Page 146 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
Never have I been so glad before that I kept him out of this shit. Maybe it was my subconscious, maybe it was a gut feeling—I don’t care for the whys. I’m just glad I didn’t reveal his identity. For a split second our eyes meet. I can see the fingers of his healthy hand twitching slightly.
Don’t, I think.
Don’t intervene now.
Fortunately, Shayan regains his control fast. When Penelope turns to look at him, he has his stoic face back on, his expression not giving anything away. “Do you have nothing to say?” she asks, looking at him like a snake that’s eyeing its prey.
Shayan remains unfazed. “No,” he says shortly.
“I thought you were friends,” she tries to lure him out further.
“We just met for a job,” he says shortly. “Do whatever you want with him.”
“So,” Penelope takes a knife into her hand and walks forward. I swear, this witch… I just want to rip her ugly head off. One of her guards grabs me by my hair and pulls my head back. She moves the tip of the knife over my cheek, leaving a trail of blood there, before pushing it past my lips. “If I cut his traitorous tongue out, you wouldn’t mind? Should I, my dear Shay?”
“No,” he says shortly.
Something in her eyes flashes. She turns to look at him. “Why’s that?”
“How can he talk if you take his tongue?”
“True,” she whispers. “Oh, so true.” She takes a step forward, moving her long fingernails over my cheek. “So, how about, instead, I take his eye?” I gasp in pain as she pushes her fingernails around my eye , tugging at it. I push my fear down, trying to focus on something, anything, that won’t let me succumb to my panic. I wasn’t trained for this, and fuck, I don’t know what to do, but she will not see me scared. “Wolves,” she chuckles, before she lets go. The sight in my left eye is blurry, but not utterly destroyed. “You are so much fun to play with. Where would be the fun if I go all in immediately?” She makes a dismissive gesture towards her guards. “Take him to the dungeons. Don’t give him anything to eat.”
There is no chance I can win against these assholes right now, so I decide to spare my strength while they drag me along. I keep my gaze on Rona meanwhile, noting how she looks flustered and slightly guilty.
I wait for them to toss me into a dark and cold cell and shut the door before silently breaking down. I… I just can’t believe it. It feels like a cold hand grips my heart and squeezes it until there is nothing left of it. I can taste blood in my mouth, and my body aches, but I couldn’t care less. Nothing compares to what I just felt when I looked into Rona’s eyes.
I clench my hand into a fist, before hitting the concrete floor over and over again. I can feel blood oozing from my knuckles, but at least the pain relieves me from the way my heart just keeps shattering.
Tears fill my eyes at the thought of how we were so close to each other, how I took her to bed, because I thought she wanted me the way I wanted her. But it’s a lie, it’s all been a lie. She has just been using me. She probably knew I couldn’t reject the mate bond, and that I would never reject her. She took advantage of me when I was vulnerable, and like the lovesick idiot I am, I just told her everything.
I’m so stupid, so stupid.
And the worst part, I almost sabotaged our mission. I almost outed Shayan, too. My king is relying on me, and I failed him and the land I swore to protect;, the princess I swore to protect.
I don’t know how much time has passed. I assume a few hours, when the guards come for me again. They drag me to an empty room, chain me up, before starting to beat me up. I try to block the pain from my mind. One of the men grabs a whip, starting to methodically strip my back of its skin.
Prince Endellion has always made sure we would train our minds as well as our bodies. His training was excruciating sometimes, and fuck, us warriors would hate it and sometimes even talk shit about his demands. It looked ridiculous to us to train our minds, to meditate, and strengthen our mental capabilities. All we wanted to do was actual training, to spar and fight. But I will be forever grateful for him and his intelligence now. I try to use his technique, the bits I remember from his training, and cling to a core memory I have with my friends. My mother had just died, and I was struck with grief. My friends tried to take my mind off my sorrow and pulled me into their shenanigans all the time. We were fifteen at that time and snuck away to have a small bonfire.
I live through this favorite memory of mine, trying to be the young teen again, who whispered with his friends and then sat around the bonfire. My father busted us, but instead of getting angry, he just sat with us and helped us barbecue some sausages and bread. He then resumed to tell us creepy horror stories about the lands and the forest.
I knew then that I wanted to be like him one day. I wanted to become the father he was to me, for my kids. When I find my mate…
I found my mate already.
The moment I think of Rona, it pulls me back into reality. Right at the moment, one of the men breaks the fingers of my left hand. I gasp in pain, barely able to stop a scream from leaving my lips.
You are a good kid, Royan, and you will grow into a wonderful adult,my father says after my friends left, and he and I cleaned up the remains of the bonfire. I force my mind to focus on this moment between us again.
I’m gullible,I say.I fall for every prank.
Being kind and believing in others isn’t a weakness,he says.
It is.
I wake up, feeling dizzy and disoriented. Did they stop torturing me? For a moment, I still feel like I’m dreaming, like I’m not really here. Then, however, my body reminds me of this being very real. I start to shiver in the cold. While the dungeons are surrounded by thick walls, there is no warmth in them. And I don’t have my wolf to warm me and to heal me. When I try to shift slightly, I groan in pain. My back is on fire, and my hand…
I shift my gaze, one of my eyes still blurry from when Penelope dug her fingers into it, but the other works just fine. Fuck, my fingers. The fingers of my left hand seem to stand in unnatural directions. I need to do something or they will heal crooked… or not at all.
