Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Malakai
“Look at me,” he seethed.
I did not. I would not. Because I knew what I would see in his gaze—an expectation of me to accept the truths as he saw them. And that was one of the few things that would break me. So, I kept my eyes on his dark boots, counting the scuff marks on the toes.
“You’re difficult. I had not been told of your attitude.” His voice was gravel against an open wound. Each word sliced deeper into me, tearing and grating.
I smirked against the pain because it was all I could do.
Sweat-soaked bangs curled into my eyes, blocking the view of my captor, but he heard my amused exhale.
I gripped the wooden arms of my chair and focused on the splinters cutting into my palms as I whispered, “I guess your lapdogs aren’t so loyal. ”
There was a beat of silence, then his hand struck me so quickly I didn’t even see him raise it.
My head snapped backward, the impact rocking through my skull and down my spine.
The force sent my chair tipping onto its back legs and my teeth sliced into my bottom lip as I bit back a growl.
I swallowed the iron taste of blood and squeezed my eyes tight against the spinning world.
He was wearing a fucking ring, and the large stone in it sliced my jaw, drawing a line of blood down my neck.
From the thick gush, I knew it would scar, adding yet another mark to my body.
Fucking Spirits, why is he here? It had been over eight hundred days and he had never once visited. Not since the day he threw me in this cell.
His presence meant nothing good, and whatever purpose brought him here was likely an evil I couldn’t avoid. With a deep breath, I looked up at him, and let the weight of the truth crash over me.
He sighed, and the sound carried years of pent-up aggression. “This could have been so easy, Malakai.”
Hearing my name cross his lips caused bile to rise from my stomach, and I allowed my mind the pleasure of picturing myself vomiting on his smug face. In the stone cell, amid the rank odors of torture, the image was satisfying.
That rough voice continued, unperturbed. “If you had only followed suit, everything would have been okay. Now, we resort to this to protect the truth.” I thought there might have been a note of regret in his voice, but then he added, “It is your fault.”
His lies nearly drew a reaction from me, but I sucked in a breath and tightened my grip on the wood, counting as I exhaled my venom.
Eight…seven…six—the thing that stung the most was that I didn’t even think he thought his words were lies—five…
four—they were his warped version of the truth—three…
two—which meant I was insignificant—one.
Significant enough to keep, but maybe not enough to continue to torment.
“So, let me go,” I growled. “Release me from these chains and return to your original plan.”
“I cannot.” His green eyes darkened, unrelenting.
He was allowing himself to be controlled, and in two years, I had been unable to decipher why.
Why resort to torturing me when I was already a prisoner?
What was the end goal? I couldn’t allow emotions to surface over that unanswered question, so I met his stare as he said, “If I release you, you will ruin everything.” His voice wavered.
The slice of hope left within me withered to a mere ember as I realized how much of a pawn he was in this.
But in its place, a shadow of persistence rose.
“What is even left for me to ruin?” I closed my eyes, slipping toward defeat. The lies tasted like acid, but so long as he did not take away my one last shred of hope, I would never succumb. I would only act like I had.
“I am glad you finally accept it.”
My fingers curled around the chair, and I counted the splinters slicing into my skin to force my temper down.
“Why don’t you kill me now? Or order my death, since you are too much of a coward to raise the weapon yourself.
” I may be forced to submit, but I would never make it an easy decision for him.
He would feel each order of a blade or whip against my skin.
“You think that is what I want?”
My eyes flicked across the cell. “Is it such a surprise that I do?”
“You will understand it one day. Then, you will bow to me.” He turned on his heel, gray overcoat a dark cloud swirling around him. As he reached the iron door, he turned. “Something is coming, Malakai. A promise-breaking threat I did not anticipate. But I am not sorry for what must be done.”
He left, voice ringing in my ears as I gripped the planks beneath my arms with unrestrained force. Their splintering crack echoed around me.