Lib Novel Page 18
Once again, I’ve forced him to clean up a mess I left behind, when he has endured as much grief and loss as I have. I rely on him when I can’t bear the weight of being a Prince of Ouroskelle… but on whom does he rely, when he’s weary or troubled? I told him I would listen if he needed to talk—but I’m not there, am I? I left him with his bitch of a partner, that redheaded, murderous devil Jessiva. To think I admired her spirit at first—
Hinarax breaks through the clouds, with Meridian clinging desperately to his back. “Ready to fly?”
In answer, I bank upward, catch the sleek surface of a brisk night wind, and I coast westward, toward the city where my enemies sleep.
6
My wrists are raw. I didn’t realize how quickly skin could be rubbed away.
I alternate between kneeling, which hurts my wrists and knees, and standing, which hurts everything. Twice I start to doze off, but both times, the chittering and scrabbling in my cell grows louder, and I jerk awake, terrified that the creatures will sense my loss of consciousness and come to nibble at me. I have no idea what the crawly things are. The cell is black as a cave, so even when my eyes are open, I can’t see anything.
Ever since I drank the water, I’ve felt vague and muddled—dizzy and drowning in the dark, and thirstier than ever. Maybe the King drugged me. Or perhaps my wounds are becoming infected. Chills keep surging over my skin, followed by painfully intense flashes of heat that slick my body with sweat. I’m parched, practically dying of thirst, and I’m so hungry my stomach feels as if it’s stuck to my backbone.
This is true captivity, true cruelty. Even before Kyreagan and I developed a connection, he was reasonable. Any deprivation I experienced with him wasn’t malicious—he simply didn’t think of everything, or understand what I needed. The bruises he gave me were the result of his inexperience with handling humans. He regretted them as soon as he noticed them, and he never handled me so carelessly again. When he learned more about my needs and wants, he did his best to accommodate them.
But this man, this human king—he has none of Kyreagan’s consideration or mercy. He is pitiless.
Still, it’s almost a relief when Rahzien enters my cell again. He’s wearing different clothes—a simple ivory shirt and a pair of brown leggings that hug his massive thighs.
He sets down his lantern and surveys me, twisting one of the gold beads in his beard. I know he must have bodyguards and servants somewhere—perhaps upstairs, waiting for his call. Not that they would need to remain within earshot for his safety. I’m a limp, trembling mess, the furthest thing from a threat.
He’s a busy man, with an army at his command and a conquered nation to subdue, and yet he prefers to come here alone and devote time to breaking my spirit. As if this is the work he truly prefers.
My mother used to enjoy breaking horses. It was one of her few hobbies, and she never indulged in it without a healer close by in case she was injured. The stablemaster would send one of his boys out to the market beyond the city’s eastern wall, where horses, cattle, and all kinds of animals were sold and traded. The boy would find the fiercest stallion or the most restive colt and bring it back to the palace for my mother to break in her spare time. She tamed each horse with vicious beatings and the sheer force of her will, and sometimes with deprivation. I could never watch the process for long—it made me furious, and usually resulted in a savage argument between us, after which she would ban me from the stables and gardens for weeks on end.
I understand enough of the process to know what Rahzien is doing, to witness my own slow unwinding into a creature of groveling need. Even as the King surveys me, I’m teetering on the verge of brokenness, balancing on the crumbled edges of my self-worth. My mind is blurred, my body feverish, my eyes swollen, my lips cracked. Strangely, I don’t need to pee, which is worrying since I’ve been like this for hours. At least I think it’s been hours. Days?
“Do you still think the dragon prince will come to save you?” asks the King.
I frown, trying to conjure Kyreagan’s face. My exhausted brain keeps switching between his dragon features and his human ones.
“Yes,” I rasp. “He’ll come. He’ll… kill you.”
“I’m not worried,” replies Rahzien. “Not about him, or any of the dragons. They’ll all be dead soon.”
Fear twists inside me, sharp enough to pierce my mental haze for a moment. “Dead? What do you mean?”
The King smiles, and it’s like the ruthless grin of a shark. “I heard that the Mordvorren was sighted over Ouroskelle. That’s why Fortunix didn’t bring you to me sooner. The storm spent several days there, didn’t it? Which means the island’s natural resources will have been severely depleted.”
“The dragons are resilient,” I say.
“True.” He strokes his beard. “You know those bits of land they wanted? The ones I gave them as their reward for helping me conquer Elekstan? Every animal on those islands has been infused with a magical poison that activates upon contact with a dragon’s saliva.”
He waits for my reaction, but I can only stare vaguely at him. What he’s saying doesn’t make sense.
“After the storm, the dragons must have been hungry,” Rahzien continues. “By now they’ll have hunted and consumed prey from the Middenwold Isles. Those islands are the only remaining source of prey other than the mainland—and the dragons won’t hunt here. They’re too honorable for that.”
“What are you saying?” I falter.
“Within the next day or so, the dragons will fall ill, every single one of them. And by the time they realize why they’re sick, it’ll be too late. Every dragon will be dead by the end of the week.”
Panic spurs my sluggish heartbeat. “You’re lying. If this was true, you would have mentioned it last time.”
“I choose when to give you information. I am your master.”
“No poison like that exists. I don’t believe you.”
“I may not have any sorcerers with battle skills, but I’ve got one who creates the most intricate, ingenious poisons—like the one currently flowing through your veins. The one that was infused in the water you drank.”