Page 38 of The Lies of Lena (The Otacian Chronicles #1)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

I was led into a room, rather large in size. The walls were stone, just like the rest of the fortress. Silas had his back to the door and was shuffling some documents on the large wooden table before him.

Roland closed the door behind me, leaving just me and Silas in the room. I was left with my bound wrists, staring at the back of my once lover. He also had clearly showered, as his black hair was styled neatly, and he was wearing new clothes; a short-sleeved black tunic with white edges, a belt around his waist, and trousers and boots. His golden forearms were visible, and just like his neck, they were heavily inked. The moments passed like years, and I wondered when he would turn to face me.

When he finally did, his eyes couldn’t hide his emotions: confusion, hurt, disbelief, anger …so much anger.

His golden gaze burned into mine. “I…I don’t understand,” he breathed. “How are you alive? ”

I was silent.

How do I even respond?

“I saw your cottage after it was burned down. Your burnt corpse. How…how are you alive?!”

I flinched at his raised voice. How could I explain it to him? No words would suffice. I betrayed him. I knew how badly it would hurt him, not only my leaving but having him believe I was dead.

“We—” I took a shaky breath. “We had to leave. I…I didn’t want to.” I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. “King Ulric put a kill order on us. We couldn’t risk staying there any longer.”

I was too fearful to bring up Torrin. I had heard that the people of Otacia believed Torrin Brighthell to be an assassin, believed he played a part in the Queen's death, as he fled the night I “died”. That it was all connected. If I told him, he may believe me to be part of it, too. Even though neither Torrin nor I had anything to do with it.

“So your solution was to make me believe you were dead?” he sneered, his rising temper reflective in his honey eyes. “Do you have any idea what that has put me through all these years? To lose you right after I had lost my mother…” His face shifted from rage into disgust. “And you’re a witch . I cannot believe you lied to me all that time. I cannot believe I was close to you.”

My heart shattered, but immediately, the pain turned to fury. “You aren’t the only one who was lied to, Silas. I did what I had to in order to stay alive.”

“Typical, selfish witch,” he said, his voice grim.

While his appearance was familiar, I was looking into the eyes of a stranger. There was no holding back anymore .

“Silas, the Slayer of Witches, that’s what they call you now? I am so thankful I never told you about what I am. Your love was conditional, just as I feared it was. You were raised to hate me—you could never possibly understand.” Tension coiled within my knuckles. I wished I could break loose from my restraints. “You are committing genocide for the actions of one,” I scoffed. “As if no human has ever committed murder.”

Silas studied me, his expression remaining. “Your mother wasn’t like that,” I continued. “She would be horrified to see you like this.”

Something flickered in his eyes, and he lunged toward me and seized my throat, squeezing hard. I gasped for air.

“Don’t you fucking dare speak of her!” he yelled, his pupils blown wide with rage.

I tried to claw his hand off me, but I wasn’t strong enough. Tears poured out of my eyes as I struggled to breathe.

“P-please…s-stop!” I choked.

His entire hand was wrapped around my neck as he squeezed harder, and then our gaze stuck.

I only had enough air to get out one word.

“Quill,” I cried.

His eyes widened—humanity flickering back into his stare. He released my throat and quickly pulled back. I hunched over, gasping for air.

When I looked up, he was staring at me with widened eyes, frozen. I was still catching my breath when he swallowed and brushed himself off.

“The past doesn’t matter,” he said blandly, his eyes narrowing. “Why are you their new leader? ”

I trembled, now repulsed as I looked at him. “I don’t know,” I panted.

“Where is he hiding the Weapon?”

“I don’t know what you speak of.”

“Where are the rest of the Mages?”

I frowned. “What?”

“My intel says Igon knew of a place that kept thousands of your kind. Where?” he pressed.

“Don’t you think if he knew something like that, we all would have lived there, too?”

His jaw clicked. “You withholding information will not do you any favors, Lena.”

I studied his face. His stubble had been trimmed, and the scar trailing from his cheekbone to the corner of his lip cut into what little facial hair remained.

“Even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you shit.” It took everything in me to say those words without my voice shaking.

He stepped forward, and my whole body tensed, my back now pressed against the door. “Whether you like it or not,” he said, his voice a deathly calm. “I will get that information out of you, one way or another. And next time,” he leaned close and whispered in my ear, “I won’t be as nice.”

He pulled back, and his cold eyes locked on mine. The sight sent chills down my spine. I never imagined a day he would frighten me.

He banged on the door, and Hendry emerged, no Roland this time. “Take her to her cell,” he ordered, and I tried my hardest to keep my emotions in as Hendry grabbed my arm.

“Your Highness,” Hendry said. “Lady Erabella wishes to see you. ”

Silas didn’t look at me. He just responded, “Very well. Thank you, Hendry.”

Silas left the room first, and Hendry tugged me along with him. Just ahead, a woman with blonde hair falling just past her chin walked forward, wearing a gorgeous blue gown, the shade beautiful against her tanned skin.

Erabella.

I had heard the news that the Prince of Otacia had found himself a wife a year ago. I remember it was Viola who told Torrin, Merrick, El, and me the news. I remember casually excusing myself, heading up to the lake just outside Ames, and falling to my knees, sobbing as my fire consumed me. I had already unlocked its power years prior, but at that moment, it was uncontrollable.

The same night Torrin…

I couldn’t think of that.

“Keep the prisoner away from her,” Silas commanded, as if I were some feral dog.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

She grimaced, her brown eyes looking down at me. She gazed back at Silas, her eyes lighting up as she took him in. “Hi, my love.”

He pulled her into an embrace, and they kissed.

Funny, out of all the painful events leading up to this, somehow, this hurt the worst. And in that moment, I realized he was the one that died that day in the village.

He’s gone. He’s really fucking gone.

I felt the tears coming, but my anger kept them in.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered. Silas glanced at Hendry, not making eye contact with me.“Take her away. Now. ”

Hendry pulled me, but I offered no resistance. I wanted away from this nightmare.

He merely shoved me back into my cell. The door slammed, and in those brief moments of silence, I was finally able to break down.

I didn’t know how long I lay on that stone bed, but I felt like my body was full of lead. There was absolutely no desire to move.

I was a fool for letting any part of me believe the Silas I knew was still here. Too much had changed. I needed to get my shit together. I needed to figure out how to get my people out of here.

Just as I sat up, wiping my eyes, my cell door opening caused me to jump. In walked in Rurik, and three other men—soldiers—I didn’t recognize.

“What’s going on?” I asked, and dread overcame me at the sight of Rurik’s sickening grin. He prowled forward, the other men having an equal hunger in their gaze, and I shuddered before pushing myself to my feet and backing away.

Rurik clicked his tongue. “You seemed so…fearless when we were marching,” he commented, stepping even closer. His silver hair lay long and disheveled, his mustache curling upwards with his lips. “But in here, you are completely helpless.”

In a blink, he gripped my neck and slammed my head against the stone wall. Stars clouded my vision, and I fell to the ground when he let me go. He bent down beside me, and his hot breath against my ear made me want to vomit. “I can’t wait to break you,” he whispered .

My head throbbed as he grabbed my feet, pulling me down against the concrete floor. I screamed, and to that, he punched me in the face. Hard. I heard a crunch, and the pain that shot through my body and the liquid that began pouring from my nostrils told me he had broken my nose.

“We’re going to rough you up a bit beforehand.”

“P-please, I don—” I began before a different man kicked me in the side so hard the wind was knocked out of me. The kicks kept coming, in my side, my face. Rurik grabbed me by the neck and slammed my head against the ground, the taste of blood following shortly after. With his other hand, he ripped my shirt open and cupped my bare breast.

“Stop!” I pleaded, blood spilling out of my mouth. I flailed my body as hard as I could to no avail, as he held me down and sucked on the skin of my neck. I sobbed as I thrashed.

Silas…he must have sent them…

“Pin her to the ground!” another yelled, and so he did.

I knew what was about to happen, but no matter how hard I struggled, no matter how much I begged, I couldn’t break their grip. I kept wailing, and Rurik put his hand over my mouth.

‘Shh, it will be much nicer if you don’t fight it.”

“Come on, it’s more exciting that way,” another voice chimed in. I was starting to lose consciousness, the pain from my injuries becoming unbearable. Rurik tugged my pants off and began to unhook his belt.

No, no, no !

I lashed out with all the energy I could muster, but two of the men grabbed my legs, spreading them to either side, and there was nothing I could do as Rurik leaned down and plunged himself inside of me.

I cried out, but he wouldn’t stop. Repeatedly, he forced himself inside me. Over and over.

For the first time in my life, I wanted to die. I sobbed as my body went limp, accepting that there was no way I could stop their assault on me.

But despite my wishes to be gone…to close my eyes and have all this pain erased, there was a sliver of me that wanted to survive. To overcome all this killing and hate. To save my people.

You will not break.

Those were the words I had told Silas before I left. The words I told myself countless times on my way to Ames when I was sick during travel.

What I told myself the day I got my fire.

“How does my cock feel, you witch slut?” Rurik grunted into my ear, his grip on my hip painful. “Your kind may be a mistake, a complete disgrace,” he huffed as he thrust into me harder, tears streaming down my face as I held his horrid gaze. “But your pussy feels amazing.”

I didn’t know how long I lay there, how long he whispered his filthy words into my ear, how long it was before the door flung open, and I looked to see Silas in the doorway, completely distraught.

“Get the fuck off her!” he bellowed as he raced towards us. “OFF! NOW!”

They quickly began to scramble off me, but that’s all I can remember before the world went black.