Page 43 of A Broken Promise (the Freckled Fate #1)

43

H e swayed and I wrapped his arm around my shoulder, using myself as a crutch.

“Thank you,” he said as he heavily blinked, but continued on walking, without letting go of my shoulder.

“Where are we going?” I whispered as we made our way further into the castle, all of it so poorly lit I could barely make it past the large tapestry and wood carved walls.

“Once we get to the stairs, there is a secret passage under the stairwell behind the sunflower painting. It will lead through the sewers and then there will be a boat waiting for me.”

“Okay,” I said as he slowed down even more, each step harder than the last.

Stairs, sunflower painting, sewers and a boat. I repeated the directions in my head as if a key to a password.

The man wavered again, almost blacking out.

“Hey.” I tugged on his jacket, pulling him back. He shivered but straightened up. He was getting colder by the second.

We had to hurry now.

We had crossed yet another large hall, leaving behind the only lit up space we had. Though completely swallowed by the darkness now, the rebel led us through as if he knew every step like the back of his hand.

He stopped to take a heavy breath.

I stayed quiet, unsure of what to say. He was a stranger and I had saved his life from the Kahor, only for Death to demand it back.

“Almost there,” he whispered; more for himself than me.

The loud canine barking sliced my ears. My heart panicked as I quickly drew a dagger, anticipating the inevitable attack.

A second later, a large fluffy animal crashed into us. Yet instead of devouring us, the dog was crying and licking and whacking us with its long tail, unable to stay still.

“Hey Gera. Hey, hey, hey girl.” The rebel dropped to his knees, letting go of my arm as he hugged the dog and petted her without a stop. The dog barked again and again as if she was talking to him, complaining, yet her body was unable to stay still, overtaken with excitement and pure joy. He, as if understanding, talked with her.

“Hey, I missed you too, I missed you so much, baby girl. I know. I know.”

As if by command, the hall lit up all at once, blinding me wholly. By reflex my eyes closed shut, adjusting.

It cost me a blink, as I opened my eyes and faced two groups of fully armed Royal guards approaching us with their weapons out, surrounding us.

The rebel paused, even as the large dark dog whimpered around him still. He didn’t move his hand away from her but made an attempt to stand up.

Tried and failed.

My mind was no longer panicking. No, panic was long gone, replaced by calculating instinct to survive.

The approaching guards circled us.

One man behind us laughed cruelly. His laugh was psychotic, unhinged.

I sharply turned to see him. The rebel next to me didn’t.

“Long time no see, Kaius.” The head of the guard addressed the rebel, taking a few steps closer to us but still a spear length away. Kaius, as if completely unaware of the guards or the man behind him continued to pet his dog with whatever strength he had left.

I glanced over to him, trying to understand, trying to plan.

But I saw it then. Gut wrenching defeat. Almost invisible, but a trace of loss on his face.

Utter defeat, as he stayed kneeling down, letting the dog lick his face, his bloodied-up hands.

“You know at first, I was going to murder her. Torture, then skin her alive and use her fur as a rug in the barracks. But then...” the man paused. “Then, I realized that you would come back for her. You never loved anything more than that stupid dog.” The head of the guard strode casually around us until he faced us. “Did you know you can retrain any dog, even the most loyal and stubborn to obey every command of yours if you torture them long enough?” He leered.

My eyes went back and forth. Between the lined-up guards, between the so painfully weak and weary Kaius and the happy dog, the head of the guard, his malicious eyes. I watched his face fill with disgust as he looked at the dog.

“Yet even after a couple of years you make a step within these walls and she feels your presence here, as if you never left. Runs for you as if you never abandoned her.” Kaius winced at those words, and the head of the guard sneered in amusement from that. “You know, I wouldn’t even know you were here if it wasn’t for her going completely insane. So, I guess she served her purpose after all. Come Gera.” He raised his voice at the unaware dog. She hesitated for a minute, looking straight at Kaius’s face, her happy tongue hanging out, the wagging tail pausing in the air, as if asking for permission, waiting for Kaius to give the command. “Come, you stupid dog,” Head of the guard shouted again. She paused; her ears slumped down, but she obediently came to her new master.

I watched as he pulled his sword out and with one swift move, he stabbed her deeply in her chest. Kaius flinched so hard, as if a part of him got pierced too.

Gera only had a chance to whimper once. As if her last chance to say goodbye, not to us but to Kaius. As if to tell him that last time, that she was so happy he came back. Her body went limp a second later, her fluffy tail just laying flat, unable to ever wag in excitement again.

The guard pulled his sword out of her lifeless body, letting the dark blood pool around her.

“Now that, that is out of the way. Let’s find out who you are?” He looked at me with his bloodlust eyes.

I didn’t answer. My eyes still pinned on the motionless body of Gera, rage building up, bubbling so close to the surface as if a magma ready to burst out of a slumbering volcano.

“Is this your new slut?” he asked, taking a step closer to me. I turned my eyes to him, but his were on Kaius. “How does your whore of a wife feel about it?” He laughed again. A few guards chuckled. A few stayed still as if also shocked by the violent death still lingering in the air.

Kaius's eyes narrowed.

“Leave my wife out of this.” He left it at that, unable, unwilling, to say a word more.

A truth or a lie. The only weapons I could wield right now.

I took a calming breath and confidently said.

“I am just a lost guest. I’ve never met this man before. There was an explosion and I got disoriented and clearly lost. When I came to my senses, I saw him in the hall hurt so we’ve been trying to make our way back, but I think we got even more lost since there was no light. We were looking for help since he is clearly hurt. And now I am not just lost but completely baffled and puzzled.”

A sliver of hope glittered in me as I saw that pause. His face changed only for a second, as if believing... no, considering my story.

It was a lie, but like any good lies it was mixed with truth.

“A lost guest, you say?” He took another step, taking a hard look at me from head to toe.

“Yes, sir,” I said, now nodding my head just a tiny bit, a survivor's costume I was so comfortable wearing. “I don’t know this man, and I don’t know the reason for this ambush, but I demand to be treated with respect as I am a Royal guest.”

He paused, as if surprised at my sudden found voice .

“A Royal guest, huh?” He narrowed his eyes. I swallowed hard as I watched him lower his eyes from the dagger in my hand down to my exposed thighs. Precisely on my visibly secured daggers, just within a reach of my fingertips.

A quick draw and I had a chance of killing him, yet against the twenty soldiers, I was powerless.

“A lady of nobility and yet carrying enough ammunition for an army…” His eyes met with mine. I glared back, unyielding. “One would say this is,” he motioned with his hand to my daggers. “More fitting for an assassin… or a Rebel .”

My heart sank. But I wouldn’t fold, not now. Not until the end.

Though I could see my lie crumbling slowly.

“I am deeply offended by what you are insinuating, sir. But given the circumstances of this terrible night I shall be graceful and forgive you for it, and I shall also provide you with the proof. Ask the crowned Lady Anastacia and she will vouch for me.”

His face changed slightly at the mention of Lady Anastacia, yet even that was not convincing enough as he barked at his guards.

“Take them both.” He pointed at Kaius. “I will question him and her…” I paused, waiting for my own judgment. “Keep her until I figure out what and who she is.”