Which meant I had to perish in a sarcophagus of hatred and despair, unable to understand the reasonfor such feelings.
Several other voices explained my situation to the male in charge, though Ionly heard fragments of what they said. Either way, whatever the explanation, it caused the male fury because he erupted in a series of curses and accusations, constantly referring to a plan that had been settled long ago.
I came to understand that my outburst ruined this male’s vacation, which I didn’t particularly care about.
“Ansgar?” His voice rasped the same name I had heard before, coming from the mouth of the leader who defeated me. My name.
I tried to answer but my throat remained covered in wounds, making it impossible to utter a thought, let alone respond to the calling.
The male tried a couple more times and understanding overpowered his determination because the next words did not come addressed to me.
“Open the cage and let him out,” he demanded, in spite of the obvious discontent of the nearby guards, whom I had heard mocking and swearing at me, calling me names and curses throughout the time these iron walls parched my strength.
“He could be dead already, you blithering idiot.” The order came accompanied with protest and the words ‘general’ attached to each one, revealing the source of his power and might.
This male, whoever he may be, held the second position in the kingdom, after the king himself, yet judging by the decrepit state of the pale old man I had seen running scared from the dining room, this general would soon become the heir to a scorching empire.
Which made him the one I needed to end.
And the fool had just made his plans known.
As soon as the entrance to the small box they had kept me in cracked open, I charged with all the strength I had left, summoning my remaining demons to possess my body long enough to complete the goal. To kill the general and rid the realm of the putrid ramifications of the firelings.
I charged like a beast on last reserves and shoved the male under me, pushing fists and knees in his mouth and cheek, forcing his adamant eyes to bleed and his teeth to shatter. Blow after blow, I damaged him, pounded into him until his injuries shone crimson over broken skin, the mark of my revenge evident and heavy.
Several arms grabbed me, by my hair, back of the neck, and arms, and in the next second, iron shackles thrusted heavily onto every part of my skin that had remained untouched.
“Should we decapitate him, general?” One of them requested orders while I struggled to jiggle free from the iron they had ensnared me with, to no avail.
“We still don't have the information we need,” the male stood from the floor, leaving behind a puddle of blood, yet his face healed so fast that no evidence of prior blows I had snapped onto him remained.
He threw me a smirk, urging me to try it again. To test his patience. And I realised.I knew him.I knew that male.
“Shove him in the iron cell,” he ordered while fixing his jacket and shoving away bits of dust from his shoulder, completely unaffected by the fact that I had tried to kill him barely a minute ago. “Bring him food and tend to him but keep the chains until I return.”
I jiggled again, my last attempt to break free and finish what I started but with a barely perceptible wave of his finger, the male made me fly into a wall, crushing me with the pressure of a mountain until blood gushed through my nose and mouth and I barely saw through the red puddle forming on my face.
“Let’s see how the honourable prince can live with the memories of his victims,” he added and grinned widely, announcing the trap he had just set out for my conscience.
“General,” one of the guards behind me dared protest, though his voice sounded barely audible and shaking, “He killed all the soldiers he encountered after the treatment, there is no one who could survive him.”
A plea, a request for mercy, a petition to save the soldiers who would be sent to my cell, ones that I had no control over and no choice but to end their lives. A petition the general easily dismissed with another wave of hand which released the pressure and allowed me to fall on the damp bloody floor.
“I can think of at leastone,” he smirked again, pride evaporating through his form and over his glazy eyes.
Chapter Seventeen
“Hello, Vikram.” I swallowed hard at the sight of the middle prince of the Earth Kingdom. His eyes scanned me for several moments, the sight convincing the other senses that what he witnessed was indeed, real. That I had returned to Evigt and stood in front of him, holding a lock of his brother’s hair. The only thing remaining of the young prince. Of my mate.
His lips moved, with the uttering of a greeting, or a curse, I could not tell because no sounds escaped his mouth. Vikram seemed to realise this and forced himself to repeat his thoughts, this time making his discontent clear for everyone present to witness.
“What in the name of the goddess are you doing here?” his voice flushed with wrath and the lines on his brows furrowed deeper than I had thought possible. I’d been wrong to think there could be a speck of friendship left between the middle prince and me, his features and body language only portrayed wrath and annoyance, as though my presence was the last thing he expected — or wanted — to see that particular evening.
“I need to speak to the queen,” I pressed my words while mentally preparing to shoot arguments in his direction before he had a chance to protest and hoped some of them would attract his interest and understanding. But they were not needed, because Vikram’s huff dispersed every intention I had.
“You have reached a limit,girl, which you do not seem to understand. And our patience is running thinner than a silk thread.” He uttered the words in disgust, forcing me to understand that I meant nothing. I was no one for him. Long gone were the days when he’d snuck me inside the castle and offered me to his brother. He probably regretted that decision every day and I could not blame him. There were nights when I hated myself for going there, for making stupid choices, and not understanding Rhylan’s trickery.
Rhylan, who’d brought me there, jumped in front of a blade for me and kissed my hand for everyone to see, baring our relationship to all the faeries and marking his territory, threatening the keeper and all in sight, just to make sure I would remain unharmed. Of course, Vikram must have hated me. I just showed up with the male who stole his brother’s energy in their district, the entrance to their kingdom without a care in the world, demanding to speak to their queen. They must have branded me a traitor as soon as Rhylan stepped less than two feet by my side.
