Page 54 of Ember and Eclipse
“Release them,” she bit out through clenched teeth.
“They are enemies of the Empire.”
“I don’t give a damn about the Empire, let them go.”
Asear gestured to someone, and she had a split-second warning before they grabbed her around her midsection and yanked her back. But she was ready, dragging the knife along the arm that held her. They dropped her, and she moved toward the executioner with the intent to kill before more came for her.
He lifted his ax but was frozen by Asear’s command to halt. The dagger was too large to throw, and she would die before she could get within range to stab him. Instead, she spun and worked to cut the mage free of his witchsilver even as someone attempted to pull her away. When she freed the mage, he immediately stood, already wielding his magic like a weapon—the color the deep orange of a setting sun.
Rel was restrained and hauled away. But even as she raged and grieved, the sight of the mage fighting with his magic, no doubt his last act, filled her with satisfaction.
Chapter XXXII
Ittooktwoheartbeatsfor her to feel the pain in her skull. The light was not in the room, merely behind her eyes, a product of being hit violently over the head.
It was a wonder that she hadn’t been permanently damaged at this point.
When she came fully to, her eyes snapped open and she thrashed reactively but quickly found that she was chained. The metal links were short, keeping her close to the floor. All she had accomplished was a jolting ache in her arms.
She slowly repositioned herself instead, coming to her knees as she maneuvered against the chains. Perhaps she could crouch and pull the metal ring up. Then she took in exactly where she was at—crimson and gold carpet.
“Now I see it, how feral you’ve become.”
She whipped her head around to look at the Imperator. He lounged, legs spread out, in a chair not four paces from her. She glanced around the room, but there were no others.
“It’s just you and me, like old times.” He stood up and stepped closer, his lean frame casting a shadow over her. He was dressed simply, and she knew the reason.
No point in soiling expensive clothes with her blood.
He crouched directly in front of her. She could see more clearly now where her fire had mottled and twisted his skin. The ruined flesh disappeared into his collar on the right side of his neck, and its path went all the way up his cheek, causing the outer corner of his eye to pull down slightly. His lip was still scabbed where she’d bitten him, too.
“We could have taken the world together, dominated until every corner of this realm was considered Romul. It’ll be mine either way and so will your magic. You belong to me, Rel.”
“You could carve all my skin from me, and I’d still never be yours. I belong only to myself,” she hissed.
He ignored her. His only response to her declaration was the tightening of his jaw. “You wrecked my face,” he said as he unhooked something from his waist, “perhaps I should do the same to yours.” Belatedly, she realized he had been pulling out the curved knife he used to cut into her back. He grabbed her jaw in a crushing hold, forcing her to tilt her face to look at him. He pressed the blade into her cheek.
“What do you say?”
Gritting her teeth, she struggled to get out of his grasp. “Release me, and I will show you just how feral I am.”
His grip tightened painfully on her jaw, keeping her from any further fight. She looked into his cold brown eyes and saw nothing but malice.
She spit at him, the glob splattering across his cheek and nose.
As he pushed her face away, his laugh was mirthless, dark.
He moved out of her line of sight. And after a long moment of silence, he said, “The only way to tame a wild animal is to break them.”
He left her on her knees over a hard stool under her breasts to keep her upright.
“—interested to see if, when the process is complete, she survives and in what state. Since she is not a full witch, her magic may not be fully entwined with her lifeforce as we have seen in others.” The Maester’s dull and nasally voice entered her awareness.
“Imperator Asear said—”
“I know what he said.” The Maester cut off whoever else was speaking with a droning annoyance coating his tone. Rel didn’t recognize the other male voice. “However, if this plaything of his has run her course, then so be it. The essence is what’s important.” His voice faded, and she wasn’t sure if he was getting farther away or if her mind was trying to protect her by blocking them out.
Her arms were spread out in front of her now, chained to an object that pulled her magic from her. She didn’t remember being moved, which meant she had lost consciousness at some point during his punishment. Now her magic leaked from her with sharp, clawing lashes. It was being forced out, even as it clung to the walls of her being and dug its nails into her heart.
