Page 162 of The Queen’s Shadow

“Fine,” I said, allowing my shadows to encompass the three of them. I looked at Conrad, letting the seriousness of the situation show through my expression. “If I can’t be stopped, get my dad to safety.” I ordered. Conrad nodded, and with that, I pulled us through space to the training ring, before diving head first down the trace to find Amon.

Amon

‘Alexa, Play Broken by The Devil Wears Prada.’

“The first victim might be familiar to some.” Trenton’s voice exploded through the echoing chamber, and I steeled myself for their grand reveal.

Two magick folk lead a daemon through the opening in the wall on the other end of the stadium. I could tell the daemon was female by her build, but they had tied a bag over her head, and she was dressed in rags.

One of the witches pulled the lever that brought the whipping posts out of the ground before me. I watched in silence as the magick folk then tied the daemon to one of the posts, indicating that this female had not been enslaved.

She was free, which meant they wanted her to struggle and to try to fight back. I ground my teeth together, as one of the witches approached me, holding a whip. She handed it to me, and I felt the slavery bond flare to life, forcing me to take it from her. I glanced at Ash Nevra, who was watching me with a look that was nearly sexual.

“Expose the traitor!” Trenton bellowed, and the magick folk tore the bag off the female’s head allowing her long dark hair to tumble around her shoulders. I walked around her, hoping to get a look at her face. If I was going to be whipping her to death, I wanted to know who it was I would be killing, so I could beg her soul for forgiveness when this was over.

As I moved, the magick folk stripped her of her tattered shirt, leaving her bare for the entire audience to see. I caught sight of the familiar, delicate tattoo on her arm and knew who she was before she raised her head out from where her face had nestled in her forearms.

Her blue eyes met mine and my ears roared as blood rushed from my head to my heart.

“I’m sorry, my Prince.” She whispered, tears running down her face. “I have failed you.”

I looked at Sabel, so stunned and angry that I needed to fight to maintain the calm numbness I had worked to achieve.

‘On the contrary Sabel.’ I whispered into her mind. ‘It is I, who has failed you.’ I let her see how sorry I was, that I had not been able to protect her from this fate.

“This daemon has conspired with the False Queen against the crown!” Trenton continued, and the crowd erupted into a series of ‘boos.’

“She has been working against us, to forge a mysterious new material called shadowstone into evil weapons designed to overthrow our one true Queen! We must learn where the False Queen is harvesting this material, so that we may learn how to use it against her!” Trenton declared and the crowd erupted into excited cheers at his words.

“How many lashings, should the Queen’s Shadow deliver to this traitor?” Trenton asked the audience.

“As many as it takes!” The crowd chanted, but I barely heard their response, as the roaring in my ears intensified. Sabel and I stared at each other, and she let me see that she understood that I would need to kill her. They could not learn where the shadowstone reserves were. If they did, all would be lost.

The longer she lived, the more opportunity they would have to torture her for information; the longer they would have to force me to torture her for that information. Even the strongest of daemons would crumble if subjected to enough abuse.

I had centuries of practice under my belt. With enough time, I would get the answer out of her, and I had a feeling, Ash Nevra would give me all the time I needed.

‘I will try to make it quick.’ I promised, and Sabel gave me a small, sad nod.

“Did you hear that, Shadow?” Now it was Ash Nevra’s voice that rolled through the stadium. I turned to look at her, my hand gripping the handle of the whip so hard my knuckles popped.

“However many it takes, until she talks.” She ordered, and I felt the slavery bond spark to life.

The magick folk stationed themselves on either side of Sabel, as I stalked back around her. Ash Nevra’s voice slithered through my mind, and it took everything in me not to outwardly snarl at her.

‘I know you, my Dark Prince. You want to kill her to keep your secrets safe.’ I didn’t bother responding. I took up my position behind Sabel, her slender back a smooth, unmarked canvas just waiting to be painted with blood. My stomach roiled with nausea at the thought of it.

‘I will allow you to try to kill her, but you may only use the whip. You are forbidden to use your magick or your hands.’ She sneered, before pulling back from my mind. I glanced back and forth between the magick folk who stood on either side of her, and I realized they would be trying to keep her alive, as much as I would be trying to kill her. There was almost no chance of me making this quick and painless, and that was by design.

The noise of the crowd grew as the slavery bond tightened around me, forcing my arm back. I wouldn’t be able to fight it much longer.

Sabel peeked over her shoulder at me, and I could see the acceptance in her eyes. She didn’t blame me for what I was about to do to her, and that was somehow worse. I deserved to be hated. Her forgiveness felt like a fucking sin.

Finally, caving to the relentless burn of the bond as it bit into my aura, I brought the whip down.

Her skin split easily, bearing the fruit of her flesh to the harsh light of the stadium. The crowd cheered so loudly I almost couldn’t hear her blood curdling scream. I had put as much force as I could manage into that one strike. If I was going to end this quickly, I would need to be brutal and ruthless.

My heart sank, however, as the magick folk began to cast healing magick onto her immediately. I watched the gash begin to stitch together before my very eyes. They were not going to give me the opportunity to bring her close to death before they began healing.