I lifted the brush and stared at the piece of paper resting in front of me. The edges of my letters were rough and the strokes were a bit too broad, but it was legible and I was improving. Glancing up at Thera, I saw her examining my work with a level expression. Her green eyes were flicking from word to word before she nodded. "That's good."
I beamed. "Thank you."
Thera had been helping me with my writing ever since Meilin had left to fight and kill Keung. The Peccata was taking turns guarding me and I had gotten to know them more in the past two months. They all were helping with my writing, but Nikator joked around too much and got sidetracked, Remus was too impatient to sit around and got distracted easily, Minos looked bored half the time, and Atreus didn't have much time since he wanted to practice his swordsmanship. Thera was the only one who was the most helpful and didn't get sidetracked or bored—at least if she did, she hid her expressions well.
"Are you going to tell Master any time soon?" Thera asked casually as she leaned back against the couch. Her green eyes darted from me to my stomach, which still looked relatively flat. Since Thera had started sleeping in my room to protect me—just like Vita had done those few months ago—she had noticed my quickly changing body.
I had thrown up on more than one occasion and although at first I had thought it was due to stress, I soon realized that I was with child. My menstruation cycle didn't come and when I started to swell the tiniest bit, I realized it was true. The only ones who knew was Jia, Lanfen, and Thera. The rest of everyone—the Peccata, Yat-sen, Bohai—was oblivious.
I set the brush down and folded my hands neatly on my lap. "I want to tell him in person," I said quietly. I rested a light hand on my stomach. "I don't want him to find out through a letter. Besides, he should be home any time now."
"Hmmm." The corner of her mouth lifted. "That's true. Master should be here in a week, perhaps. It would be better to surprise him."
"I want him to focus on fighting Keung. He doesn't need distractions."
"That's cruel to call your child a distraction." Thera's brow raised.
I shook my head. "Meilin doesn't know what it means to be a father. He's confused at the thought of a father, since his wasn't a great role model. Anyhow, these thoughts would be distracting to him. The child itself is no distraction."
"Ah, I see." Thera tapped her fingers on the armrest of the chair. "Master thinks too much sometimes. Reads too much into the situation. Never goes with the flow."
Before we could further divulge into the topic, there was a heavy slamming on the door before Minos shoved the door open and strode in. His inky colored hair was messy and his deep blue eyes were blazing with emotion. Thera rose to her feet at the look of his stricken expression. My stomach churned.
"Minos?" Thera slowly said as she took a step near him. "Has Master come, or—?"
"Something's wrong," Minos choked out. He cleared his throat and raked a hand through his hair, tugging at it for a moment before pursing his lips together. My stomach plummeted and I shakily got to my feet.
My heart was slamming against my ribcage violently and for a split second, shadows danced on the corner of my eyes before I blinked away. I breathed in heavily and reached forward, grasping Minos's forearm. "Something happened to Meilin?" I inhaled sharply. "Did something—"
"Minos." Thera slapped his shoulder. "Nothing happened, right?"
"Something's not right," he repeated. He turned to Thera. "Atreus and Nikator feel that something is off as well."
"Meilin—"
"Empress." Minos's voice was barely controlled as he turned to me. He coughed and strained a smile on his face, his words hard. "Master is fine. If he was dead, the whole empire would know. All I'm saying is that something must've happened."
"Don't talk to her that way, Minos," Thera said with narrowed eyes. "She is Master's wife. It's only natural she panics at your words."
He nodded stiffly. "I apologize if my tone was cold, Empress."
"What makes you think something is off?" I asked instead, trying to calm my senses. Meilin was fine. He had told me he was going to be fine. He was stronger than anyone I knew. He was stronger than a dragon itself. There was no way that someone could take him down.
He can't be hurt.
He can't be hurt.
He can't be—
"Master hasn't killed Keung." Minos shifted his weight to his other foot. "He said that he would kill him, but for some reason he didn't. Also, he has taken a few prisoners with him, along with Keung, and—" He hesitated. "Master destroyed three villages."
"He destroyed three villages?" Thera's brows came together.
He nodded grimly. "Something's off. He's angry."
I shuddered at that thought. Why would Meilin destroy a few villages? I couldn't think of any reasons as to why he would do such a thing. As Minos had been saying, something wasn't right. My heart grew colder at the thought of that.
What could've happened?
There was a light rapping on the door and we turned to see Nikator standing in the doorframe. His red hair was tousled as usual but he held an expression that I had never seen on him. His beautiful sapphire eyes were blazing with anger and I could feel the bloodlust oozing from him. He looked terrifying at that moment. Like the stories were told of Lebel, he looked like a murderous warrior bent on slaying his enemies.
"Nik?" Thera swallowed. "Nik, what's happening?"
"Master has returned," Nikator said. His hands shook before he curled them into fists. "He's brought Keung with him, chained and severely injured."
Minos stilled. "Bolin came with him. How is he?"
Nikator shrugged. "Injured but overall fine."
Minos's fingers twitched and he coiled them together. "And Vita?"
Silence.
"Nik, what about Vita?" Minos took a domineering step forward. All the color had drained from his tanned face and he looked pale as he took in Nikator's angry image. Thera was frozen next to me. "Nikator." He grabbed Nikator's shoulders and shook him. "What about Vita?"
Nikator shook Minos's hands off of him. "Sh-She lost her arm."
Thera's shoulder became tense and Minos's eyes widened. He backed away from him and stared at the ground, his entire body still. His words twisted my stomach and I brought a hand to my mouth. Vita's arm was gone. She was crippled. Never would she be able to hold a sword properly or fight as well as she used to. The pain she must've been going through—physical and emotional.
I almost fell to the ground had Nikator not rushed forward and grabbed a hold of me. My stomach was twisting around uncomfortably and I suddenly felt nauseas. I gripped tightly onto Nikator's shoulders and rested my forehead against his collarbone, my entire body quivering.
Meilin must've been devastated.
"She's not dead," Nikator said through clenched teeth. His voice was strained and there was so much murderous intent lacing his tone. "She's not dead but I want to kill them all. They did that to her."
Minos's face was contorted with rage and his blue eyes were burning with emotion. The air around all of us was thick and I couldn't stop trembling, my head pounding. Poor Vita. She had been through so much as a child and now she had to go through something as painful as losing an arm.
"Vita went to scout ahead and she took too long. She was missing for a day before Master attacked Keung and his forces. Master found her in the prison chambers. Her arm was gone and—" Nikator's shoulders were taut as a bowstring and I could feel the thrumming of his heart. He lightly placed a hand on my shoulder and I pulled back to stare at his darkened gaze. "Empress, she was . . . tortured in many ways."
Minos stormed out of the room while Thera blankly gazed at the ground. My heart trembled and I tightened my grip on Nikator. I felt like I could collapse right then and there, my legs feeling like they couldn't support my weight anymore.
"Let's go see Master," Thera said.
"Master is dealing with Keung, I think," Nikator said hesitantly. He turned to me and gave me a tightlipped smile, one that didn't reach his eyes. "Empress, you should stay here."
I shook my head. "No, I need to see it happen." I tried to calm the nausea that was setting in the pit of my stomach. "When Meilin had killed the spy that had infiltrated the base, I had thought he was a monster. I need to get used to these sorts of politics. This . . . punishment and justice system."
Nikator watched me for a moment before grabbing my hand and leading me out of the room. Thera followed after us silently. Her eyes were sharp but her features were composed. If someone else was walking by, they might've thought that everything was ok with her, but I could see that her fingers were shaking.
As we neared the throne room, I could hear the booming of Meilin's angry voice. His rage was violent, loud, and dangerous, and I could practically feel the thickness of it in the air around me. The closer we got to the room, the more tense I became. When we were at the open doors of the throne room, I could hear murmured voices.
Nikator pulled me into the throne room and I was taken aback by the lines of soldiers in the room, stonily watching their emperor who was burning with fury. When the three of us were situated in a spot where we could see everything, I felt like I could faint at any second. I dug my nails into the palm of my hands to keep myself strong, to watch with conviction.
There was a row of ten men kneeling in front of the throne. They were shackled and beaten, most of them bruised and bleeding. A few had bandages here and there, but it was clear to see that they were from the rebel army. A man was in front of them, his hands chained behind his back and his knees on the ground. On closer inspection I could see that one of his legs was twisted unnaturally under him, and that one of his wrists was swollen and dripping with pus.
Meilin wasn't sitting on his throne and instead was pacing the front of it, his black eyes darker than sin and his gaze sending chills down my back. Remus was standing next to the throne and I noticed with a start that his arms up to his elbows were bathed in blood. Blood was splattered on the front of his shirt and his speckled his face. There were three corpses at his feat, all of them with their chests open and their hearts piled next to him. One of them had his intestines yanked out.
Atreus and Minos were standing near the throne as well. They both were thrumming with silent anger and I could see that Atreus's sword was coated with blood and that there was a man crumpled on the ground at his feet. The man was missing some parts of his limbs.
Remus's expression was neutral, but that was scarier than if he was angry or upset. He looked emotionless and unaffected by the bloodshed around him.
"Your father should have killed you," Keung wheezed out as he stared up at Meilin. One of his eyes was bruised and swollen shut. His face was smeared with dried blood and dirt. He was old and had graying hair, but Meilin didn't seem to care as he glowered at the man.
Meilin's lips twisted into a feral smile. "My father should've cursed the day I was born, because I will destroy his legacy and everything that has anything to do with him. You are part of that legacy, Keung, oh Great General." He spat the word out like it was poison on his tongue, his tone heavy with mockery.
Keung spit at Meilin's feet. A glob of blood and mucus fell a few feet from Meilin. "You are forgetting that you are a part of his legacy," he growled. "You bastard son of a whore."
The room stilled and Meilin's fingers coiled together into fists. His eyes grew considerably darker and I felt everyone in the room suck in their breaths. Meilin took a few steps closer to Keung and grabbed him by the metal color that was strapped around his neck. He easily yanked him to his feet, where Keung let out a yelp of pain as his twisted leg shifted in position.
"Your death will please my mother greatly," he hissed. A dark smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and I shivered. "I will break every bone—" He reached over with his free hand that wasn't holding Keung, and gently held Keung's forearm. With barely any pressure, a crack resounding in the room, quickly followed by a bloodcurdling scream. "—in your body, before I snap that neck of yours."
He dropped Keung and he fell on the ground, his leg crunching grotesquely and his arm twisted unnaturally. I paled considerably and held onto Thera and Nikator, who both silently watched. Nikator's eyes were gleaming with excitement and his lips were twitching up to a smile, while Thera looked pleased as well. I felt sick.
"You touched what was mine," Meilin growled as he took another step forward and grabbed Kueng's other arm. A snap boomed in the room and Keung let out another inhumane, high pitched scream. "You touched my family. I won't let any of you live." He glanced over at the other men that were lined behind Keung. "I will kill you all."
The moments after that went by painfully slow as Meilin crushed Keung's bones one by one. The screams in the throne room were sickening and although Keung had done such horrible things, I couldn't help but wish that Meilin would kill him already and be done with it. His screams were starting to sound less and less human and more and more shrill, like an animal's desperate scream for help before it died off.
"Empress, you shouldn't look," Thera murmured to me as she placed an arm around my shoulder and pressed me against her chest. I shuddered but continued watching in wide eyed horror. I couldn't rip my eyes away from the grotesque scene before me. After a moment, Meilin finally snapped Keung's neck.
Meilin kicked the broken body away from him and exhaled loudly, glaring down at corpse before turning to Minos. "Kill who you want." He motioned towards the quaking men that were waiting for their fate. "Nikator—"
Nikator, at some point, had pulled away from Thera and me and was now at the front of the rows soldiers. He pushed through the crowd and already had his dagger in his hand. His eyes glimmered with anticipation as he grinned terrifyingly at one of the men. "I'll take care of this one," Nikator said, a promise of death in his bright blue eyes.
The bloodshed began.
Nikator killed with a smile.
Minos killed cleanly, not allowing a speck of blood to touch his clothes.
Atreus killed unemotionally and with enough strength to hack off limbs.
Remus killed with his claws and ripped open chests, blood soaking his arms deeper and deeper.
"I will not kill any of them," Thera said as she watched expressionlessly. "They don't deserve the sweet death I offer."
I didn't scream like the time I had a few months ago. I instead fainted with darkness playing at my vision and Thera holding onto me tight.