I look back down to Flora—I want nothing to do with this. I’d rather die. And as long as I live in this place, I will search for a way to fight back.
“Why?”
“Flora was caught stealing supplies from the kitchen. It came as quite a shock to us as we’ve been nothing but kind to her.” Lloren moves closer to the king, her feet gliding across the floor.
“Kind to her? You sliced off her wings, you fucking monsters!” The second I say it, I realize what I’d done. Covering my mouth with a shaking hand, I wait for the lashing.
“So, she told you of her punishment?” Conary demands.
“Figured I’d warn her of you arseholes,” Flora chokes out.
“I’m so sorry, Flora.”
She smiles at me, and I see her teeth, cracked and bloody. “You are fire, Ember. Burn them the moment you get the chance.”
“Yes, Ember. Try,” Conary taunts.
“Your place is here,” the king repeats, ignoring her words. “You belong to me now, and it would do you good to remember that.”
“Fine. I’ll do whatever you want. Please, just don’t hurt her.”
The king nods to someone behind me and before I have a chance to fully glance over my shoulder, two men are gripping my arms painfully and dragging me backward. “Let me go!” I scream, fighting back against their hold as I cling to Flora.
“It’s okay,” she whispers.
“No! No, it’s not! Don’t hurt her!” I scream until my lungs burn, until my throat is so swollen with emotion that I can barely breathe.
Conary stalks forward, wearing a sick smile on his face. “I truly will enjoy this,” he says as he kneels down and grips Flora by the hair, exposing her throat.
“No!” I scream again as I make eye contact with the king. “Please, I swear, I’ll do anything you want. You can have me.”
“You’d sacrifice your future and stay here with me, to save the life of a fae you just met?”
“Yes. A thousand times, yes. Please, just let her go.”
The king regards me curiously, giving me hope that I reached a part of his heart that’s not stone. But then, to my complete and utter horror, he turns to Conary. “Kill her.”
“No!” Sobs break free from my chest, and I shake as Conary murders Flora right in front of me. Blood spills from her throat as she falls to the ground, face turned toward me. Her golden eyes are wide as she stares straight at me, and I lose the ability to stand.
My knees buckle, and I fall forward as bile surges up from my throat, allowing the contents of my stomach to splatter all over the marble floor. As my stomach heaves, tears burn down my cheeks.
Boots click across the marble, bringing the king closer and closer to me. A guard grips my hair and yanks my head back so I’m forced to stare up at him. With a slender finger, he reaches forward and touches my jaw. “I can be your best friend, lover, protector, Ember. Or, I can be your worst enemy.”
At his use of the word ‘lover,’ my stomach churns all over again. “I want nothing from you, you miserable fucker.”
He smiles. “You will. Toss her in the pit. A week down there should do her some good.”
They drag me backward as I scream, kicking and hitting the fae who lifts me and tosses me over his shoulder. Another grips Flora by the legs and drags her, spreading her blood all over the floor. Seeing her lifeless body dragged away like trash breaks something in me.
Never, in my entire life, have I ever seen such horror. And to be honest, I never thought I would. But in the last day of being trapped here, I’ve seen nearly a dozen people die. Two of which were directly in front of me, and the others—well—they literally fell from the sky.
We descend steps, and I let my body go limp. Whatever the pit is? It can’t be worse than what I just lived through.
Hot tears stream down my face.
“What the hell did you do to her?” Rafferty’s voice fills my ears. A door squeaks open, and the guard drops me. My back hits the ground with a thud, but I don’t cry out. Not even as pain shoots up my back and into my head. I bring my knees up to my chest and bury my face in between them while he slams the door shut.
“Keep your head in your own fucking business, Raffe,” the guard grumbles. “Though, you should know, your little fae bitch is dead.”