Chapter 34
Braxton
Revenge.
I repeat the word in my head over and over.
It’s like a mantra, only this one thunders through my head, and I have no control over how many times it repeats.
I always told myself I wanted to be good enough, someone’s first choice.
My parents’ first choice. But I’m already seen as a monster, so why not make use of the title the king handed me?
Darkness takes me in as I close the door of our room. I don’t want to take Eliane with me, but her light would bring me some comfort. I did survive all those years in the dungeons without her, so I will probably be fine.
I am looking for a man.
Not only the man that hurt Eliane, but also for the man that murdered Hazel.
And as lucky as I am, they appear to be the one and same person.
When I made Eliane look away, I watched carefully.
The blond-haired torturer snapped Hazel’s neck as she was in the palace. I assume she was trying to sneak in to find Eliane or talk to me or my brother. Going for girls three times as small. She also didn’t stand a chance of hurting or fighting this man.
But I do.
He must be in the dungeons. The place I usually avoid if I am not being dragged to them.
The torturers do what they need to do all around the clock.
The mastermind behind all of this is the king.
But what this man did was his own choice.
My feet blast under me and sweat trickles over my body.
Every muscle in my body is tensed as the door of the long hallway covered in dungeons swings open.
My body stops as I get a déjà vu. The nightmare.
The invisible wall. Except it isn’t here this time.
Screams fill my ears along with the sharp crack of slaps.
A belt, a sound I would recognize anywhere, even in a crowd of a thousand people.
I follow the sound. My eyes glance into the cell the sounds come from.
A boy crawls away against the corner. The cold brick wall being the only thing that brings comfort to that hurting, broken body.
Blood on the wall makes it hard for me to swallow and sour, liquids fill my mouth.
The boy can’t be more than fourteen years old.
I step in front of the dungeon and the boy’s eyes scan me from head to toe.
“I command you to stop hurting the poor thing.”
It has been a long time since I used my royalty to speak up against a person. The thick bald man with a long beard turns around. He has the courage to smirk at me.
“The king gave me orders. You better leave if you don’t want to be next,” he hisses. Before he turns around, the key out of his pocket flies in my hand and I unlock the cell.
A basic trick.
One most torturers are aware of.
“I might have been your little fall guy before, but I am the youngest Prince of Drimyé,” I speak up, stepping inside of the cell.
“And to make it clear, I am not so little or scared anymore,” I growl, throwing out my first punch.
It wasn’t what the man expected, and he bows deeply to try to stop the nosebleed I caused.
I sign to the dark blond-haired boy to follow.
He looks at me with his wide brown eyes.
“You are that prince?” he huffs like a badass teenage boy. Shadows creeping up around him, but he remains in shock. He follows me as the guards call something after us.
“That little jerk tried to steal something!” he yells after me, but doesn’t follow. I give him the finger and the boy smiles at me.
“Why don’t you hurt me like the others do?” he asks, not looking scared, holding on to the tough boy act. I shrug as we enter the other end of the hallway. I turn to him, stopping him from running out immediately.
“Listen good, kid. Not a word about this. I have to keep my reputation on track,” I command seriously. He laughs at me and pats me on the chest. I look at it, the courage of this boy hurting me.
“Well, thank you Prince…?” I move my head towards the garden.
“Braxton,” I announce. “Now go, and don’t get caught again.” I grin at him. He does as I say and runs into the outside world.
Well, that wasn’t on my planning.
I haven’t found the man I was looking for. My hand feels some kind of doorknob I haven’t seen before. As I lean against it, it opens.
A room full of materials to torture prisoners to be revealed.
Metal balls with points, belts, cudgels, knives, teasers, swords and way more things you don’t want to imagine. There are containers that are used to hold water. They use it as a method to make you confess. They push you under until you are almost dead.
I start to shiver and shake as my body reacts to the memories.
A curtain at the end swings open and a figure steps through. It takes him a few seconds to notice me.
Fuck yes.
A growl rolls over my lips as the man I was looking for freezes in front of me in a room full of weapons.
Rage burns inside of me as I think of that man touching Eliane.
I am going to damage his male parts, maybe even cut off his hands.
Making sure he will never be able to touch another woman ever again.
A sword flies in my hand, and I catch it by the grip.
Before I go on the attack I need to speak some words towards this man.
I am not sure why, but he looks a bit more intimidating than the other times I saw him.
“Bow,” I command him. Roles are changed. He isn’t my torturer anymore. This time I don’t need to get punished. Because this time I didn’t do anything wrong. This time he is the monster. The demon that hunted me in my nightmare. As he stands there not a word leaving his mouth, I speak up again.
“Bow for all those women you hurt,” I command. It is not a question. My voice is bitter and the man who is as tall as me sinks to his knees.
“Bow like the coward you are,” I spit the words out. I am not exactly sure how they did those things in the nightmare when they were here in reality, but he did really kill Hazel. He made those decisions. I tighten my grip on the word.
“Why do you think you are in control now?” the man hisses, looking up at me. I step forward. Huff out a laugh. My feet move fast, and I kick him in the face. I kick again and his face hit the floor. Something cracks. I try to keep my calm.
“I am a healer, you psycho, and you are no more than a little douchebag who was born into royalty but deserved nothing more than you have got,” he hisses, aiming for his head. He jumps up and comes into action, the wound on his head healed already.
“You might be a healer, but even a healer can be killed,” I spit.
I slice his arm as he jumps forward. I duck for his punch and tackle him using my legs to drag his away under him.
He falls to the ground and lays there for a few seconds before he starts to blink again.
I kneel down next to him, my face not showing emotion, while my whole body tingles and burns. A sharp pain burns to my skin.
I turn to see the arm behind me cutting in my flesh. Once, twice, three times. Despite the blood dripping down my back. I come into action. I raise my swords and smash.
His hand is severed from his body, blood pooling on the floor. He cries out, but I keep my emotions in check. Despite the pain, adrenaline surges through me. He screams, staring at his missing hand, while my heart pounds loudly in my ears as I lean close to his ear.
“I will make sure you will never be able to touch any men or women again.”
My woman.
I bite my tongue before the words leave my mouth. He doesn’t react. I swing a metal ball through the air and with a hush it lands on the man’s other hand. Because of the pain he is in, he doesn’t put up a fight.
I hear a click sound behind me, but I have to finish what I started first. I stand up, looking at the man, twisting and turning with his bloody stump.
He lies stiller, the screaming gets less and less as every second passes because of the blood leaving his body.
He deserves this, I tell myself. I lift my sword and with ease I pierce it through his heart.
Blood gushes out of the wound. I pull the sword out and throw it on the ground.
It makes a clattering sound. I turn around and spit on the floor, blood dripping over my chin.
I hate myself for not having any trouble with living up to the title the King once crowned me with if it is for her.
I hate how my body switches between disgust and relief.
I hate the fact that Eliane might believe in that title as well.
I wipe my bloody hands at my pants. I turn around as I do.
Two scared eyes meet mine.
Two honey brown eyes freeze as they watch me move.
As they watch the murderous monster in action. Fuck.