FangsTongue #3
Dommik, now in front of the platform where Rhazien and I stood together, avoided my gaze. There was a flicker of hesitation before he bowed to his regent.
“Your Majesty. My lady.” Dommik addressed, nodding to each of us.
“Commander Thorne,” Rhazien formally greeted his loyal soldier.
“The accused has pleaded guilty to crimes against your crown and awaits your final judgement and punishment.” Dommik pulled the figure’s head upward, revealing partially healed but battered features. The eye that wasn’t swollen shut peered at me. First with recognition, then a fiery hunger.
“Vaspar Riven, you’ve offended both me and my esteemed guest, Lady Reyva Bergmont. Do you have any words before I put forth your sentence?”
I hadn’t forgotten the way his voice hissed when he spoke, and the echoing ballroom accentuated the sound. “Yes. Of course.”
The crowd waited in perfect silence to hear the defense of the ghostly creature.
“My only regret…” he breathed heavily, “…is that I didn’t drink more from you.”
Gasps erupted across the ballroom, followed by disgusted murmurs and commentary. I wanted to crawl into a hole and never return. Rhazien’s entire court now knew Vaspar had tasted me, and he wanted more. What if other vampires were inspired by his declaration? My fear compounded.
“This defiance is inexcusable.” The regent’s voice boomed over the hum of conversation between party guests. Dommik stood tall and unshaken. His eyes watched me with a predator’s ferocity.
I was tucked in tight against Rhazien’s side. The regent, my shield. And Dommik, his sword.
Rhazien tipped his chin down at me. “My jewel, shall we take his tongue or his fangs?”
The room’s focus shifted, but the gaze I felt heaviest was from Vaspar’s onyx glare.
I narrowed my eyes back at him. Rhazien was giving me sway over his punishment and all in attendance were witnessing the transfer of power.
“Which causes more pain?” I lifted my chin and projected across the hall.
Rhazien raised his brows. “I’ve never had either punishment, but I would expect removing his fangs would hurt worse.”
“Will they grow back?”
“As he heals, yes, they will. But in the meantime, he won’t be able to feed. And the hunger he would experience can be quite excruciating.”
A cruel punishment befitting a cruel creature.
Then again, I was in a room full of his kind.
I fought the urge to chew on my cheek as I weighed the options.
I could give the order to take his fangs, strike fear into the onlookers and develop a reputation for ruthlessness.
Or, I could take his tongue. The lesser punishment could position me to look weak... or empathetic.
The energy of the room was impossible to read. Even the fidgety mortals were frozen, breathless beneath the thick silence.
Did he have no one?
Valta. He had Valta. Her colorful fan fluttered wildly amongst the stillness. She would learn a lesson from this choice as well.
The anger in me wanted a more permanent solution—his death. But there’s a reason these were the punishments for his crimes. Reasons I hadn’t had a chance to learn yet.
“Take his tongue,” I said firmly. “His fangs weren’t part of his offense. He can keep them, for now.”
I sensed a communal exhale from the room. It seemed I’d made the right choice.
“So be it.” Rhazien waved a guard forward.
A black hooded figure emerged with a tray of tools.
“You’re going to have it done here? Now?” I whispered up to Rhazien, whose fierce green eyes were fixed on Vaspar and the guards.
“He needs to be made an example of. No one touches you,” Rhazien growled at my side.
I swallowed a knot of guilt at his insistence.
No one. No one touches me. No one.
Multiple guards restrained Vaspar as they made use of pointed, iron tools to carry out the punishment.
But he didn’t fight. Didn’t struggle. Didn’t move at all.
He just stared at me, chest heaving, pale-faced, and hungry-eyed.
His mouth didn’t need to be pried open. Vaspar offered his tongue willingly.
The appendage was pulled forward between clamped, iron tongs.
Finally, a heated blade sliced through the offending flesh.
Vaspar screamed once before falling silent, emitting rage from his slack, battered limbs, all directed at me.
“Remove him,” Rhazien stated as if he saw tongues torn from his citizens’ mouths every day. “And let it be known that leniency will not be granted in the future for those who defy royal decree.”
I was physically frozen and stuck somewhere between satisfaction and regret.
“Can I get you anything, Lady Bergmont?” Gorvin had appeared out of thin air, unfazed by the events, and was the picture of servitude.
“I need…” A bucket. “…air.”
Rhazien gave me a gentle smile. It was a far cry from the stoic expression he’d worn moments prior for Vaspar’s punishment.
“Can we step away?” I breathed. The weight of my decision descended upon my chest. “Just for a moment. I just need a moment.”
“The jewel of the Hive can have anything she wants.” He gave me a playful wink. “Come with me.”