Page 110 of Emperor of Corruption
He falls to the ground with a pathetic cry of pain. I kick him in the abdomen with enough force to rupture a kidney; he retches, and blood spills from his lips.
“King,” he gasps.
“Shut. The.Fuck. Up.” I kick him again, forcing him to roll to his back, and press my shoe to his neck.
“You have one chance to avoid death this verysecond, and that is confession. I will ask questions. If you lie, I’ll cut off a piece of you. If you tell the truth, I willstillhurt you, but in a way doctors might be able to stitch up.” I’m going to the most Senior members of The Eyestomorrow, where I will claim Lyra as my woman and future wife, point to Silas as someone who tried to harm and kill her, and ask permission to kill him. Family members of The Eyes are strictly off-limits and considered as protected as members themselves.
Tonight, however, I want to watch Silas writhe in agony before going home to my future wife and consoling her.
“Killian—”
I press down on his neck, cutting off whatever bullshit was about to spew from his lips. “Did you leak the tape I sent you in confidence?” I ease the pressure enough to let him answer.
“I—”
I kick him in the mouth. A tooth flies out and lands on the floor with an unappetizing splat. Silas retches again and nearly chokes on his own vomit.
“Yes or no unless I specify, motherfucker,” I seethe. “You seem to have fallen for the persona I present to the world; the established billionaire gentleman. Have you forgotten that I grew up on the wrongside of the tracks, Cornell? I can skin you alive without breaking a sweat, and I amso fucking temptedto do so.”
“Yes!” he cries.
My foot returns to his neck. I want to crush his windpipe. Red creeps over the edges of my vision, but I manage to contain myself…for now.
“Why,” I hiss.
“You’re obsessed. She’s dangerous—”
I kick him again, and three more teeth fly out. Silas wisely shuts the fuck up.
“Were you the one who sent the men after her to mug and rape her?” I demand.
“Yes,” Silas wheezes, struggling to breathe.
“Why?”
“Same answer.”
So I give him yet another kick—this time to his side. I’ve probably ruptured an internal organ at this point, but I don’t care about the consequences. I want Silasdead. He’s been a nuisance since I overtook him in money and power, but now, he’s a dangerous nuisance who came after the woman I love.
Yes,love.There’s no other word to explain my burning drive to avenge her and to give her the world. There’s nothing else in the English language that sums up my feelings for the Little Bird who’s managed to conquer every piece of me.
“I’m going to give you a temporary favor,” I hiss. “Your life. If you value it, you will do your very best to clean up the mess you made. You will dedicate yourself to making reparations tomy fiancée.”
Silas’s eyes bulge at the wordfiancée. He almost looks more pained now than he did as I was hitting him, whichpisses me off,so I decide to show him whattruepain is.
This time, I dig the toe of my shoe into his eye. With enough pressure, I’ll almost certainly blind him for life.
“Please,” he cries. “Please—”
“Shut the fuck up,” I growl. “Pleading will get you nowhere. You should’ve considered the consequences to your actions, Silas. You have nowofficiallymade an enemy out of me… and you know the lifespan of my enemies are decidedly short.”
I pull a carving knife out of my pocket and throw it at him. It lands on the ground beside him with a loud clatter, jarring him.
“I require a price from you if you want to leave this room alive,” I say, running my hands over my suit to smooth out wrinkles. “You hurt what’s precious to me, so now you will lose something precious to you.” I kick the knife closer. Silaswhimpers. “You are going to cut a pound of flesh from your body,” I say. “I don’t give a shit where it comes from—your stomach, your thigh, your foot, yourcock. But you will cut off a pound of fleshright. Now.You have twenty minutes to do so. Before you leave this room, you will present the flesh to the men I have waiting outside, and they will weigh it. If you’re anounceshort, they’ll put you in a cell with no sunlight, food, or water, to slowly die from your injuries.”
My handsitchto bury the knife in Silas’s thorax. Instead of indulging myself, I spin around and walk away. I nod at the two guards I have stationed outside the door. They have their orders—one of them is holding a weighing scale—and I know they’ll carry out my commands down to the letter.
When I get back in my car, pissed and covered in splatters of blood, my driver says faintly, “You need to check the news.”
