Page 99 of The Oracle of Dusk

The guard tossed her in a heap in front of Theron. Their eyes met for a moment before the first guard was on her, dragging her back.

“You touch her at risk of your life,” Theron growled.

“You heard him!” the earless guard sneered. “Any injury done to one of us will be done to her tenfold, Your Majesty. Search her for weapons!”

“Theron!” Aurora screamed as the first guard ripped her dress, revealing her foreign clothes underneath.

There was a collective gasp amongst the guards before the guard made to tear more of her dress. She grabbed his wrists but was quickly losing her hold. The guards closed in on her in a circle, egging their friend on, taunting him for failing to strip her. Her shrieks of terror turned to those of white-hot rage. Then the guard was the one screaming in agony.

Theron pushed passed the legs of guards as they stood back. When he caught sight of her again, her breathing was laboured, her green eyes wild with fury, her nails crusted with blood. In a heap before her was a wizened old man, his skin papery thin, his face a mass of wrinkles. What little hair he had was as white as a cloud. And yet the man wore the uniform of the royal guard, now much too large for his skeletal frame.

“Merciful Triad, what…what did you do to him?!” the earless guard shrieked.

“What I’ll do to you if you dare touch me,” she hissed.

But Theron knew it was a bluff. Sweat rolled in rivulets down her face and neck and the red that had suffused her cheeks was already draining away. She’d used her magic recklessly—exhausted it.

“He got what he deserved for angering a fairy,” Theron crowed.

The guards took a collective step backwards, eyeing her with wariness. But her screams had attracted the attention of Justice’s paladins. They pushed people aside in their righteous fury.

“Back to the palace! Now!”

Theron was hauled to his feet and rushed towards the palace gates. He tried to look behind at Aurora, but several guards pointed their swords at him, urging him forward. Aurora tried to call out to the paladins, only to find the blades of the royal guard trained at her throat.

“Move!”

She complied.

The rest of the guards held the paladins off as best they could until those who had him and Aurora hostage managed to enter the palace gates. Once closed, the paladins would have to ask Flora’s permission to enter, which would never happen. Thus trapped, both Theron and Aurora were herded back to the guest palace. He was shoved onto the cool stone tiles as Aurora was put in chains, the collar at her neck linked to her bound wrists, and tied to the nearest column, blades trained at her throat the whole while.

“Strip her,” the earless guard ordered.

“But—”

“Look at her. She’s sweating, pale-faced and about to pass out. She’s used up her freak magic for today. Strip her, take any weapons she’s got on her, and stop whining.”

“Don’t touch her!” Theron roared, getting to his knees before another guard shoved him down again.

“My order still stands, Your Majesty. You hurt one of us, she gets it worse.”

The earless guard shoved one of the younger ones towards Aurora. All the while she glared them down.

“Do you want to pit yourselves against me? I could kill you all before you touch a hair on her head,” he threatened. His magic rolled off him in waves, pushing through each of them. He relished the shivers that stole down their spines.

“She must be quite the skilled whore to have gained your protection. But this is the vivarium. This is what your protection is worth here. Strip her, now!” the earless guard ordered.

The youngest fumbled with her top as Aurora thrashed against him.

“I’ll rip away every year you have left in your miserable life if you don’t stop touching me!” she screamed.

“I can’t—”

The earless guard grunted with impatience, shoved the younger one out of the way and took his blade to her clothes.

“Squirm, and my blade will slip,fairy,” he threatened.

In seconds she was stripped down to nothing, her foreign clothes in tatters. Aurora’s eyes widened in panic. Theron saw red. His magic exploded in a tidal wave. He rebroke every healed bone in the guard’s body in the same moment he revisited every bruise, cut, laceration, and illness back onto him. The guard crumpled in a howl of agony, bleeding out onto the floor.

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