Queen's Obsession

Chapter 72

TW: Torture

*Seraphina's P.O.V*

It was a pity for most that I wasn't forgiving. Several things I could excuse, overlook so to speak. Trying to kill my children wasn't one. Theron had known when he married me that I had a vicious streak, one I had inherited from my mother.

Suzanna was in good hands. My mother was an expert at poisons. Using them, making them, surviving them. My father had always had a temper, one he let loose one night. It was the first and last time he had ever hit her, he had died suddenly the next day. People called it a heart attack, I knew it was poison. Mother had also survived a poisoning attempt or three, she knew how to care for Suzanna.

That meant I was free to oversee the punishment of the ones who had hurt Suzanna. Some called it punishment, some called it torture. It made no difference to me, they were opposite sides of the same coin.

Lawrence had been the first one to be dealt with. He didn't speak to me, his eyes just held hatred. I took delight in having him used as target practice. My men needed to learn how to shoot at a moving target and he had volunteered himself. He lived through the practice which surprised me, most men would have dropped after the first bullet hit them in the shoulder. He didn't.

I let Orion bandage him up. It was no fun if I just let him bleed out. He still bled out though, apparently a person could not survive with 25 bullet holes in them. Who knew?

Beth's torture was more precise, it felt more personal. She spoke venomous words and made empty threats but I suppose making her watch Lawrence die in front of her had proven to be a bit much. She was silent as I checked on his body, my head staining with his blood when I touched his shoulder.

"I've heard being poisoned is much worse than being shot," I said casually before I left the cell. I would leave her to stew in her imagination. Fear was apt to take hold of her mind and that would make her death all the sweeter.

Orion had waited outside the cells for me. He wasn't much for torturing people. He was my head guard so he didn't have to be. He simply had to make sure laws were followed and there wasn't a law on the Queen torturing people. There probably should be but most people didn't expect the Queen to torture people.

"Do you want to check on Suzanna?" he questioned. He saw the blood on my hand and offered me a towel without another word. I wiped my hand on it, getting the blood off it.

"Of course," I nodded my head. "I hope she is feeling better or I won't be so nice when I come back down," I said casually.

"Of course you won't, your majesty," Orion said. I followed after him, heading up the stairs. The walk to the infirmary was quick, there were almost not guards around. Most of them had been dismissed back to their bunks. There were still guards around the outside but the inside ones weren't needed.

I stopped to wash my hands to make sure that I could remove any trace of blood off my hand and then headed into the infirmary. Suzanna was in an uneasy sleep, her body twitching as she tried to get comfortable. I could tell that she was in pain, her hand kept moving to her chest. It was touching right where her heart was and that worried me.

Aconite was deadly because it messed with both your lungs and your heart. It could cause you to pass away at any time and the thought plagued my mind as I picked up a cool washcloth and bathed Suzanna's face with it. She needed to be kept cool, her body would be working itself up into a fever with how much she was moving.

"Are they dead?" Mother's voice was quiet behind me. She didn't dance around questions, she liked straight answers.

"One is," I said simply as I frowned. Looking at Suzanna, I couldn't see how anyone would want to hurt her. She was such a sweet girl, so quiet and shy. A bit bratty but weren't all children? That dog that Kamili had gotten her, Phoenix, was laying with Suzanna. It hadn't left her side since she had been brought to the infirmary.

"Her other puppy is supposed to be here tomorrow. She'll be upset if she isn't well enough to see it," Mother said. She had clearly seen me looking at Phoenix.

"I know," I said after a moment as I reached out and touched the puppy. She licked my hand and then turned away, curling up with Suzanna. I moved out of the infirmary, stopping to brew a cup of tea for Beth. Pandora had been quiet as of late but now she followed me, almost right on my heels as I entered the cell.

The woman couldn't move, that much I knew. She had been chained to the floor, all four limbs restrained. Pandora forced her mouth open, pressing her thumb into the woman's cheek until she opened her mouth. I poured the tea into her mouth. She managed to spit some out but tilting her head back made her swallow enough.

Pandora left after that, she couldn't stand the sight of blood and there would soon be a lot of it. I drew the sword from the scabbard that was strapped to my thigh. Beth made eye contact with me and I smiled. It was a cold smile, one without any warmth.

I walked around her and she tried to turn to look at me but she was restrained. I placed the edge of my sword against the left end of her back and drew it across her back until it reached the right end. I had about thirty minutes until the poison kicked in. That was enough time to draw blood.

I moved the sword slightly down and then dragged it across her back again. She cried out and it didn't please me to hear. I didn't care for people who cried when they got their rightful punishment. She was getting her rightful punishment for hurting my daughter. Her cries continued until she couldn't keep herself up, her body slumping to the ground. Blood coated her back, trickling down it and soaking into her dress. I could see the poison taking effect, her breathing had gotten a bit more haggard. Her eyes were glazed over though if it was from blood loss or poison, I didn't know.