The Devils Bargain

Chapter 40

ᴋᴇɪᴀʟ ᴘᴏᴠ

It's been four days, and Felix had just started to heal his missing flesh and had yet to wake up.

After I knew Felix would be fine from the healers in the room, I calmed down but that was short-lived as when I left the room for a split second to catch my breath, I was reminded just why he was in that bed.

I might blame myself for this happening, but this never would have happened if I hadn't just sent her away.

I should've done something about Zeri a long time ago.

I spared her life all those years ago when I first found out what she was, but most of all, what she had done, and if not for me, she would've been another head on the gate of these walls, along with the others who murdered and broke the law.

This whole time I had been lenient with her being in this place, because Gregor, my most trusted friend, and commander was 'blessed' with the unfortunate pairing of being her mate.

I should've killed her long ago, or better, made it so she was never born.

*****

Ignoring Gregor's pleas and begging while he bowed before me, I stared at the thing behind him.

Silently standing there, with her head down, not a single scratch on her pale, thin small body, so innocent, beautiful yet so misunderstood by others, but I knew the truth.

I felt nothing looking at this thing, this unnatural curse of a creature, that dared not look me in the eye.

"Lift your head and look at me." I commanded, glaring down at the girl, who flinched and shook as I spoke.

"You're alive from the promise I made to our departed mother, but don't think for a second that I won't make it so you wish you were dead." I said slowly, as she slowly raised her head.

Emotionless, lifeless, but most of all, her eyes held no accountability for her actions.

Just like that time.

I kick Gregor's hand from my legs, and growl at him to get away from me and to stand up, and as I keep my eyes on Zeri, Gregor stands up on his feet and goes to her side, looking the opposite as his so-called 'mate'.

"How long have you been stalking him?" I asked her, as her eyes twitched, yet she still kept her stoic expression.

"From the looks of how much you've achieved since knowing him, I'd say since day one." I looked at her, and then Gregor.

"Isn't that right, friend?"

Gregor's face twisted in regret, and his whole body shook as he stood next to Zeri.

"Keial, I-"

"That's King, to you, you are no longer employed here, nor do you have the right to address me, from lying to me about her whereabouts." I snapped out loudly, glaring at Gregor.

"This whole situation could've been avoided, if you simply did your fucking job!"

Gregor did not say another word, as he simply lowered his defeated head, and as I looked at both of them, I strongly pushed down the urge to simply have them hanged for what they had done.

I did not expect any of this to happen, and if Gregor had simply kept her under lock and key as I first suggested, my mate wouldn't have been led into the forest by a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"I... will go willingly, I will not fight you brother."

I snapped my eyes to Zeri and felt disgusted as her eyes met mine, no longer staring back at me emotionless, but with tears in her eyes.

Brother?

Did she just call me brother?

How amusing, now I'm truly entertained.

I saw red, and as I took a step forward, my body moved on its own as my hand tightly gripped her neck and lifted her off the ground.

"How dare you call me that? After all, I've done to keep you alive, you insolent mongrel, I have half a mind to rip you limb from limb for what you've done."

"K-Keial!" Gregor reaches for my arm as Zeri's face starts to go red, as she struggles against my grip.

With a single motion, I got hold of Gregor's hand and used force to squeeze his arm until I heard it crack, and a blaring snarl along with a whimper filled the room.

"Shut your fucking mouth." I look down at him, as he cradles his now broken and twisted arm.

Pathetic... to be wasting my time here, when I should be next to my mate, I should've ended this a long time ago, the moment this thing murdered the queen, my mot-

"Keial, release her." Arlen finally speaks from the corner seat from which he sat quietly.

"Or do you wish to kill our little monster?" He said jokingly, with a chuckle.

I snarled at him and then stared at Zeri's face, her small hands clawing desperately at my arm as her face turned blue, and her eyes turned white, and it wasn't until she stopped clawing at me did I release my hold from around her neck.

Her lifeless body dropped to the floor, as a loud gasp for breath released from her shaking body, curled up on the floor beneath me, as Gregor rushed to her side.

"Do we all agree with her punishment then, or is there more to say on the matter?" Arlen sighs, as I snap my eyes to his and glare at him.

"She's your problem now, as she should've been long ago." I walked over to the desk for what I needed and then grabbed my pen.

"We had agreed that she'd be kept here, hidden." Arlen came to stand next to me, with his own pen in his hand.

"Do not blame me for failure on your end." He sighs, before signing his name onto the binding contract I had made up.

"If it wasn't for your goddess playing a trick on your silly commander over there, we could've dealt with our parent's little beast and be done with this silliness."

"Do not speak of her like she does not have feelings!" Gregor roared, as I looked over the contract one last time.

"She is your sister, and while she lives with what she is every day, she has never once said a bad word about any of you, yet you treat her like some-"

"Some... what?" I interrupted, looking at Zeri as she cried silently on the floor, her hands covering her eyes as she still lay curled into a ball.

"She is neither wolf nor elf, you'd do well to remember just what she is, and how convincing she can be to play the victim." I told him, as he flinched, his jaw clenched hard.

"She killed the Queen, despite my frail, kind, and gentle mother, she still looked past her abnormality, even now she refuses to admit what she has done, you know best that all attempts to make her remember what she had done are fruitless."

Gregor's eyes sunk as he knew what I was talking about, yet so desperately tried to hide from me.

"You took her there countless times, without telling me, after I had warned you to stay away from that place... you disregarded your duty."

"You both belong together." I felt nothing as I looked at both of them, staring up at me with the same look in their eyes.

"B-Brot-ther..." Zeri's broken voice croaked, as her frail hand reached out to me.

"I-I'm... s-sorry."

"You've been a disappointment since the day you were born." I said to her, no longer holding myself back for the sake of her feelings.

"You are nothing to me, and never will be, you will always be unwanted here."

My words sink into her as her face drops, her eyes slowly filling with tears as she breaks down in front of me, her whimpering like music to my ears, whilst ignoring a voice in my head.

The room fell silent until I heard the door being opened, and then a voice I never thought I'd hear again, spoke out as I turned around to see who dared enter the room.

"Please... Stop this."

Felix.