Chapter 44
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Ryker
“Please, not in front of my son,” Val pleaded.
She hadn’t come to the same conclusion as me about not begging, but then, I didn’t blame her for this. No child should witness what was about to happen, especially not to their mother.
I’d watched my mother leave Veni’s castle and never return. That image would haunt me for the rest of my days, but I’d been fortunate enough not to witness her demise.
The boy was innocent in all of this, but I didn’t know how to stop it. I was chained, at their mercy, and my pleas would only excite the duke.
“Wait,” Tucker said.
I shot him a look and gave a subtle shake of my head. Drawing attention to himself might get him killed, and no matter what he said, it wouldn’t do any good.
The duke had already decided the boy would witness the demise of his mother; nothing would change his mind.
“Wait for what?” Veni inquired.
Tucker opened his mouth to respond, but he must have realized nothing would stop this, as he closed it again. He stared at the duke but didn’t say another word.
When one of the guards walked toward Val with his sword drawn, the boy lurched forward as he screamed, “No!”
Georgie tore away from the guard holding him and ran toward his mother, but Samael grasped his arm and jerked him back. The boy thrashed in his hold as Samael lifted him off the ground and pressed him against his chest, turning away from the others.
Georgie kicked and screamed in his arms as Samael carried him closer to the portal.
“He will watch this!” Veni commanded.
“Of course, milord,” Samael replied. “I’m just trying to keep the little monster under control.”
He stopped near the portal and held the struggling child against his chest. Val’s sobs intensified as her son screamed for his mother.
I knew saying anything would only make the duke happier and wouldn’t stop this, but maybe, if I gave him a little of what he wanted, he’d relent. It was me he sought to break, not them.