEODORACIUS IS SITTING in the throne room when four guards burst in, all struggling to detain the same man. "Your Majesty," says one of the guards, yelling slightly over the screams of the thrashing man. "He claims to know the prisoner—the girl. What does Your Majesty propose we—"

       "Get off me! GET OF ME!" the man screams. He across the room at Theodoracius, a feral look in his eyes, teeth bared. "WHERE IS SHE? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"

       Theodoracius descends from his throne with slow, graceful paces. He doesn't wish to appear bothered by this commoner. After so many years in the shadows, he does not want to cower before anyone ever again. As he approaches, he lets his eyes trail thoughtfully over the man in front of him. His hair is long and chestnut-coloured. He's taller than Theodoracius, and his shoulders are broader.

       Theodoracius wonders how he knows the soothsayer girl. His skin is far too pale for him to be her brother. He must be her friend. Her lover, perhaps.

       "YOU BASTARD!" he spits at the king. "WHERE IS SHE? DUEL ME, YOU GODDAMN COWARD—DUEL ME RATHER THAN LETTING YOUR GUARDS DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU!"

       "Treason," Theodoracius says, unfeeling. He doesn't know why his heart is threatening to burst from his chest, but he refuses to let it show on his face. "It is treason for you to speak to your king in such a way. I ought to have you hanged." He pauses, stepping closer so that his face is inches away from the other man's. "What is your name, commoner?"

       "Keion Valence," he hisses. The guards hold him tighter. "Now where is Maarit?!"

       "Well, Keion," says Theodoracius. He wants to say so many things, wants to make him understand that doing monstrous things doesn't make one a monster. "It would be a shame to have to kill someone with such a pretty face. And that goes for your little prisoner friend as well."

       "Your Majesty," says one of the guards. "What—"

       "Hold on," Theodoracius commands, sweeping his cloak behind him swiftly. "Why are you here, Keion?"

       "Maarit," Keion snarls. "I refuse to leave here without her."

       "Well, then, I suppose my guards may just have to throw you down this mountain."

       Before Theodoracius can even react, Keion is thrashing so hard that his legs are pulled free from the grip of the guards. His foot connects with the king's throat, and for the first time since he became king, Theodoracius falls. He chokes, and a thousand memories run through his mind of his father's hands wrapped around his neck, cutting off his air supply.

       He gets up in time to see a guard plunging his sword through Keion's chest from behind. The king watches every trace of light leave his beautiful features.

       Theodoracius brushes his hands together, dusting off the murder. He didn't intend for Keion to end up dead—perhaps because he could see that his motive is his love for Maarit.

       But he has no time to mourn the death of a man he did not know and could not help.

       He spares a sigh, and then he forges onward.