Page 6 of Darkness Rising
The two of us walk forward. I take the steps without hesitation, getting closer and closer to the King as Cameron trails behind me.
“That is enough, Violence.” My father’s words clip out as I stand just an inch from him, daring him to show his authority. His glaring eyes swing to the man at my side. “What is the point of this little show? Can you not meet a King without an escort?” The scowl my father gives my little prisoner is one that makes my insides knot up.
“No, I cannot, my King.” Cameron’s lips purse together as he holds his head high, refusing to bow to my father’s anger.
“Are you so foolish as to make a joke?” The echoing roar of my father’s voice sounds around the room but I remain unflinching.
“It isn’t a joke. His soul seems tied to me even if he still owns it himself.” I wish this would just end already. I wanted so badly to be among the living, and now that I am, I can’t wait to shove myself away into solitude once again.
It’s all so exhausting.
The shifting eyes of the King pass from me to Cameron and then back again.
“How could you do something so stupid, Violence?”
A tightness fills my jaw but I keep the swirling anger deep within me.
“I sent you to the Wild Hunt knowing how much they’d benefit from your power. Your actions make me look foolish,” he says on a quieter breath.
A silence pushes through the room as he seems to think about the mess I’ve made.
“And you,” he swings his attention to the poor soul I dragged into this, “death is the price for stealing from a king.”
I cock a brow at my father.
I just told him this man’s soul is tied to me.Not going to pause and consider if his death might be tied to my death as well, Dad?
A shuffling of feet pulls my attention momentarily away from the King. A woman with deep red hair and sweet eyes smiles down at me as she rushes to King Melic’s side.
A sad feeling weights my stomach as I look at my mother.
“My love, what if her life is tied to his? If he dies, will she?” She whispers the question in a rush as her hand lightly settles over his.
It’s hard for me not to roll my eyes at the simple question that should have crossed his mind, but I do manage.
A gruff sound emits as my father clears his throat and pulls his attention back to the thief. “Return what I know you stole and you will be pardoned. And never forget the kindness I’ve shown you today.”
The smile of relief touches my mother’s eyes as she averts her daughter’s near death sentence.
The quiet whispers aren’t quiet enough. The hard eyes of our King assess his murmuring pupils before he rises from his seat and storms from the room.
I shake my head at the dramatic exit and begin trailing down the steps to the three men who are waiting for me. It takes a second before I hear Cameron stumbling after me.
“Violence.” My back stiffens from the sound of my mother’s gentle voice. I haven’t heard her say my name in years. The sound of my name seems to break right through my chest. “Stay for dinner tonight.”
I release a small pent up breath before continuing away from her. It’s hard to look at her. Hard to even speak to her. So I don’t do either.
I keep it all pent up inside.
The men of the Wild Hunt hold a much more careless posture than they did when my father was staring down on them.
“We finished here, Princess?” Nollix asks, folding his arms across his wide chest.
The use of my title isn’t something he normally taunts me with. It sets me on edge. It makes me want to slap him for such low name-calling.
Instead, I hold his gaze as I jar my shoulder into his. The magic storming through me releases on impact and he staggers back.
Nollix’s heavy steps echo behind me, his palm grips my wrist but Link pulls him away.
