The Blood of Darkness

Chapter 36

The Prince

"How would you like me to carve you up tonight, Torturer?"

The Dark King's words send terror ricocheting through me. I want to scream and cry and beg him to stop, but I don't, instead squeezing my eyes shut as a thin, sharp knife scrapes down my shoulder, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

Just a little longer. A minute maybe. Just a minute of enduring. That's all.

Then another minute. And another. And another after that.

The Dark King digs the tip of his dagger into the flesh right below my shoulder, and I grit my teeth as blood spills down my arm. As he begins to twist the blade, a little deeper with each rotation.

I can't stop the sob that rips from my throat. Is any of it even real? Is Val even alive?

She is, I tell myself. She is. I just have to endure a little longer. If I give up now, I'll never see her again.

My mind begins to spin, dizzy with pain, and I find myself thinking about what Kye Merran told me, only a few hours ago. We get what we deserve. Icylus showed me something then, a scene so terrifying that I refuse to even think about it. There's only one thing I know for sure, based off of everything I've dreamt and been shown these past few weeks. Val can't come to Nieves. Because if she does, the horrors that I've seen will happen.

"You were raised to be a warrior," the Dark King says coolly. "A king. And this is what has become of you?" He grabs my chin, forcing me to meet his cruel, dark gaze. Glints of silver glimmer in his eyes, and he slowly smiles. "Even Valerie held out better than this."

He twists the knife again, slicing through muscle. Screams ring in my ears, and it takes me a second to realize that they're my own. Oh, gods. I can't take this.

The Dark King just chuckles."Once I have Valerie back in my hands, I wonder what I could do to her in front of you. I'd love to hear both of you screaming at the same time."

"She will never be back in your bloodstained hands," I seethe, anger flaring inside me along with the pain.

Horrific images flash before my eyes. Screaming, so much screaming. My entire body trembling with rage and betrayal. White hair, matted with blood. "Don't touch her!" Cruel laughter, more screams. Finally, silence, then an equally worse sight, terrifying words whispered in my ear. Blood sliding through my fingers, a flash of pink. Then the screams start again.

I'm screaming too, as the Dark King's dagger hits bone. Pain is all I know, all I feel. I'm drowning in the depths of agony, and my resolve begins to ebb away, like the waves in an ocean, So I let myself sink. Deeper, deeper, deeper, until I feel nothing at all.

~

Sixteen-year-old Val stands beside me on the steep cliff, marveling at the ocean, which she is seeing for the first time. Her white hair blows in the algid breeze, and we both shiver despite the furs we wear. This far north, the cold is deadly. We should head back to the port village soon, or else we won't make it back to the city before nightfall. I can only imagine how worried my parents, Zeke, and Coryza would be. Still, I don't move, shifting my gaze to the sea as well.

It is a mighty, silver-blue tempest, laced with ebbing ivory-frosted waves, each promoting a false end. The waters blend seamlessly to a horizon stitched of the same sterling shade. In its desolation, there is no rescue. In the vast expanse, eternity begins and ends.

Pain. So much—

Val turns to look at me, smiling broadly. Her blue eye is nearly the same shade of the sea. "This was an amazing birthday present, Vance. We should travel here every winter. Next time with Zeke and Coryza too."