Chapter 28
The cave
In the silence, the soft sound of a frog croaked, and the distant echo of a gentle breeze created an almost mystical ambiance. As Matthias’s eyes tried to adjust to the darkness, he caught a blurry glimpse of moss and lichen clinging to the walls, their faint luminescence adding an ethereal touch to the otherwise sombre surroundings.
He was in some sort of cave.
Strange formations and stalactites hung from the ceiling, looking like forgotten chandeliers created by the hand of nature. Slow, echoing drops of water fell into small pools on the cave floor that reflected the sparse light like tiny stars in the darkness. Matthias licked his dry lips, his throat begging for water.
Trying to move, he found that rope bound his feet and hands to the old wooden chair he was slumped on. The same rope that bound his limbs also wrapped around his wings, leaving Matthias utterly helpless. His temple pulsed and a warm sensation trickled down the side of his head. There was a bitter tang of blood mixed with the earthy scent of his cage and Matthias knew it came from him.
His head rolled to the side, and he saw a needle in his arm connected to a tube of dark-green liquid. Trying to focus his mind so he could winnow out wasn’t an option. Whatever this poison was, it was keeping his thoughts clouded and his body drained of all energy.
How long had he been here? Where was he, for that matter?
Fear seeped its way into his body. Adalia would wonder where he was.
“Welcome back,” sneered Snake as he sauntered out from the shadows and into a small patch of light that shone through a hole in the canopy of the cave. A devilish grin made its way across his pale face.
“When I get my hands on you, I am going to tear you to pieces.” Matthias groaned, the pain pulsing through his body.
Whatever Snake had hooked him up to was making his body feel like it was on fire and frozen all at once.
“Such big threats for someone who is trapped and slowly dying.” The blond male chuckled at the prince, though it was not a joyous sound.
“How long have I been here?” Matthias murmured, his speech slightly slurred.
“Two days,” he stated as he walked a lap around Matthias.
Two days? He was right. Adalia was going to be more than worried.
The prince’s head was spinning. The last thing he remembered was seeing his father’s army gathering and needing to warn Lucius. Snake must have been the one to hit him over the head.
“I must say I’m quite impressed you had the strength to carry me all the way here. I presume we are far from home. How did you manage that with those small arms of yours?” Matthias was feeling the poison course through his veins, but he wouldn’t let Snake think he’d broken him in any form.
Snake snarled and pulled a dagger from behind his back. He slowly strode towards Matthias, stopping just before him to run the tip of the blade down the side of his face, breaking the skin and drawing a droplet of deep-red blood to the surface. “This is a very nice blade you have here. Can’t say I’ve seen this type of metal in Oscuro before. Did someone gift this to you, or did you steal it?”
Matthias pulled on his bonds as he recognised the dagger Snake held in his hand, but there was little strength left in his body. “Do you always find pleasure in taking things that aren’t yours?”
“Only if they belong to you,” Snake taunted as he flipped the dagger around in his grip.
“One day . . .” Matthias coughed, pain lacing across his chest. “One day, you’re going to get what’s coming to you, Snake, and I will rejoice in seeing your body take its last breath.”
Snake threw his head back and laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls of the cave. “The only person losing their life here is you, my dear prince. And once they have buried your body in the barren ground, I will take my place beside your father and we shall rule Oscuro together . . . I will be the son he really deserves. Not the disappointment that you are.”
“My only claim to disappointment is that I didn’t kill you when I had the chance,” Matthias growled.
“All this talk of death . . . seems like you are obsessed with it. Well, I can make that happen for you, in fact . . . I already have. By the time the poison is finished with you, you will be dead, and your father will be at war. The precious Grey will be burnt to the ground and after that,” Snake leaned forwards to hiss into Matthias’s ear, his hot breath caressing the skin, “I will find your lover. And I will make her scream . . . First with pleasure and then with pain. Her piercing cry may even awaken you from the dark abyss of nothingness where you will dwell for eternity once I’ve taken you from this realm.” The blond-haired Thorn laughed. “You want to know the best part of all of this?”
Matthias groaned in answer.
“The poison in your veins comes from the lux hyssop that grows in the mountains of The Grey. Its stem and thorns are imbued with a potent venom, capable of paralysing even the strongest of men. However, its antidote is concealed within its flower. Their tiny yellow petals, like delicate pieces of a puzzle, hold the cure to the very venom they conceal. If anyone found you, they’d first have to find the flower, risking danger themselves. Even then, their efforts will be too late. And you will be gone.” Snake huffed a laugh.
The prince tried his best to keep conscious, holding onto keywords about the flower, but he was slipping in and out of reality.
“I can see that you need to rest those pretty eyes of yours, so I will let you be. Have a wonderful time dying a slow and painful death. Think of me and that pretty brunette of yours as she screams my name.” Snake flipped the dagger in his hand once again before returning it to its concealed place behind his back. “Oh, and thanks for this.”
Matthias lifted his head long enough to watch the back of his enemy slip into the shadows before his body slackened and he blacked out once again.