Page 81 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
"Take off your helmet," he ordered.
With his right hand, the guard to her right reached for his helmet while keeping his other hand in front of him, as if he was shielding himself. He peeled his helmet off, and the metal clunked to the ground.
Kallie’s brows twisted. She recognized that face. Those brown eyes, those short, tight curls. But where had she seen him?
"Moris?" Graeson choked out the guard’s name as if it was a struggle.
Moris?
Another gasp filled her throat.
The Pontian who had accompanied them the first time to Ardentol, the one who had paralyzed her. He washere. He was one ofthem.
"Didn’t anyone ever tell you never to leave a man behind?" Domitius questioned, looking at Graeson.
"Y-you were dead," Graeson said. The veins on his neck were prominent, as if he too was straining against the poison lacing the air that prevented them from moving.
"My men got to him just in time before he bled out on the floor in the temple on the day of the wedding," Domitius said. "I was minutes away from disposing of him, but then he showed me how useful he could be. I decided to give him another chanceat life, a reward for being the first. Paralysis truly is a remarkable gift." Domitius looked down at Kallie and smiled. "I never got to thank the handmaiden before she ran out. A pity, really. She did a splendid job."
Kallie tried to speak, tried to scream, but her body was still frozen, rock solid, Moris’ power drenching her.
"Chain her," Domitius commanded.
Moris yanked Kallie’s hands behind her back. A cold, heavy weight was dropped onto her wrists, the sound of manacles clicking together, solidifying her fate.
Kallie could barely comprehend anything that was happening as she watched Domitius stroll toward Graeson, two of the guards trailing behind him, their wings fluttering in the wind.
Domitius glanced back at her, curiosity sparkling in his brown eyes. "Is it still true you cannot penetrate his mind, Kalisandre?"
Kallie growled, her voice stuck in her throat. Her bones vibrated with rage as she fought against Moris' power. But no matter how hard she tried, she failed.
Domitius rolled his eyes. "Speak," he commanded.
The words poured from her mouth in a rush. "Let him go!"
But she found that while she could speak, she was still paralyzed. Invisible shackles tethered her to the ground. Her gaze locked onto Graeson. Fear rippled between them as the two guards flanked him, Ellie, and his mother.
"Answer my question," Domitius demanded.
"I will not manipulate him!" she blurted.
"Will not orcannot?" Domitius asked. He was only a few yards away from Graeson and the others now. "The difference matters."
Kallie’s gaze flicked to Ellie. Their gazes connected, a tense exchange passing between them in a matter of seconds. Kallie’sability stirred within her. The command hung on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t get a chance to release it.
"Silence, Kalisandre."
Her mouth snapped shut.
"Disappointing," Domitius said, shaking his head. Kallie could almost feel his sigh brush her cheek. He shrugged. "Then again, you’ve always been a disappointment."
He turned his attention to Graeson. "But with you, there is so much more potential, isn’t there? A half-god, I’ve been told. And according to your mother, one that hasn’t touched half of his power."
Kallie’s gaze shot to Lysanthia, who stood beside Graeson. But Kallie couldn’t make out the expression on the seer’s face. Had they been wrong this entire time? Had Lysanthia betrayed them? Was this all some ploy?
"Tell me," Domitius asked, as the two guards unsheathed their swords, "is a god still a god if he bends the knee to a mortal king?"
Graeson’s gaze flicked to Kallie briefly before returning to the king. Vitriol and hate spilled from every bone and muscle in his body. "I will never bow down to you."
