17. Rorin
Rorin
“What does she mean she gets to play?” Will whispers in my ear.
Eveera demanded that I line up the remainder of our men for questioning. I didn’t know exactly what was up her sleeve, but I could guess the culprit won’t survive whatever she has planned.
Looking over the formation of soldiers all I see is exhausted and confused men and women. Already beaten, bloodied, and bruised. Eveera’s pacing in front of them, clad in nothing but the bandages wrapping her torso and a pair of leather pants. Her sword tip drags along the ground while she scrutinizes them.
She stops and slowly her tendrils begin leaking from her. I search for who she’s zeroed in on but her eyes are at their feet not their faces.
“There.” She points and a blood curdling scream rings out. “Him.”
Her moves are lithe, winding through the crowd to crouch before the soldier. She takes the collar of his undershirt and drags him out of formation. We leave the rest of the soldiers to stay still - waiting for a dismissal that won’t come until we have the answers we need .
The man kicks and screams while her tendrils bind around him, dragging him along. The way her magic manipulates and moves between both material and non is strange even for a Wield, she looks more like a demon reaping the earth than a human queen.
With a flick of her wrist her tendrils secure the man to the back of her horse. “She’s going to pull him behind her? Aren’t you going to do something?!” Will shrieks.
I shake my head. “If he’s the leak then he’s part of the problem. There’s nothing I want to do for him.”
Will’s mouth drops like I’ve struck him. “S-so you’re just going to let her—”
“Yeah. I’m just going to let her.” I say, stalking away from him to mount my own horse. His screams became deafening, to the point that I begrudgingly let out my own Wield and knocked him out for the rest of the ride. By the time we got to Bair’s post his skin was so torn he looked like ground meat.
Will tried arguing with me the whole ride about how inhumane it was but I ignored his protests. If the soldier wants to leak information and risk all our necks, I won’t regret severing his. “This isn’t right. This isn’t the way we do things Rorin!” He tries again once we get down from our horses, but I push past him, guiding the queen and the captive to the cells.
Eveera had Bennett chain his limbs in an “X” position against the damp stone wall. His head hangs in front sweat and blood drip from his hair and pool at his feet. “Bennett?” She calls out. He steps up behind her, the dim light illuminating his gold armor and bronzed skin. “What’s its name?” She asks.
“Baron Wriercliff, Your Highness. He’s a second lieutenant in our ranks. 34 years old. No family of note.” Her head tilts at the man. His prone position places him more at eye level with her. She taps her chin while pacing in front of him, mulling the information over.
“No family of note. That means no wailing wives or weeping children.” Bennett retreats back to stand next to Will and me. Only the three of us followed her down here. The rest of her men, she ordered back into their rooms. Apparently she doesn’t like too much of an audience during these…interrogations. But I want to know everything, the how, the why, the when. My men feel similarly, or at least Bennett does. Will’s down here based solely on his moral compass. “ We do this my way. If I require you, you’ll know. Keep Mousy at bay. Understood?”
My eyes flick to my friend briefly while I move around the wall to quietly bring myself closer to her, “ understood.”
I see the corner of her mouth twitch, a magicked claw extending from her finger to lift his chin up. “Tsk tsk tsk. Baron, dear, you’ve made a very grave mistake. Do you want to tell us about that?” Her voice is an octave higher, feigning sweetness. His upper lip curls in a snarl and he spits at her face. Her eyes glass over into the inky black as her Wield builds beneath her skin, the wave of power pulsing through the room.
“Wrong answer.” she growls, stabbing the tip of the claw up and into his lower jaw. Blood drips down her finger in a thick stream and then the screams start again.
The interrogation, if you can call it that, has been going for hours.
Every orifice on Baron’s face has a trail of blood dripping from it.
“Come on, Baron. Give me something here. ”
“What exactly do you expect him to give you? You’re melting him from the inside out!” Will snaps .
“Control him.” Her bark rattles through me.
He looks to me desperately. “Why are you not stepping in here? You’re sovereign, Rorin.” His voice is tired, laced with both anger and fear.
“I told you why already.” I snap.
He takes a step towards him, shaking his head. “He’s one of ours.”
A dark laugh rumbles out and I push him back against the stone. “He isn’t.” Will grunts against my hold. “He isn’t.” I say again, lower this time, my eyes bearing into his. “When he crossed the line over to Baelor’s men, he disgraced himself. He dishonored Vellar. He betrayed Vellar.”
Will scoffs struggling against me still, “and what do you think we did when we crossed the line over to Obsidian, hm?” His tone matching mine.
CRACK!
Will’s eyes dart over my shoulder at the noise. The man hooked to the wall now has his right arm bent at an unnatural angle. “Do you want to answer me now, Baron?” Eveera taunts, her voice taking on that distorted unnatural lilt.
“You’ve damned us all, Prince Rorin. Bringing the likes of her behind our walls.” The words are raspy and raw from his screaming. I shove away from Will moving to stand behind her.
Almost imperceptibly I feel her shiver when my chest brushes up against her back. “How’s that lieutenant?” I ask.
“Does the King know you’ve brought her here?” Baron asks, blood sputtering out of his mouth as he speaks.
I grit my teeth together, “that didn’t answer my question, traitor.”
His body shakes twinging from both laughter and pain. “Ha. Oh, they have a plan for us, Prince. What side will you be on when that snaps into place? ”
“Why did you turn on your own men, soldier?!” I shout, the rage consuming me as I look down at Eveera’s bandaged chest and stomach. Her arms are folded and she’s taken to leaning slightly against my chest. From this angle I can see that her eyes are still fully blackened as her Wield slinks beneath her skin, the black magic spreading across it like veins. I enter her mind, probing for her, but all I am met with is a black hole - her magic fully consuming her mind as she works to manipulate him telepathically.
His back arches pulling the unbroken limbs taut against the chains. “The Wield you’re experiencing is not so different to say your Vellaran Illusionaries. However, I will admit that it’s better. It’s specific. It’s mental, emotional, and physical. Do you know what I see, Baron?” He whimpers and she rolls her shoulders back, settling more snugly against me. “I see you cowering in front of Hadar’s Guards. Selling out your friends, your Prince, and your home. And I know it’s not just because of me, oh no. You’ve been selling information for months.” Her words are low, low enough that I’m not even sure Will or Bennett can hear her. “And like a coward, you feared them more than us. What a mistake that ended up being.” His whines grow louder as she assaults his mind.
“ I think this kill is yours.” She whispers through the seal. Her body turns slowly so that she can look up at me through her lashes, the gold returning to those irises. Her hand lays lightly on my chest. At her touch my Wield slinks out of my hands curling around her body and seeping directly into Baron’s lungs. I could make this quick - so quick he wouldn’t feel a thing. But he doesn’t deserve to die quickly. There is a strong urge inside that begs me to stop. To not use the cursed magic so frequently, but as her icy palm burns my chest the decision to keep him suspended in this agonizing pain for as long as necessary wins out. A minute for every life he cost us. And not just for today, but for every day he was complicit in his sin.
Eveera was face down in the chaise’s pillows the moment we stepped back into the apartment. I drifted by her and into my office where the pile of paperwork still waited along with the faint reminder of the queen and I’s previous interaction here. Despite exhaustion threatening to pull me under, there wouldn’t be any sleep for me. Not when there was so much to fix, so much to change, so much to clean up.
The sun was rising when we’d left the cells but it burns brighter now, streaming through the windows and the orange glow that casts throughout the room warms up the space.
Knock knock.
I look over my glasses to Bennett peeking his head in. “Thought you could use this.” He states placing a glass full of bourbon in front of me. Unexpected but I’ll take it.
“I expected this to be coffee.” I say, lifting the drink up to my lips.
He takes the seat opposite me dusting off his pants as he stretches out. “Ah. Well, that drink is waiting in front of the very sound asleep queen out there. Coffee didn’t seem strong enough for you.” His face is as hollow as I feel at the moment. I’m not ignorant to the fact that the hit to Bair’s post affected him the most. Being the Commander over this post while I was away hasn’t been the lightest job, and I would bet money he’s feeling responsible for Wriercliff.
“You look tired, friend.”
He chuckles, “ so do you.”
My head drops into my hands, “Fuck Ben…I don’t know how to get us out of this. I thought by bringing the Obsid’s here we’d tank them quickly. A massive show of force, an immediate win. But…”
“But?” He asks softly.
I suck in a deep breath, “but…I’ve only cost them their lives. Men and women who don’t trust me but are willing to fight on the word of their queen. They trust her enough to gamble their lives for people they hate. But my own soldiers, my own men, don’t trust me enough to not fucking betray us.” His body shifts to lean forward resting both arms on the desk.
“They’re my men too Rorin. And they were under my control while you were gone. How many times have we had to flip flop the roles of command due to your responsibilities in Valen?” I groan into my palms. “As for the queen…not to be insensitive but you contracted them. They’re getting paid to be here. Which is more than I can say for our men, unfortunately.” Anger crawls up my neck as I think about the hand my father has had in all of his citizens’ lives and they don’t see a dime for it. “Gods, this is all a bloody mess.” He grunts in agreement, reclining back in the chair again to stare at the ceiling. The two of us ruminating in the silence.
“Will’s furious with me.”
“Ha. When is he not?” I know it’s meant to be a jest, but the barb stings all the same.
“Right.” I mutter.
He gives me a soft look, "we’re not boys anymore Ror. Tough decisions have to be made…and Will well, he had an easier time growing up than we did.” Maybe. I think. Or he was just better at staying out of trouble. Maybe if we’d been a little more like him we all would’ve avoid the haunts of our pasts.
A quiet knock and a young voice grabs our attention, "prince? "
Ugh. “What now?” I ask. The page’s face goes white before I wave him in, he apologizes quickly for interrupting and hands me a missive with the royal crest on it.
“Please tell me that isn’t more bad news?” Bennett asks tentatively.
I shake my head, “it’s not.” He starts to sag in relief until I add, "it’s worse than bad news.”
“Greeeaaat.” He says.
“Apparently we have pressing responsibilities to take care of before the Valen Celebration in two weeks. They want us home, now.”
Not exactly great timing. War is encroaching on our doorstep but sure let’s keep our regularly scheduled programming at court. Gods forbid we don’t spend another dreadful evening together dressed as gussied up show ponies. I snip inside of my mind.
He peers over the edge of the paper. “Anything about the queen in there? Do they know you’re working together?”
I give him another shake of my head, “if they do they aren’t letting on. For now we still have that element of surprise but…we’ll have to prepare Eveera.” I hand him the document to read over himself.
“Prepare me for what?” A very sleepy-eyed and mussed up queen stands in the doorway. Something tugs in my chest at the sight of her. If she greeted people like this all the time some might confuse her with being innocent, sweet, and harmless. No one would guess the tiny woman with a bird's nest of tangled curls on her head and a coffee mug in her hands finds enjoyment in watching people's brains melt. I slip back into reality when I see her stepping towards the paper Bennett waves in her direction.
It takes her a moment to read it. She sets down the mug and holds the paper closer to her face, reading it a second time. Her eyes peek up over the edge of the page, looking a little more awake now, as her lips curl into a feline smile. “Hope they don’t mind you bringing a plus one.” She quips before tossing the paper back to Bennett.
Oh they’ll mind , my conscience says. They’ll mind.