The command echoed through her head. The world slowed.
Kneel.
Kneel.
Her legs weakened. The room tilted. Dull, distant pain shot up her knees.
Was this what it felt like? Stronger than the poison had been, noted a small corner of her mind. With a wrench of effort, she dragged her eyes to Castien. He stared back.
His gaze was pure chaos and devastation.
Not hollow. Not blank.
Her slow thoughts were of him.
Trust yourself, Castien.
Trust yourself, because we need you.
I need you.
Soft thumps hit the floor as her Escorts crumpled around her. Jerome snarled. A few seconds later, his knees jerked to the floor one at a time.
Lady Satryani glared over Anais’ head.
A minute passed.
“Kneel!” the lady shouted.
Thump.
Satryani face broke into a cold, cruel grin. “Pledge your loyalty to me!”
Without hesitation, Darius said, “I give you my life, my loyalty, my body and soul.”
His voice was a flat tone she had never heard before. Empty. Lifeless.
What he would have sounded like if Jana had not saved him.
Octavius grumbled through a similar pledge. Jerome’s words were clipped but clear. Laureline’s voice was a thready whisper.
Anais opened her mouth.
The Queen did not give her loyalty to another. The Queen did not kneel.
But her thoughts were so faint. Obedience was the only thread she could hold onto. It was easier to do what she was told. The duchess' intense gaze demanded compliance.
“I…”
The ringing of steel scattered the fog in her mind. Lady Satryani looked away.
Everything happened in slow motion.
The fraying ends of thin leather.
A flash of metal, a blur of movement.
Shouting. The lady's frustrated scream.
