The king doesn't waste a second. As I wrapped my hand around the man's throat moments ago, the same goes for his and he squeezes tight until the rebel is violently thrashing in his seat. His wheezing turns into an all-out guzzling through his lips. With his hands tied to the legs of the wooden chair and his ankles, he can do nothing to get away from a grip as strong as the king's.
He should have listened in the first place. Compared to what he is facing now, my punishment is much less severe. Rebels have their chances to cooperate but alas, they don't listen to what is right or wrong.
I remain off to the side in case the king requires any assistance. He makes no move to yield; his grip continues to restrict, tighter and tighter, until the rebel's lips turn a deadly shade of blue and his skin is as red as a tomato. It's then he wheezes, "The rebels are still alive."
The king finally releases; lucky for the prisoner as he was on his last second of breath. He gulfs down what he can, coughing and choking over the previous constriction in his throat. With each breath of air he takes, a waste of oxygen, I wonder who will be the one to kill him. Lately, it's been me. Other times, for one reason or the other, Binx takes the ax from my hand and without a word, completes the task.
It's one of us, usually. On rare occasions, the king does it himself when he's truly had enough of one prisoner or the next. His deaths are never swift and I've seen things I never thought imaginable happen to the body of both human and witch. He takes them to the point of screaming and crying, pleading for death. Only then does he bring down the ax.
In my bones, I sense the pleasure he gets out of torturing victims. If there isn't any play, they consider death a swift release. The king longs for pain in their final moments so when anyone looks back, when the guards listen to the echoes of pleading, they understand what's at stake. Their fearless leader isn't afraid to hold back and he won't, not with those he trusts and those against him.
He's never laid a finger on me, I haven't given him a reason to, but the day will come for everyone. And I have a strong feeling it'll be at the result of something Binx did to either stop me or force me. He will be the reason for my demise.
"Speak now or you lose a finger," the king orders. He flips a knife back and forth in his palm, pulled from a discreet location I missed watching for. There's always something, whether in his pocket, hidden somewhere in his tunic, or stashed away in his boot. I can never pay close enough attention to where he keeps all his secrets. Too many to count, anyway.
He doesn't waste a second on a false truth. "The rebels are still alive. If I were you, I'd start preparing." After everything he's been through, he still has the audacity to smile. Handsomeness once dominated his features, now he's merely a sack of flesh with moving parts.
"The prince is working with them," I inform. "He allowed that bit of information to slip in an attempt to unnerve me."
The king's attention has always been startling. This time is no different as he looks in my direction, studies my features and the blood coating my hand, and jerks his chin towards it. "Are you injured?"
Did he not hear me say his son is working with the rebels? Slowly, I shake my head and expose my hand fully to him. Stretching out my stiff fingers proves there are no injuries, I feel nothing other than the soreness from delivering the blows in the first place. The only wounds are my split knuckles; the rest of the massacre on my skin belongs to the man tied to the chair.
"Good," the king says in response to my clarification. "The last thing I need is an injured soldier." As quickly as it arrived, his dark-eyed stare full of poise and threat leaves me. He's focusing back on the battle at hand. I don't want to be on the other side of that gaze, only terrible things come from it. Whether death or another form of salvation, this man will not be receiving that today. "Tell us where the rebels are."
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Aligning the Forgotten ✓
Fantasy[Book 3 of the Grounding the Storm series] Renit's worst nightmare has come true. Roux isn't at his side, and he's banished from his throne and his crown, leaving him nameless and on the run. While trying to escape his father's cruel reign, he has t...
