Where had those blood drops came from? My shoes stopped in the narrow poorly lit corridors of this keep, creating many shadows around us.
Five said, “Intriguing.”
Fury raised inside of me. We stood in the passage that led to the guest room, so seeing blood unsettled me.
My walking increased as I chased the knowledge of what happened.
More blood drops greeted me once I reached inside the guest room. My sight wavered along the gleaming light across the smooth wooden floor. Valor’s head shook as he glared down at a beautiful blue gloss silk cocoon bound body of a woman. Sandream’s foot laid on top of a finely bound man wrapped in thick cream white sheets layered with dyed imprinted circles.
Janilla was slumped on the chair, eyes closed, fingers holding the bridge of her nose.
Everybody covered in some degree of blood. My fingers twitched in disgust at so much blood. Sandream though, had a piece of spear broken off in her gut and a good number of shallow and deep gashes along her arms.
What, the hell, was I looking at?
Valor turned to me and smiled. He motioned at me. “Ah, yes, glad you arrived. Look at this incompetence!”
I waved my hands with dismissal. “Quiet. What happened?”
Valor shot Sandream a dire stare with narrowed eyes. “The man is the King of Ascus. The woman, I do not know. But you had one job. Seduce him. You cannot do that right.”
Sandream replied, “We talked, it was working until that man tried to kill me.”
“The King tried to kill you?” I asked.
“No, some advisor named Budril,” Sandream replied.
“Then you let him escape,” Valor said with the point of his finger.
I groaned out aloud. You had to be jesting me.
Sandream retorted, “I would have succeeded if I was in my old shell. Not this trash heap you fraternize in.”
Valor said, “One, I would have done a better job, yes? Oh, here’s an idea, work with what you have, that is what you said, right, my Lady? Carmine does fine with a Shyia body. Way weaker than an Elamnite shell, you have no excuse.”
I opened my mouth, but closed it. Forget it, Janilla got up and we exchanged a knowing look of distress. She passed between those two arguing fools, reaching me with a twisted smile. I wiped a smudge of blood off the side of her cheek. “You okay?”
Janilla nodded. “Yes, yes.”
I turned and rubbed my chin. “Five, wipe clean the blood on the floor outside.”
Five replied, “Yes mother.” He left the room.
“Oy.” I gestured with my wide arms towards the arguing couple. They looked in my direction with stilted stares. “Sandream, we need to get those wounds attended to.”
Sandream shook her head. “This shell is on its last legs. Let us not waste time.”
Valor cut in with a mumble. “As long as you take responsibility.”
Sandream glared through him like she aimed to kill him.
I sighed. “At least take the wretched bark out of your stomach and draw those two up and let me talk to them.”
Sandream shook her head. “I'll bleed worse if it's removed.”
Valor probably already knew this because he turned away with a flat expression.
YOU ARE READING
Carmine (Completed)
FantasíaA young clever Princess of Ascus named Carmine is stuck in a daunting predicament by her father's decree. She wants to escape it by any means, for that was all she has ever done, running away from her duty, her crown. She must survive the darkest of...
