Page 5 of Poisoned Kingdom
‘May I at least be allowed one last conversation to say goodbye?’ Jagon asked.
‘Fine, you can visit her in the dungeon but be careful. Any problems, and you’ll be sharing her fate,’ Mlot answered dismissively.
Jagon bowed before he exited the throne room. ‘Of course, Your Majesty.’
I backed away from the approaching guards, assessing my chances.
I could fight reasonably well, but I was trained to be a master of poison, not blade. Facing ten well-armed adversaries dressed in steel, I was at a disadvantage.It’s easier to escape if I’m uninjured,I thought, raising my arms in surrender, praying that it wasn’t the worst mistake I’d made in my life.
Still, as long as I had friends outside, there was hope that my time in the dungeon would be short. I winced when a guard twisted my arms, forcing me to my knees. Turning my head, I hoped to catch Tova’s eye—only to see the dwarf who had been like a brother to me for the last five years striding from the throne room without a single backwards glance.
Mlot hadn’t been joking when he said I’d be visiting a dark dungeon, but his ordering my execution was shocking. Previously, he’d only exiled mages, occasionally beating them in his fury.
Is his paranoia getting worse?
It was scary to witness the mind of the man who commanded the entire dwarven army slowly fall apart. The enemy who threatened his people washim, and his fear delivered a steady stream of souls to Veles’ cauldron.
My understanding didn’t change the situation. I was as good as dead unless I found a way out of this prison. Bracketed between two frowning guards, the journey seemed to take forever. Eventually, we turned a corner, and I was confronted by a dim corridor, its sides lined with ominous barred doors. I was sure it made no difference which cell they chose, but the guards dragged me to the farthest, darkest cell, prying its door open with a screech of unused hinges.
Their retreating footsteps thumped the tolling of the death bell until the sound faded away into the distance.
‘Is anyone here, or am I the only one lucky enough to have free bed and board in this exclusive dwarven inn?’ I shouted loud enough to be heard all the way down the corridor. As expected, no one answered. Dwarves liked their justice swift and bloody, and if I didn’t come up with something soon, I’d be another ghost lingering in the abandoned cell.
Time to plan, Sana. You can’t sit around waiting for Mlot to smash your skull in with his hammer.
‘The idiots didn’t even search me,’ I muttered to myself, grateful that Mlot’s outrage had trampled over logic this onetime. I still had a means of escape. My belt was intact, and I sighed with relief as I pulled a package wrapped in oiled paper from one of its pouches.
I’d kept a few items from my old life on me; I’d had to cut and run too many times not to be prepared. Most notably, I had a long hairpin that doubled as a weapon, its jewelled tip concealing a button that released a small dose of my deadliest poison. Tucked away with it were a set of lockpicks and a small vial ofmerciful sleep, a last resort that granted a painless death if all else failed.
I secured the hairpin in my braid for easy access and put the poison back in the pouch before kneeling in front of the lock, determined to free myself.
Unfortunately, I’d underestimated dwarven craftsmanship, and hours later, I was sweaty and close to tears.
‘Fuck! I should have fought my way out,’ I groaned when the last lockpick broke, the metal stressed from my incessant twisting. That had been my last chance. Now, I could only sit here waiting for someone to drag me away.
My thoughts drifted to Tova and his shock at the revelation of my identity.
Not you, my tinkerer.
A deep ache squeezed my chest as I swallowed hard. I didn’t have many friends, as the Dark Brotherhood had taught me to trust no one. Those who laughed with you over a tankard of mead could just as easily sink a knife in your back for a handful of gold. Besides, even those I had trusted, I’d left behind.
And yet, that awkward dwarf and his easy friendship had slipped past the walls around my heart. We’d been thick as thieves since I’d healed him after he went to the mines to rescue his parents, only to find them dead under a pile of rocks. Tova turning his back on me hurt more than a broken lockpick and the threat of execution.
‘I will not cry,’ I whispered, pressing my forehead to the rusty metal bars. ‘This is just another obstacle. They’ll need to take me out of this cell eventually . . . then I’ll have my chance.’
I was wallowing in self-pity when a flicker of light caught my attention. A moment later, I heard the thumping of heavy boots right before Jagon appeared, accompanied by Mlot’s guards.
‘I would like to speak with my apprentice alone, if you please,’ he said politely while I shifted as far away from the bars as I could.
When the guards disappeared around the corner, he approached the locked door. ‘So, this is where you’ve been hiding. Aren’t you going to welcome me, Roksana? Surely all those years as your mentor merit a handshake at the very least.’
‘Welcome you? I’d slit your throat with a rusty butter knife given half the chance.’ I scoffed, happy I no longer had to play at being his coy apprentice. ‘Why did you get involved? Why thefuckdo youalwayshave to destroy everything I try to build? Couldn’t you have just stayed quiet instead of telling them who I was?’
My outburst made him slowly withdraw, curling his fingers into a fist.
‘So much venom. You should be grateful I intervened. A maid found your books, Roksana—that’swhy he summoned you. That little shit came to him with your papers, begging for her brother to be released from the mines.’
I winced, feeling the sting of my maid’s betrayal. ‘Did the king at least let her brother go?’ I asked.
