The King's Cursed Bride

Revisiting Nightmares: Part 4

Carissa felt a tangle of sensations at his statement—her skin flaring hot with anger, her chest tightening in fear. Darkness danced at the corners of her vision, and she focused on breathing deeply, knowing that otherwise her emotions would overcome her.

And where Akar was concerned, that was not an option.

The guards fumbled with her bound hands, until she was no longer fastened to the length of rope the others had been tied to.

Akar grasped her bound hands, dragging her towards him, his eyes dark with the promise of the torture to come. "It's been long a long time."

"Not long enough," Elon muttered.

Carissa glanced over her shoulder at him in surprise. Typically, when confronted with an enemy, he appeared so calm and collected. But not this time. His eyes blazed with fury, his jaw rigid with tension.

Akar glanced at him and laughed. "Ah, the noble princeling, Carissa's little savior."

Elon's gaze speared Akar, but he didn't speak.

Akar's smirk grew. "Nothing to say, princeling?" He approached Elon, releasing Carissa's bound hands for a moment. "I remember the last time I saw you. You beat me quite soundly when last I tried to take your wife." He laughed, his eyes crinkling in mirth. "And now who's the weak one?" He shoved against Elon's chest, but Elon's feet remained planted, his gaze unwavering, and Akar's smile faded.

"Run, Carissa." Elon spoke without sparing her a glance.

Akar's gaze shot to her, and she took a step backwards.

"Run!" Elon swept out a leg, knocking Akar's feet from underneath him.

The Reapers seemed to appear from the shadows, their Scythes shining silver amidst the darkness. And they were all headed towards Elon.

Carissa's bones seemed to turn to stone. If she left Elon, would he be well? What about the others?

Elon was fighting them, but soon he was nearly invisible beneath a writhing mass of Reapers. Though her heart clenched, she knew she had to take the opportunity he'd given her and leave. He was nearly invincible, and surely he could protect the others.

Her gaze fell to Lila, her leash caught underneath a Reaper's foot as he fought Elon. She was half-choking, straining against her collar. She'd entrust the others to Elon, but she had to save Lila. If Akar was using Lila like she suspected, then Carissa wouldn't allow Lila to remain here.

Carissa lunged forward, pulling on the end of Lila's leash until it slipped free. "Come, Lila. We have to—"

"And where are you going with my pet?"

The deep voice at her back made the hair on her neck prickle. Carissa drew a fortifying breath and turned to face Akar. "She's not your pet; she's a little girl, and I refuse to let you touch her."

Akar's hand moved quick as lightning as he grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head back so far she cried out in pain. "She's mine, Carissa. As are you."

Cold fear slithered through her stomach, and in a flash, she was back on that luxurious pain, her eyes hot with tears, her body feeling like it was ripping from the inside out. The helplessness. The pain. The terror.

Akar laughed. "That's right, Carissa. Remember how much fun we had together?"

As his warm breath bathed her face, she felt anger knot in her chest. It was small, barely a burning ember, but she fanned it until it flamed. Akar would not own her again, would not defile her as he'd done before. She wouldn't allow it.

Carissa lifted her knee, as if to hit his groin. Akar shifted his body to block her, his chest rumbling with chuckles. And then Carissa brought her heel down as hard as she could onto Akar's foot. Even though he wore leather boots, she heard a satisfying snap.

Akar's face whitened in pain, and she yanked her hair from his grasp.

Carissa clutched Lila's hand. "Hurry—run." As they sprinted away from Akar and the swarm of Reapers, she felt Akar's hand reach out to grasp her. He brushed her dress, and she heard a ripping sound, but she kept running.

As Carissa quickened her pace, Lila stumbled once then twice, but as Carissa dragged her forward, Lila managed to straighten. Carissa couldn't afford to be slow, couldn't afford to be caught. If she were, Elon's sacrifice would be for nothing and she'd no doubt endure a night of torture by Akar's hand.

Lila's tripping finally forced Carissa to slow. She glanced around. Many buildings had their windows and doors boarded up. Likely the inhabitants of Zonah had done so for protection, before the border swept over. But few things could protect one against a Reaper.

Carissa tugged Lila into an alley. If they could pry one of the boards away, they could sneak into a house and hide until the danger was passed. Knowing Akar, he'd was likely pursuing her himself or had sent someone after her.

Carissa glanced down at her belt. There was the dagger Elon had given her, partially hidden by her traveling cloak. Thankfully, the guards hadn't spotted it in their rush to capture them and bring them into the city. But a dagger was for parting flesh, not wooden boards.

Carissa's gaze landed on Lila. "Lila, why don't you use your powers to let us into this house? Once we're in the house, we'll be safer."

Lila shook her head, her face becoming ashen.

Carissa knelt next to her, pushed Lila's hair from her eyes with trembling hands. "I know you're scared of your powers, Lila, but don't worry about hurting me. I get my powers from Elon, and you couldn't hurt him." Which wasn't necessarily a guarantee Carissa would walk away unharmed, but unless they did something, they'd soon be caught.

Lila was shaking her head before Carissa had finished speaking. "No, it's not that. They took my powers."

"Took them?"

Lila touched a finger to her collar, where that purple gem glowed softly. Its luminescence reminded her of a Soul Piece.

Carissa touched the collar herself, causing Lila to flinch. As she examined the strip of black metal, she realized why. The collar was so tightly cinched around Lila's neck that it chafed her soft white skin, leaving an angry band of red skin beneath the metal. At the edges, it was bleeding or scabbed—likely from the times Akar had yanked her.

Carissa struggled against another surge of anger. Akar's days were numbered—and she'd make sure of that.

Lila gasped, her pale blue eyes widening as she glanced over Carissa's shoulder.

Carissa barely had time to turn around before a pair of hands grabbed fistfuls of her dress and yanked her away from Lila. It was a guard—likely one of Akar's. And in his hand, he held a pungent-smelling cloth. Carissa had heard of such things, drugs that men used in order to kidnap women. It didn't surprise her Akar's guards were armed with such.

Though the knight wore a helmet, his face was exposed. Carissa rammed the flat of her palm into the underside of his jaw. He staggered backwards, but his hold on her remained tight. Before he could recover, Carissa began to twist out of his grip.

Only too late did she see the sword arching towards her, wielded by the other knight.

The flat of the blade hit her temple, the force of the blow knocking her to the ground. The world was swayed so violently that she thought she'd be sick. Even when she stood, the world wouldn't stop swaying. The guards themselves were blurring, their numbers growing and shrinking. For the life of her she couldn't count how many there were.

One knight—or perhaps it was three—stepped forward. She lurched back, only for her back to thud into a stone fall. The guard's fist shot toward her, and she felt the metal gauntlet dig into her cheek. And then her world melted into darkness.

***

Author's Note: Today's a bit busy, so I barely finished the chapter and sneak peek, which means I didn't have time for a proofread :P Sorry about that, and feel free to point out typos. And speaking of the sneak peek, yes, it's up. And you're welcome ;)