25. Rorin
Rorin
The smell is dank and damp in whatever hell hole they’ve brought us to. It takes my eyes several seconds to adjust to the lighting and notice that I’m bound up against the wall. Both of my hands are chained above my head and with the darkness I can only make out maybe five feet from in front of me.
Despite all that it doesn’t take me long to notice the dangling figure across from me. Eveera. There is a steady dripping sound, and while I would like to believe it is from some sewer or tap nearby, I know it isn’t. Her body was riddled with arrows when it hit the ground - I don’t even know if she’s alive.
I can hardly feel my magic, guaranteeing that whatever those arrows had on them to incapacitate us, it also incapacitated our magic. If she is alive she will be pissed once she finds out. “ Nightmare.” I call into her mind. She doesn’t answer me right away and a sinking feeling forms a pit in my stomach until she chokes out a guttural groan .
As if our captors knew we were both starting to come to I hear the sound of feet approaching. Fear strikes through me the closer they get to us. But it’s not fear for myself - it’s fear for her .
They’ll reach her before they will me.
The voices stay low and their faces covered. The figure to my right takes the back of his scabbard and hits her torso with it. She yelps out at the impact and I lurch for her, forgetting for a minute that I’m bound.
“Oo-hoo-hoo. Someone’s awake. Look, Gribly.” The man to my left says, knocking elbows with the man to the right - Gribly apparently. They both laugh before cutting at Eveera’s shirt, exposing her tan and bruised skin. From the little stream of light I can see gashes on her sides and chest that have contributed to the pool of blood underneath her.
“Let’s see if we can make him squirm.” The first man chucks his chin at me as a he takes out a knife and digs it into an already weeping wound on her side.
“AHHHHHHH!” Her scream vibrates off the walls as it turns into a sob. I pull on the shackles again.
“Don’t. Touch. Her.” My words are gravelly. The first man turns towards me - only his eyes are visible from the coverings on his head.
“Too late for that, isn’t it.” The sound of fabric tearing and then her flesh echo in the room but she doesn’t scream this time. If I didn’t know any better I’d say she passed out from the pain.
I reach for my magic again, and try to Wield it in their direction but nothing comes. They continue to make tiny slits in her skin and clothes adding to that pool. Their laughter grates on my last nerves as I jerk towards her a third time, my muscles screaming against the wounds and the shackles that they have me in. “I said not to touch her.”
The man Gribly turns to me, “what, don’t want to watch us play with your little girlfriend?” He takes a stubby finger and tugs on the waistband of her underwear snapping it against her skin. The touch has me seeing red.
“I’ll have your hand for doing that.” I growl. The man steps in close to her taking a deep inhale.
“She smells so sweet prince, I can see why you like her. I wonder if she tastes as sweet as she smells.” I can hear the smile in his voice as he paints a grotesque image in my mind. He nicks her spine with the tip of his knife, slicing at the thin layer of skin.
“Nah, Gribly. She’s as nasty as they come this one.” Damn these fucking restraints. I’ll kill them. “One things for sure though," the first man growls, stalking over to me, "you won’t be awake to see if we test that theory out.”
Before I can ask what he means, he rears the hilt of his sword back and rams it into my skull. Stars spin in front of my eyes before the darkness takes over again. I reach for her mind to mind desperately. The feeling of completely helplessness surrounding me.
“I’m so sorry…” I whisper down the seal before going unconscious again.
A cool sensation wraps around my weakened limbs as I come to for the second time.
What little light has leaked through casts a faint glow on Eveera’s hanging body, now in ever worse shape than it was before. I look down at my feet, surprised to find her tendrils of magic are loose and leaking out from her. They wrap around my legs and torso, tentatively exploring me, almost seeming sentient .
I’ve heard the stories of shadow magic and its…benefits. But her magic is something else entirely, more corporeal than shadows. These when being used so gently, have a similar feel to silk. A smug part of me relishes in the fact that an extension of her has sought me out, and is cautiously feeling me up.
“ We are in a fucking torture cell. Please stop thinking of me groping you.” The interruption of her voice in my thoughts is like a slap across the face, startling away any rogue fantasies my delirious state may have conjured up.
“With all due respect, Your Highness, your magic sought me out. My mind simply went along with your Wield’s friendliness.” My voice feigns innocence. “ Besides I would have thought this environment would be a turn on for you.” I tease attempting to lighten the mood.
A humorless laugh is all I get out of her, “the irony is not lost on me.” Her shadowed body twitches causing the chains she hangs from to rattle and rustle.
“Eveer—” Thud. I freeze as I watch her body hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of herself. She rises to her feet slowly then hobbles her way over to me, as she gets closer I’m better able to see some of the damage inflicted on her. The coppery scent of her blood filling my nostrils as she raises a clawed fingertip up to undo my chains.
“I guess whatever they used to drug us wore off.” She says flippantly.
I guess. I rub my wrists where the chains left an unfortunate mark over top of the blood seal. Eveera’s eyes follow to my wrist, “think they saw these?”
“The glowing insignia on our arms? Yeah. I am going to say they noticed.” I grunt.
She nods grimly, and sighs. “Let’s just hope they’re too unimportant to know what the runes mean. ”
“It won’t matter.” I say. “They’ll be dead before they can figure it out.” My eyes roam from the top of her head on down to— “you have no pants.” I say dryly.
Eveera tugs down at the frayed hem of my shirt that she borrowed, “evidently not. Can we go now?” Without giving me time to respond she turns to where the doorway is and limps towards it. The fools keeping us here, did us a favor by not only leaving the door unlocked, but by leaving it ajar too.
SQUEAAAAKKK!!
I cringe at how loud the rusted hinges are, hoping we don’t end up getting caught before we’re ready to make our move. Eveera doesn’t seem to notice the noise however, and wastes no time leading us out of the dark and into a sconce-lit hallway.
The deeper we walk into the belly of the building, the more we come to notice it must have been a manor at one point. But whoever lived here in this estate, no longer does, the adornments and pictures on the walls are all covered under a thick layer of dust and the plush velvet walls are torn and stained in different places. Abandoned would certainly explain how our abductors have access to it.
Men’s drunken laughter filters towards us as we come up to two large oak doors at the end of the hallway.
The doors are cracked open and through that opening I can see four men sitting around a dining table. They’re tossing back and forth what appears to be a woman’s undergarments while slurred and lewd comments leave their gnarled mouths. I look hard at the undergarments that are clearly bloodstained and then I look back to Eveera. I scan over her bare legs, the slits in her clothes, and to the bare hip bone peeking through one of the holes .
Fucking gods. I mutter in my mind my stomach feeling sick. Red clouds my vision. Her face gives away nothing, only her hands as they grip the handles and whip open the doors. All four men’s heads snap to the two of us. They look dumb struck as a cruel smile dances across her lips before she switches it to a mocking pout. “Oh. Tut tut . Don’t tell me we’re late.”
The four of them stumble to their drunken feet, “how the hell did the bitch get out?” The man furthest to my right shouts while pointing at Eveera.
Her steps forward are slow, both hands twitching while she summons her Wield. “We would’ve been here sooner but we were a little…tied up.” The man who spoke only moments ago struggles as she slides closer to him. “I must say—”
Her hand flicks and the tendrils wind around his torso, he claws at himself but it’s no use, the tendrils squeeze until his eyes pop out of their sockets the two rubbery orbs dangling down his cheeks. She places both hands on his shoulders allowing her Wield to slink back into her skin. She cracks a smile again and looks over her handiwork, “you really aren’t very good hosts.” The three that remain look around nervously as she walks around them all. “I mean—” she plucks her tattered corset from the lap of the largest man. It takes me a moment in the light, but I recognize him as Gribly. Rage boils inside of me at the memory of him digging his dagger into her side. The obscene things he said - bleeding gods if he truly touched her…
Gribly glares up at her, his nerves replaced with newfound confidence. Damn fool. “You won’t beat him, you know.”
She looks to me exasperated. “Why is it that that’s not the first time I’ve heard those words? Does everyone have so little faith in me?”
My eyes wander to his hand where a glint of something flashes. A ring. “How’s the wife, Gribly?” The others whimper while anger etches onto the man’s face. Eveera looks up at me - confused. “Do you think she’ll miss you?” I press.
He pushes off his chair, “why you—”
Eveera thankfully quickly catches on to where I am going with this. “Maybe not, by the way he was handling another woman’s undergarments. She may not miss the bastard at all.”
“Should we pay her a visit?” My full attention now onto her, using this as my window to scope out her injuries. She is covered in blood, dirt, and bruises. Her knee wobbles just a little as she tries to cover up her limp.
I move over to her side my arm securing tightly around her waist while my head rests on top of hers. What to the three of them will look like a protective lover’s embrace is really more to support her weight.
“Don’t you touch ‘er.” Gribly slurs, spittle from his lips landing on the table.
“Why not? You thought it was okay to touch what’s mine. Why can’t I return the favor?”
Gribly bares his teeth at me, “I didn’t touch nothing.”
My brows rise, a hand fanning over the exposed skin of her ribs. “Is that not my woman’s torn undergarments strewn across the table and chair? Why else would her corset be in your grubby hands?” The men’s eyes flick down. I might almost believe the other two were remorseful if I hadn’t seen them drunk with the fabric pressed to their faces. “If that weren’t evidence enough, your men’s faces are full of guilt. So…you must have touched something on her.”
They didn’t have time to argue any further, the two of us broke apart from our hold on one another, and made sure that the remaining three wouldn’t be able to maim or hurt any other unsuspecting people. With our weapons nowhere to be found, I sat there with a dinner knife hacking at their heads until they were no longer attached to their shoulders. “Rorin.” Eveera says softly, her blood spattered hand pulling at my shoulder as I severed the final head. “Rorin.” She says again. I look over my shoulder at her. My arms wrapping around her bare legs with my head resting carefully against her stomach, she sits back onto the edge of the table, a hand tentatively tangling into my matted curls. “I—” she shushes me, her fingers stroking as best they can through the knots. “It’s not your fault.” Her voice shakes a little. I lift my head gently to look at her but she’s staring straight ahead.
Carefully I ask, “did they…” She shakes her head violently back and forth and my thumbs stroke circle onto her thighs. Her throat bobs as she swallowed thickly, the black edging into her eyes, and I can feel her pulling away. “I don’t know.” I stand up slowly, my hands careful not to touch any injuries or anything that might be sensitive.
“Better you don’t know.” I whisper. Her Wielded eyes snap up to me while her brow furrows. I tuck a strand of blood soaked hair behind her ear. “I can’t kill them a second time. And if you knew and you told me, then I’d feel like their deaths weren’t good enough. That they would have needed to suffer more. And I’m afraid with our injuries we don’t have that kind of time.” My lips tip up sadly.
She said it’s not my fault, but I think that’s the shock talking. I have a feeling I am at fault for a lot more than I know.
We walked in silence the whole way back to the city .
Eveera keeps her head down, staring at and spinning Gribly’s ring finger between two of hers, eyeing the jewelry attached to the digit. I carry the men’s heads in a makeshift sack over my shoulder,
The dark streets keep us hidden from any wandering or curious eyes as I pull us around to a set of stairs that descends down into the street itself. The stairs empty out into a narrow alley that has a single door at the end.
Knock knock knock!
I hear feet shuffling behind the soggy wooden door before the creak of the peephole opening enters our ears. A soft glow shines on us from the peephole in the center of the door before quickly disappearing. It doesn’t take very long for the metal hinges to yawn open, revealing a stocky little man.
“Murph.” I grumble. His peculiar eyes gleam at us as he shuffles out of our way and lets us in. Eveera takes her eyes off the severed souvenir so that she could glare at me.
“ I have been stabbed, shot at, nearly drugged, actually drugged, and now kidnapped one too many times for my liking since arriving in your gods forsaken kingdom, princeling . And now you’ve brought me into the home of a troll man.” Her barrage of words rattle around in my mind.
Our bodies are still supporting the others weight and her skin has now turned a grayish color as opposed to it’s usual deep olive tone. “ No need for the verbal reminder of your plight saddled to me. I have it physically seared onto my arm.”
“Who is this troll man anyways.” She asks, her tone filled with disdain.
“He has a name.”
She scoffs at me and winces. “ Murph is hardly a name.”
The smaller man stops at his work table - it’s a gnarled piece of wood that’s seen better days sitting square in the middle of the back room. His stubby body waddles around, knocking on shelves, pulling down tonics, salves, and other unidentifiable liquids. I can feel the scrutinizing weight of Eveera’s gaze flicking between the two of us.
Murph pats the table and before Eveera can argue I lift her up and set her down on it. “What in the bleeding gods, Rorin? I am not an invalid.”
Laughter spills out of Murph, “the gods do no bleeding, Queen of Serpents.” The cadence of his stumbling voice clutters his words against each other.
She looks at me incredulously, “it’s an expression, troll man .”
Another roar of laughter floods the small workspace. “Is that what you were calling me to the Broken Prince?” His snicker continues while he grinds something down in his mortar and pestle. When neither of us respond, he looks up. “You thought I did not notice?” His hand gestures side to side with a finger pointing to Eveera’s wrist. “You bring your bloodied selves here and thought I would not notice the Lady in the Black’s handiwork on you?” He sighs, turning back to his mortar and pestle.
Eveera stares hard at me. “Lady in the Black? He can’t mean Marjorie.” I simply shake my head beats me what the old man is talking about. I only understand about half of what he says. Once finished with his grinding, he starts to work on her wounds. She grimaces at the bright light of his healing mist and the scent of the salve he whipped up.
Murph flits around the table, huffs of frustration coming from the both of them as the shirt tatters get in his way. “Oh fucking hell!” She exclaims loudly before stripping off the shirt’s remains. My mouth drops open to object but her serpent tattoos slither quickly and cover her bare chest as best they can. Murph doesn’t seem to take notice other than to breathe a quiet ‘thank you’ in her direction. He moves through each of her wounds - stabs, cuts, nicks, and arrow holes alike .
She asked him to leave the puffy scar from Gribly’s first stab - a reminder of “the time she was almost bested.” Which he begrudgingly agreed to before moving on to me. My wounds were significantly less extensive comparatively but it still took a few hours for him to finish both of us up.
He gave each of us a tonic to filter out any remaining traces of poison while we readied ourselves to head back to court. Eveera hands her cup back to Murph their small height difference giving her the advantage of actually looking down on him. “You said The Lady in Black. Explain, troll man.”
His face splits into a large grin as he gingerly takes back the cup. “I like it, the name. Very good, Queen of Serpents. I do believe I have troll on my mother’s side…” He begins rambling, Eveera gives me an annoyed side glance.
“Explain.” She repeats.
His eyes glint with mischief at us as he piddles around his home, “you know where healers hail from, do you not?” He turns in a circle, dramatically gesturing around the room. “The Lady in Black…very clever, very smart, and very unforgiving.” His gaze lands on me at the final remark prickling the hairs on the back of my neck.. “I’d ask our Golden Madame the remaining questions on your tongue. She knows better than I.”
He shoos us out, the door locking in place behind our backs. We both look at each other, with more questions than answers waiting on our breath. Golden Madame , doesn’t take a genius to know who he means. My mother. Which will bring nothing good.
We were about halfway back to court when I realized Eveera was still shirtless, some wounds on her were deeper than others and required wrapping, Murph’s healing was still good but he was old school and his Wield out of traditional practice. “Do you want my- uh, do you want my shirt?” I ask? Tugging at the hem of the dirtied fabric.
“Why? Are you embarrassed?”
I fumble around for the right words, “no I just—” my eyes shamelessly drop to the curve of her breasts. Her serpent tattoos strategically placed. “Murph only gave you pants?” I ask, looking at the high waters she’s currently donning.
“He did, said it was better to let the deeper wounds breathe with only the bandages on them currently. And you know what?” She stops in her tracks, pointing her finger into my chest. “I just almost died. Again . And while I like to court death I’m not sure I want to enter in a long term commitment yet. I’m sure your pride will survive my semi-nudity.”
It’s not my pride I am worried about surviving. I want to snap at her, but I don’t have the energy tonight. Instead, I grab her elbow, ushering her into one of the old tunnel passageways. At one point it was meant for getting people out of the castle if needed, but for today it will help us get back in.
Thankfully the castle was dark and devoid of two much activity, allowing us to slip back in unnoticed or at least unrecognized. That was until we walked back into my room.
We were immediately accosted by our men and Millie. There was a mixture of relief, confusion, and anger across all their faces at the sight of us. Bennett and Will’s eyes darting everywhere but towards us after noticing Eveera had nothing covering her upper half except for various bandages. She limps away from me towards the bedroom with Millie trailing after her .
“How many days?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“That’s all you have to say?” Armond snarls at the same time Bennett answers, “three days.”
I blow a long breath out. Three days.
No one said much while we waited on the women. With how long it was taking them I started to worry that something had happened, that Murph had messed something up until the door creaked open and she waltzed back in. She’s cleaned up and dressed in a floor length black gown that catches in the light revealing a deep green and purple iridescence. On top of the fabric is a gold metal corset fitted around her waist and bust, if you look closer at it, you’ll notice it’s carved in the shape of her trademark serpents.
Her face is fresh and all of her dark hair has been wound into intricate braids that cascade down the curve of her spine. She’s removed the bandages, bearing the deeper wounds.
Will sidles up next to me displeasure written all across his face. “You’re drooling.” There’s blatant disgust in his tone, but it doesn’t matter, I drink her in. Every agonizingly beautiful inch.
Even after torture, drugging, and no sleep - she is breathtaking. From the corner of my eye I can see Axel’s effort to restrain himself from going to her. I know, because I had been exerting that same effort at the manor. She slinks over to my side, the sway of her hips jingling the metal corset. Her gold eyes darken to the color of honey when they meet mine. I wonder if she listens in on my mind , if she can read every one of my emotions as well. If she can feel the same pull as I do, or if her hatred smothers it. “We were gone…” I start to say, but she interrupts.
“Three days. I heard.”
Will clears his throat, “we have things to talk about. Your disappearance has caused…issues. Not to mention what she said before you two ran off!” He’s raising his voice.
“What no welcome home?” I taunt. I would’ve figured he’d be more upset something had happened to me. Will rolls his eyes, bringing a hand up to his forehead.
“You can’t just usurp.” Bennett says quietly. “Ror— do you really want to do that?” I sigh, scrubbing my hand down the stubble that’s grown out over my jawline.
“Well, apparently, I don’t have a choice. I made a deal.”
“You made a deal you didn’t know about! If you let her do whatever,” Will flings his arms around wildly at her, “she has planned…then we are past treason at this point. I don’t even know where we’ve landed. You’re not just damning yourself Rorin - you’re damning me, Bennett, and now Millie.” He slumps down onto the couch his head between his knees. Millie goes to sit by him her face surprisingly neutral as she pats his shoulder.
My head hurts from the back and forth. “ You should’ve fucking told me this was your plan.” I snap at her through the seal.
I wanted just a moment’s respite on our return, a chance to catch up on restful sleep.
“ You were so desperate for help and whining about not being daddy’s favorite, I didn’t think you’d care.” The way she says it makes me feel like I was an idiot to not see this coming.
“ This is why you wanted to come to Valen. Why you were so okay to leave the military? Do I get to know why you want them dead?” The pieces sort of fall together but regardless the pit in my stomach grows.
She shrugs, picking at her clean nails. “ I’m tying up loose ends.”
“Loose ends? That’s all I get?” I scream into her mind.
“They took something they shouldn’t have.” The words sink into my stomach.
“ And after you take it back? What then?”
“What, you’re not going to try and stop me?” She asks, a tone of surprise in her voice. But I ignore her question.
“Afterwards, Eveera. What then?”
“Afterwards, I go home.” My heart twists at her words. Fuck. All of the mixed feelings over the past few days, over the past few hours. The brief moment after we’d killed our abductors where I thought we’d come to some sort of amicable companionship were all nothing to her.
She’s going to put me on the throne…she’s going to involve us all in regicide. Oh bleeding gods … “Don’t feel too badly princeling.” She purrs in my head. “I was your leverage. Now, you’re mine. Besides we’re just playing a role. Remember?” I’ve made a deal with the devil and signed it in my blood. I’ve killed for her now too, and what hurts the most isn’t the subtle betrayal or manipulation, it’s that when this is over she will go home and rid herself of me.
Here I’ll be left, a king, forever infected with her.