The Blood King's Love

Sixteen

My blood is boiling. 

"Did you know these were here?" I glare at Theo. 

"Shh!" He whispers. "Y-yes, I knew there was wanted posters around, but I didn't think it was a big deal. I wasn't even sure it was you, it doesn't even look like you."

That last part is partially true; all my features are a bit exaggerated in the artist's rendition. But no one else in Valon looks remotely like this. Making a connection between me and this photo would be like picking out an orange from a bunch of apples. So I don't buy it. 

My voice is cold when I speak. "Are you trying to get me captured, Theo?"

His eyes widen, and he looks genuinely hurt. "No! Of course not. You're the one who convinced me to bring you out here, you gave me your plan for a disguise and everything. I thought it would be okay. I took your word for it."

"My face with the words 'Dead or Alive' is literally plastered around town and you couldn't think to tell me about it!? I probably would've reconsidered you know!"

"What were you expecting!?" He shoots back. "Didn't you say you were a fugitive or something? Of course there's going to be people looking for you and spreading the word about you!" He's getting defensive, and the frustration seeps through his face. "And-and like...you don't make any sense! What were you planning to do anyway??? Just stay in the tree house forever!?"

The boy is right. I should've seen this coming. Actually, I think somewhere in my subconscious I knew that I had no idea what my next step should be. It used to be all I thought about, but I couldn't find the answer. I thought of suicide, a lot. I thought of moving out of Valon, to another town like Eseq, but that would be so hard to pull off, so I put the thought aside. When Theo gave me the tree house I decided to ignore and put everything aside, at least until I was healed. I tried to get comfortable and treat the boy like a friend. I tried to distract myself from everything. I boxed myself out of reality. 

But seeing this wanted poster was a slap in the face. Everything immediately felt more real. I am the Blood King's prisoner, I escaped from his cage. The Blood King, who was rumored to torture hostages just for fun. Who tortured me just for fun. A man who was said to take the blood of his victims and keep them for himself, as a prize. A man who had no remorse as he reopened my wound and dragged me on the floor while I was weak and helpless in prison. 

I read the poster over and over again. His Majesty the King offers the highest reward. 

Before I know it I've fallen to my knees, and I start to shake. I've curled up into a little ball, rocking back and forth. Theo tries to get me to stand. "Lady get up!! Lady!!" He's whispering in a panic, trying to be discreet. "We're going to catch attention. We need to leave before anyone sees us." 

But I can't bring myself to stand. All I can think about is, He's going to catch me. He's going to hurt me again. He might kill me. What do I do? What should I do? He's going to kill me. 

I kind of want him to kill me. 

An anxious Theo tries to hoist me up, but I swat him away. "Go!" I shout through tears. I didn't even notice I was crying. "Just go. Just let me die here. Let me die!" Let the inevitable happen. 

Alarmed, he tries to calm me down. "Don't...just don't do this now, okay? You're the adult here, aren't you? R-right? You need to, um....be strong and all that. People are going to notice you. I don't want you to die. I really...I care about you, okay? P-please."

At his last sentence I look up. The boy's eyes are pleading, he looks scared out of his mind. I'm probably putting him in danger too. He's absolutely right. But at the same time, a part of me doesn't care. He doesn't know what I've done and what I've been through. I'm willing to bet he's never seen the Blood King in person. He's never faced terror like this before. He doesn't know--