The Grim (Ravens #3)

ix. blinding pride

A/N: I know I just uploaded, but I want to celebrate notifications working again, and I also want to post ch. 10 tomorrow bc I really like it. Read these at your own pace, I just feel like posting it. (I wrote like three chapters this weekend while the servers were broken, so I'm catching up on posting now.)

Monarchia ~~ February

King Hunter Summers leaned against his ebony throne, eyes closed and breathing in the cool February breeze from the open window behind them. His wife Sonja sat on the chair beside him, their fingers lightly interlaced. Her skin was cold to touch, but soft. He loved her skin, just as he loved her; she was his queen.

"The girl's won three battles now," Sonja said. Her voice was just as icy as her body, as frozen as her heart. Perhaps that was what had drawn Hunter to her in the first place, that permanent intensity. He had always admired that quality in a woman. Her ambition matched his. Together, they were unstoppable. "They're calling her 'Lady Darkness' in the cells."

"She could be of use," noted Hunter.

"She is a threat," said his wife. Although he did not turn to look at her, Hunter could feel her anger rising, ferocity taking hold of her body. "We underestimated her greatly. She killed Brutus, and now two more veterans of the ring. The prisoners fear her, and with enough fear they might just follow her. Hunter, you've read Machiavelli. You must be feared in order to keep your power."

"You believe they are more frightened of her than they are of me?"

"She is their death sentence." Sonja nodded, lowering her voice with a grave severity.

"Then she must be on our side," declared the king. He turned to one of the guards stationed by the entrance to the grand room. "Bring her up here. The rosters call her Vanessa Doe. I would like to speak with her."

"I pray you know what you're doing," muttered Sonja.

The doors to the throne room were thrown open around twenty minutes later. In the entryway stood three guards flanking a girl much smaller than them. Her arms were bound behind her, and a chain between her feet gave her lower body very limited mobility. She scowled at the royal couple, her glare so hateful Hunter thought it might just put Sonja's to shame.

"On her knees!" Hunter called, and the guards pushed the prisoner onto the ground. He pushed himself out of the throne, and approached her slowly, a smug arrogance apparent in every step. "So, you're the little girl who's caused such commotion? They call you Lady Darkness, I've heard. Such a big name for someone so young." He ran his knuckles against her dirty cheek, still stained with blood from one of her kills. He could see her gulp as his skin made contact against hers, see her spine stiffening.

"I've been called a lot of things," she said. Hunter noticed how when she spoke she stared at the ground four feet in front of her, avoiding eye contact with him or his wife. Her voice was steady, so calm that Hunter feared she may have been unafraid.

Angered, he grabbed the girl's chin, his nails digging into her skin. He was seething as he glared, his eyes threatening to bulge right out of his body. "You will look at me when you speak, you understand? I am your king."

Now, as almost as if to defy him, she stared right back, absolutely no fear resonating behind her gray eyes. With no hesitation, she said, "I am not your people, and you, sir, are not my king."

He slapped the girl hard across the face, his hand leaving its mark on her pale skin. "You will not disrespect me, you bitch! You are worth nothing, do you understand me?" There was rage in his words. Pure, untamed rage.

The girl smirked, as though her situation was almost comical. A dark, twisted comedy, but comedy all the same. "Do you plan on killing me?" she challenged, "Because Brutus is dead now, and the ring clearly hasn't worked yet either."

"No," Hunter hissed, "You will replace him."

These words came as a shock to all in the room, as all had predicted the girl's death. Her own eyes widened, as these words were the last thing she had expected to hear.

"Hunter—" Sonja interjected, but was quickly cut off.

"Quiet!" he yelled, and turned back to the girl. "You will become my new assassin. You're not suspicious, not physically threatening. Nobody will expect you of anything. So you will take out my enemies, and in return, you are out of the ring. As long as you obey my orders, your quality of life will improve immensely. You will receive benefits for every kill. And if you betray me, then you shall pay. Do you understand?"

"I will not kill for you." The girl's upper lip snarled as she spoke, pure disgust in her eyes as she stared at the king.

Hunter, however, only chuckled. "Don't you see, Vanessa, that you have no option? You either agree, and kill those who threaten my power on this throne, those who act in treason, or you return to the ring, where most of your opponents are practically innocent. You are killing either way. This really is in your best interest."

She hesitated, her eyes darting around the room as quickly as her brain calculated her options. Hunter smiled, for she finally given a true reaction, finally was stuck in this moral confliction. Eventually she raised her head, and uttered, "On one condition."

"Excuse me?" asked the king, unsure if he should be offended or just appalled that the prisoner was arguing for a deal. Who was she to set the terms of their agreement? He was the king, after all. She was his subject, his hostage.

"Ezra Callahan will be set free," she said. She stared straight at Hunter, voice steady and confident, almost daring him to disagree.

"Absolutely not," Sonja snapped, leaving her throne and approaching her husband's side, "You do not get to set the rules here, child."

"Fine," Hunter cut off his wife again. "We will not set the Callahan boy free, but he can be promoted. He will join our servants. Far more freedoms, and out of the ring. That is the final offer."

Again, she hesitated, biting her lower lip as she considered the deal. "Fine," she said, "That will do."

"Wonderful," said the king, a sinister smile creeping along his face. He turned to the guards, "Take her downstairs, insert the tracker, and show her to her quarters." He saw how her face dropped, and her breath got caught in her throat as she was hoisted off the ground and marched out of the throne room.

"What are you thinking?" Sonja spat. "You agreed to her terms, are you insane? You are giving her power."

"A small concession, and now we've bought her loyalty," shrugged Hunter, "Besides, it wouldn't do us any good to keep the Callahan boy rotting in the cells. He's won twice in the ring now. Strong, good-looking kid. He'll be of service."

"I don't trust her," muttered the queen, "She's too stubborn, prideful. She's on her own agenda."

"Oh, I know," said her husband. "But that arrogance blinds her. She just gave away her weakness."

Slowly, Sonja smiled wickedly, understanding just what he meant. "The servant boy," she said, "We can use him to our advantage. He is her incentive."

"There it is," he said. Hunter wrapped his arm around his wife's strong shoulders, the muscles too tense to react to his touch. "She is right in the palms of our hands now, my love. She is ours."