Page 131 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
The man yelped as Myra slid between his legs and sliced an ankle with her blade. Laurince had always said that her speed was her greatest asset.
In her periphery, she spotted Laurince swinging his sword. Armen quickly avoided his attack, spinning around and knocking Laurince’s sword from his hand. The weapon slid across the floor, stopping a few feet from Myra.
On her hands and knees, Myra scurried forward, reaching for the sword. But when it was only inches away, the ground moved. Pain spiked in her ankle as the guard grabbed and yanked her back. Her shirt rode up, and her skin burned as the guard dragged her across the carpet. Sweat coated her palms, and she tightened her grip on the hilt of her blade, determined not to drop it. She kicked out frantically, not caring what she hit as long as she hit something. Then she heard a loudoof, and her foot crashed to the floor.
Myra scrambled, rolling over and pushing herself up to her feet. She sprinted, raising her weapon. But as she made to strike the guard, she stumbled, her right foot sliding on the slick floor.
The man grabbed her arm and twisted her around. Her jaw slammed against the wall, and she yelped. The man smashed her wrist against the wall, and the dagger clattered to the ground.
Grunts and clangs of metal sounded behind her, but every sound was drowned out as the guard twisted her hands behind her back. Her shoulders made a popping noise. A bright white pain sliced through her arm, and she screamed.
She kicked and thrashed. She did whatever she could to escape the man’s grasp. But the man was stronger than she was, more skilled. Tears slipped from her eyes as he grabbed her hands in one of his and yanked her back toward him. His scruff scratched the side of his cheek.
"Oh, am I going to have fun with you," he snarled.
She squirmed against him, but it didn’t stop him from skating his hand up her neck. His fingers wrapped around her throat. He squeezed, cutting off her airway.
Someone shouted behind her. Laurince maybe. She couldn’t tell. Her ears were ringing; her vision was blurring.
"Silly bitch. You thought you could beat me? You are powerless," the man hissed, and spit splashed onto her cheeks.
But Myra wasn’t powerless. She didn’t have to suffer and take the pain that was handed to her.
When she reached for her power, it sprang to greet her. Snatching the man’s emotions, she tugged and poured everything she had into them. Anything and everything to get him to release her.
In an instant, Myra fell to her knees, gasping for air.
Through blurry vision, she spotted another set of knees hitting the ground a few feet away from her. A shriek ripped from her throat as Laurince fell forward and his head smacked against the ground. She cried out and scrambled to reach him just as Rian’s limp body was thrown down beside him.
Sobs overtook her, and Myra struggled to breathe and regain control of her muscles. She grappled for her power, but it was sluggish. She was nearly drained after using it in the village.
She reached for Laurince, and a sharp heel slammed down onto her hand, nearly piercing it. Before Myra could look up to see who stood above her, a familiar voice sounded from the entrance.
"I must say, that wasn’t very fun to watch. The Venerable King and his captain defeated in less than a matter of minutes. Despicable, really," Sebastian scoffed, and his voice caused a spout of nausea to rise in Myra’s throat. "You did well, though, my love."
The heel lifted from Myra’s hand, and her fingers screamed in agony. Myra looked up to find Ferencia sneering down at her.
"You bitch," Laurince spat, his voice heavy and eyes half closed.
Armen slapped him across the face, and Myra winced. Laurince spat blood onto the rose-colored rug, and it dribbled down his chin.
"That was imported!" Ferencia whined, stomping her foot.
"I’ve always"—Laurince spat again—"hated that rug." Blood stained his teeth. The scar he had earned from Mynhos had reopened, and blood dripped from it.
"Gag him already, will you?" Sebastian demanded.
With a slight roll of his eyes, Armen tied a gag around Laurince’s mouth, earning a bite or two from the captain when he got sloppy. Armen clocked Laurince in the back of the head, and the captain went limp. Myra screamed.
"Knock her out, too," Sebastian ordered with a dismissive flick.
"No!" Myra shouted, tears blurring her vision. Her panic and fear flooded her system so violently that she couldn’t reach a single ounce of her power.
A guard tugged her up, and Myra screamed as loud as she could through the sobs that tore her throat. She heard the gust of wind as the guard reared his hand back. Right before he struck, Myra saw Sebastian’s silhouette crouch beside Rian and yank his head up.
"You should have stayed away, brother. Maybe then you would have survived. But you never could let me have anything, could you?" He dropped Rian’s head, letting his forehead smack against the floorboards. "Take them away. We’ll deal with them later."
Then it all went dark.
