Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Never step into a fairy ring lightly.
There can only ever be one survivor. - King Richard
My left hand is swollen, one of the knuckles cracked, but I relish the pain as I drag Karl’s ass into the ensuite of one of the royal guest rooms. I’d prefer to have this conversation elsewhere, but the coward keeps pissing himself whenever I open my mouth.
The least he can do is relieve himself somewhere it’s easy to clean.
“Bathtub, now,” I growl as I shove him across the dark-grey tiles.
I catch a glimpse of myself in the black-trimmed mirror.
Blood cakes half my face from my spar with Jace an hour ago.
Nasty bruises cover the rest. But the throbbing in my skull has nothing to do with the pain in my jaw and everything to do with this piece of shit in front of me.
Scratch that. A piece of shit is useful.
It marks territory. It helps fertilise the ground.
It can be used as a weapon, coating arrows and daggers.
But this guy? He’s absolutely fucking worthless.
Killing him will be a kindness to the world, and for a moment, I imagine opening up his neck and spilling his life all over the tub.
But then I remember Arienna’s words. Haunting me still.
Crossing my arms, I wait for him to settle.
“There aren’t any rules in a fairy ring.
You can do whatever you want to survive.
Skin me alive, pluck out my eyeballs and juggle them.
Kick me in the balls. The rules of honourable combat do not apply, and there won’t be any punishments for committing a war crime. ”
Piss flows down the drain. Of course it fucking does. The surprise is how he has anything left inside him. What is this, the fourth pee in a couple of hours? Granted, it isn’t a lot each time, but dear gods, how quick is his bladder? And how in Hel’s name did my wife want to marry him?
“He’s not a monster like you!”
Even with that in consideration, there’s no way in Niflhel I am worse than this sorry lump of life.
Except, in her eyes I am.
Shifting uncomfortably, I continue, “Once we enter the ring, the only way for you to exit is by killing me.” I wave a hand down my body, ending on the knife wound on my thigh.
Blood crusts my clothes. “To make it fair, I won’t be using a healing wand beforehand.
Nor will I use a weapon, whereas you’ll have the choice of whatever you want. ”
“Please…” he begs, his lips trembling.
I scoff. “You don’t think that’s fair?”
He shakes his head madly. Snot bubbles down his nose and into his mouth. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.”
“But you did mean to insult Arienna.”
He sobs wildly, hiccuping and gasping and putting on all the waterworks. “She… bro-bro-broke my… my h-h-heart.”
Never have I wanted to destroy a person’s voice box more than I do now, and I’ve listened to Nicholas sing. My brother can’t carry a tune to save his life.
“I thought you brownies had a rule about lying?” I drawl.
“I’m not! I…I d-d-did love her –”
“Pussy?” I cut in dryly. Because there’s no way he knows anything else about her. He wouldn’t have cheated on her otherwise, wouldn’t have thrown away such a gift.
He nods, and it takes every bit of my control not to kill him here and now. The bastard shouldn’t have the luxury of breathing the same air as my queen. And once he’s gone, I’m completely gutting and redecorating this room. I don’t want his stench anywhere in the castle.
“She’s so ti–”
“Another word, and I won’t give a damn about what she wants. I’ll drag your ass to a fairy ring right now.”
He swallows hard, his blue eyes wide.
“You have two options: either accept my challenge to enter a fairy ring, or…” I pause just to make him squirm. “You can tell me how to woo her.”
His mouth falls open as he gasps for air. Arienna’s air. My eyes narrow. “Choose before I choose for you.”
When silence is his only answer – though not for lack of trying, I take a step forward.
“I asked her to dance!” he blurts. Shaking violently, he lifts his eyes to mine in a silent plea for mercy.
Doesn’t he know monsters don’t give mercy?
“What else?”
He gulps, tears and snot streaming down his face. “Then I took her to dinner. And I – I br-br-brought her–” Another gulp. “Shrooms.”
I frown. “Shrooms?”
Karl nods like his life depends on it. And I guess, it kind of does.
“That’s it? Dancing, dinner, and shrooms?”
His frantic nodding makes me want to punch him in the face. Forcing myself to relax, I smile nicely. “Breathe, Karl.”
He sucks in ragged gulps. One after another until he finally develops a sense of calm about him.
“Now tell me everything.”
He shudders, holding on to what little strength he has. Or rather, what little survival instinct he has. The words ‘Karl’ and ‘strength’ don’t belong in the same sentence.
“She was easy,” he says shakily. “I could’ve had her after the dance, but Fabia was there. She’s a real cockblocker, you know?”
I should get her some shrooms. I smile. Make that a knife set. “Go on.”
“Well, she’s a bit desperate to please, so you just have to string her along. Insult her while complimenting her…” He trails off on a hard swallow, no doubt seeing the fury in my eyes.
“What kind of shrooms does she like?” I ask slowly. If I don’t change the subject, forget the fairy ring, I’m going to kill him in the tub.
“I don’t know. Marson gave them to me to throw away. They were a bit wilted, so he couldn’t put them in his shop.”
“You. Gave. Her. Rubbish?”
His face pales. Sweat breaks out on his brow. “N-no, it wasn’t like that.”
I stare at him, daring him to continue.
“They were g-going t-to g-get… thrown… thrown away any…way a-a-and she –” He yelps as I pull him up by the neck and slam him against the tiled wall. A knife is in my hand, pressed against his dick. He whimpers as he closes his eyes. The blade digs into his pathetic flesh.
“Do you accept my challenge to enter the fairy ring?” When piss dribbles across my hand, I smile coldly. “Say no, Karl,” I whisper.
Tears flow down his cheeks. “N-no.”
“Good.” My knife slices across his penis. He screams like a little bitch as his manhood drops to the floor. Releasing his neck, I cover his mouth with my palm. “To refuse to accept a challenge means you accept the alternative punishment: a thousand cuts. That was one.”
Forcing his mouth open, I take his tongue. “Two.”
I hope he tastes the piss on my hand.
The door opens behind me, and I don’t have to turn to know it’s Jace. He never has the courtesy to knock. And despite how we left things earlier, his sense of duty – his loyalty to his friends and Aurelia’s memory will never let him walk away completely.
“You know,” Jace says, a bite of a smile in his voice, “I don’t think this is what Arienna had in mind when she asked you not to kill him.”
Freezing with my blade on Karl’s ear, I say, “She asked me not to challenge him in the ring. I accepted her request.”
The ‘man’ whimpers.
“She asked you for mercy. To not be a monster, if I heard correctly.”
“You didn’t.”
Chuckling, he stops behind me. “You think I don’t know why you challenged me earlier? We’ve been friends for over forty years. I watched you learn how to walk.”
I glance at him over my shoulder. “I learned how to walk before you did.”
“And sitting on my little baby ass, I watched you.”
Shaking my head on a sigh, I release my grip on Karl and step back. He flops into the bathtub. The both of us ignore him.
“The alternative is a thousand cuts,” I press, really liking the idea of continuing.
“But you don’t have to give them all at once. And you definitely aren’t required to chop something off each time.” When that does nothing to sway me, he adds, “If he dies, Arienna will never see you as anything but a monster.”
“And that matters why?” I snap. “She’s going to be executed.” I can’t change that; the Court decides who is to be executed so the queen or king can’t go on a mad rage, eliminating their political enemies.
“We could retract our statements. Without them, the Court has no evidence of a crime.”
But then they’ll know she’s a weakness of mine. They’ll use her for far worse things.
Although I don’t say the words, Jace reads them on my face anyway.
His voice lowers. “They already know you care for her. You risked yourself for fucking wasps.” His eyes flicker to the coward in the tub, passed out already.
“And you dragged her sorry excuse of an ex back here to kill him in a fairy ring.”
Panic explodes within me. What have I done? I’ve never been so damn emotional and reckless. “She’s driving me crazy,” I whisper.
A small smile curls a corner of his lips. “I know. So let him go –for her– and then we can figure out a way to save her.”
My fingers tighten on the hilt of my knife.
I really want to carve the worthless coward into pieces.
Instead, I wipe the blood off on my tunic, then sheathe it.
“Fine. Clean him up and throw him out. Then get someone to redecorate this whole floor. I don’t even want to be able to sense his aura here once he’s gone. ”
Heading for the bathroom door, I grit my teeth.
Close my eyes and try to ignore the hope that Jace has set off inside me.
But it grows with every step, building into a light that’s fucking blinding.
I stop with my hand on the door handle. “Have a healer reattach his tongue and penis. Make sure Arienna’s there to see it. ”
Jace chuckles. “I don’t think she’ll take that the way you want her to.”
I turn in irritation. “Why not? It’s proof of my mercy.”
He cocks a brow. I scowl. “How about I patch him up and get him some fresh clothes?” Jace says. “Then I’ll have him tell Arienna you just let him go.”
“Brownies don’t lie.”
Jace’s smile is chilling. “Trust me. This one will.”
Sliding my gaze over to the pathetic pulp in the tub, I nod. “Fine. Do that.”