Page 143 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
"If you still do not believe us, we have brought you further proof," Sebastian said. "I must warn you, though, what you are about to see is not for the faint of heart. "
A feral scream cascaded down the aisle, and Myra finally turned.
People closest to the aisle nearly fell on top of their neighbors as they tried to back away from the edge.
Myra’s knees wobbled, verging on collapse. She was seeing things. She had to be. This wasn’t their reality.
But as the guards wheeled the cart over and the man on top of it came into view, there was no mistaking the truth.
Laurince was strapped to the cart, the traces of the serum running through his veins and agony rippling through him.
Chapter 56
MYRA
Myra screamed.She raged. She tossed and kicked at the guards as they grabbed her.
She was wrong.
Wrong.
Wrong.
Wrong.
A web of blue veins ran across Laurince’s arms and neck as he bellowed.
Agony flooded her senses and forced her to her knees. Myra dug her nails into a guard’s limb, and the man hissed, snatching his arm away from her. Another immediately replaced him. There were too many, and she couldn’t fight them off. She had no weapon, and her power was beyond her reach as she spiraled.
This wasn’t happening.
Thiscouldn’tbe happening.
Myra couldn’t breathe. Her lungs felt like they had collapsed. The air felt too thick. She was hyperventilating.
Laurince fought against the restraints, his muscles straining against them. One strap ripped free. His arm swung out andstruck the nearest guard in the jaw as the man tried to hold Laurince down.
People in the audience shrieked in terror. Sebastian spoke, but Myra didn’t hear him.
It was the first time Myra had seen the serum in action. Whenever Dr. Thorne had given his victims the shot, Myra hadn’t stayed around for it to sink in, for the throbbing veins to turn blue, for the whites of their eyes to turn red.
Through her panic and sobs, she tried to aid him, but Laurince’s fury was unquenchable. It lashed out violently and with a ferocity she had only come across once. But this was entirely different from Graeson, though. Laurince’s emotions were wild, feral, and lethal.
Guards came forward, and Laurince fought them off as he freed his other arm. With a primal roar, Laurince broke free from his bindings. He snatched the leather strap holding his legs down and snapped it in half. In seconds, Laurince was on his feet, chest heaving and sweat dripping from his forehead.
The guards hesitated, fear freezing them in place.
"Chain him!" Sebastian ordered.
The men snapped into action.
Myra shouted a warning through the gag, but it was too late. A guard kicked Laurince from behind, and Laurince’s knees buckled. The guards pounced, forcing him to the ground. One guard grabbed Laurince’s right arm while another grabbed his left. Together, they forced his hands behind his back.
"This is the work of your king! This is what he’s been hiding from you!" Sebastian shouted.
Laurince bellowed. His back arched, and his arms sprang free from the guards’ grasps. He convulsed, and his palms hit the floor with a thunderous crack as another violent scream poured from his mouth. As his skin took on a green hue, the veins became more prominent.
Sebastian shouted more commands at the guards, and a few approached Laurince with frightened steps.
