Cevic

Chapter 31

You make me insecure

Told me I wasn’t good enough

You tell me what you mean

But they keep up digging up the truth

It’s like a work of art

That never gets to see the light

Keeps you beneath the stars

Won’t let you touch the sky…

 

-Selena Gomez “Who Says”-

 

Remuneration

 

Jàs rolled up his sleeves. “I can handle this,” he said to the two soldiers, cracking his knuckles. “It’s just some weakling prince.”

 The soldiers nodded, looking almost bored out of their wits, and left the room brusquely, closing the door behind them.

  As soon as the door was closed, Jàs took the dagger from my closed hand and started to cut the ropes furiously.

 “I’m going to make it look like I’m hitting you, and later you will have to pretend to surrender so that we can get as close to the window as possible,” he muttered under his breath. “You know what you have to do, sir?”

  I nodded.

The rope that secured my arms came off, and Jàs raised the wooden bat, and swung it against the chair, not hitting it but to give me the timing.

  I screamed again when he swung it again, with one hand furiously cutting the ropes around my ankles, on one knee.

 “Please!” I shouted, making my voice fill with tremor. “I can’t give it to you!”

 “Can’t or won’t?” shouted Jàs.

 I let out a strangled shout, and a series of gasps.

The ropes around my ankles and wrists both fell to the floor, and I took the dagger, standing, while Jàs readied the bat in his hands, looking at me.

 “I’ll…I’ll give it to you. Don’t…don’t hurt me anymore…please.”

Jàs laughed scratchily. “You should have said so earlier, my honorable prince. This way, sir.”

  I made my body limp, bending forward so that it was not obvious that I was not hurt, and Jàs supported my weight, dragging me forward, and opened the door.

  Coughing violently, I doubled over, and fell to the ground. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the dozen soldiers, and the window that Jàs was referring to.

“Well, that was easy,” a soldier murmured.

“He surrenders the pendant, Your Highness.” Jàs bowed to the waist.

Queen Sakira’s amused voice came. “Is that so? I’d thought that Prince Eron has more…resilience. This is not fun at all.”

  Breathing in and out ruggedly, I lifted my eyes, when Queen Sakira stooped down to match eye level with me, smiling quietly.

 “You-you’re not going to get away with this,” I coughed.

She pointed, outstretching her perfectly manicured finger. “The pendant, Eron,” she said impatiently. “Put it down on the floor in front of me. Now.”