Kingdom's Vice Series: A Voyage of Vengeance ( #2 2015)

Chapter Five

I remember seeing them being thrown into the throne-room by armed guards, the man treated worse than his wife. He did what he could to protect her. There were screams echoing from the throne-room for at least an hour and I knew, I knew they were torturing him.

I sit in the dark, a buzzing glow of blue bleeding through the curtains as I wait for the sounds. I wait for the sounds of footsteps and fraying fabric, wails and sighs. I expect that they'll be dead soon, if they're not already.

The door flies open and I scramble onto the bed and cover myself with the sheets, as if they'll protect me.

The darkness shall have no hold over the Light. The Light shall defeat darkness, always. Shine the Light into the dark, so the shadows may flee in fear.

I recognize the eyes, the tall frame. It is unmistakable.

'You seem as if you've seen a ghost,' he says, slipping in and shutting the door behind him, cutting off the gloom from the hallway. 'They say ghosts roam our halls, looking for a soul to devour in the night, or a heart to steal and tamper with.'

I narrow my eyes and crumple the sheets in my fists. 'Enough. I don't need your mockery right now, Duhamas.'

He settles beside me and cocks his head to the side, curious it seems. 'It bothers you.'

I frown, 'What does?' I snap.

He jerks his head towards the door, 'The strangers. It bothers you that our first orders were to kill them.'

I suck in a cold breath and it stings my lungs. 'Of course it does!' I yell back, jumping away from him. 'We wouldn't have just killed two people, it would have been three.' I wrap my arms around myself and slide off the bed. I start pacing the length of the room, feeling the tips of my hair tickle my back. 'She was with child.'

He nods, 'So I heard,'

I whip my head in his direction. 'You knew? You knew she was pregnant?'

He opens his palms to me in an effort to reason. 'Faeore saw things, you know she did. You heard us the other day, you were there when your Uncle told you about their coming. It shouldn't come as a surprise to you that I know more than I let on.'

His tone sparks a fire of rage inside me. 'What will they do to her? To them?' I mutter under my breath. I don't want to see another person die, not after all that has happened.

He sighs and shakes his head, 'I'm afraid that is for the King to decide. We may have sway over the King, but everything else is entirely in his hands.' He tells me, 'There is nothing we can do for them except wait. But by the look of things,' he eyes how I clutch the sheets in desperation, 'you've already started.' He rests a hand on my shoulder and squeezes. 'Don't let it get to you, Skaya. It will do no good. Your husband will worry about you, as husbands do. Remember who you are, and your place.'

I think about Faeore, about myself and how we are lucky to have husbands; then I think about that poor woman who may not have one for much longer. I feel like Duhamas' words slipped out as some kind of threat, though I know he would never hurt me, something in his tone was poisonous.

~.~.~

Her face bears scars, not too deep, but noticeable even from a distance. She attends to them with silken cloths damp with the purest water, though the bowl she has beside her is ready for immediate disposal. Her blood is impure here, I remember. They would not have let her use the public basins or water mains, for her blood would taint the reflections of beauty and vanity of the people, of Alleria.

When she presses the soaked cloth against her cheek, I feel the sting as if it is my own, spreading across my cheeks with electric fingers. I bend down and press the cool tips of my fingers against her swollen cheek, hoping it will soothe her, but she winces and screams. She throws herself away from me and the guards draw their swords from their scabbards. They try to pull her to her feet roughly and without mercy, but I throw my body between them.