Chapter 23

23

S hit . Shit , Shit , Shit , Shit , SHIT ! I fucked up. Oh … I really fucked up. There was one rule. One fucking rule. And as long as I agreed to that rule, I was allowed to join the others on the battlefield. Stick to one of the guys at all times like glue, and do not find myself alone. Easy , right?

Well , I somehow found myself smack in the middle of the battle with not a single one of my men in sight. Shit . I frantically look around, hoping to spot them, as I continue to fend off the king’s men. I am not strong enough to cut them down to defend the land.

Blood and gore surround me no matter which way I turn. I need to remember that these are no longer the people of my kingdom. Most of them have been turned into the undead that the king uses to do his bidding and invade lands. There are a few who are still alive, but they have been corrupted by the king’s propaganda. With promises of power they will never gain clouding their mind.

I finally see one of the guys. Kas . Kas ! Of all of the guys to find, of course, it had to be him. He is going to be so mad.

A glint out of the corner of my eye forces me to turn and block a sword coming down on me fast. I’m so distracted by trying to push him away that I don't notice the male who sneaks up behind me. I let out a screech as my hair is snatched in someone’s fist. I try to swing around, but a large arm encircles me as my hair is tugged harder.

The male behind me yells, “ Halt !”

The undead instantly pause around us. A cold chill rushes down my spine at how quickly they obeyed. Is he somehow in control of the undead? He yells again, “ I have the princess! Let us return to the king!”

A voice rings out among the horde of soldiers. “ Unhand her now.”

No . No ! Of all of the guys to find me like this it had to be him? Where did he come from? I’d only seen Kas . I want to scream Dax don't make yourself known!

My hair is yanked again, and I struggle against the asshole holding me. He growls in my ear, “ Settle , Princess . The king never said we had to bring you back alive.”

My eyes widen, and I see Dax move into view. All I can do is silently beg him to shut up. His father doesn’t know he is trying to take the throne. I watch as he marches through the soldiers, his armor glistening red. His eyes meet mine briefly, then shift to the man holding me. “ Release the girl, now.”

The man behind me chuckles darkly. “ What makes you think you can give me orders?”

I silently plead for Dax to look at me. Please . Please look at me. Don't tell him who you are. Don't do it for me. But he ignores me and says, “ I am Prince Dax of the Kingdom Wylan , son of King Balor . I am your Prince ! Now , release the girl.”

I feel the man shift behind me, and I can only imagine him cocking his head to the side when he asks, “ Is that so?” He lets out a bellowing laugh before he replies, “ Traitor to the king. Kill him.”

Everything happens between one blink and the next. With unnatural speed, an undead man steps up behind Dax and spears him straight through the abdomen.

I can't stop the scream that erupts from me as I watch blood seep from the wound. He coughs, a spray of red coating his lips and chin. His eyes meet mine, and he gives me a sad smile. “ Don't worry, Little Raven . I'll find you again.”

I shake my head as I scream and writhe in the man’s grasp, but he drags me away. Away from the man now dying because of me. The man I once thought was nothing but a villainous prince. All I can do is watch as the undead, unconcerned with Dax’s army, trail behind us as I'm carried away. Through the gaps in bodies, I see the others close in around Dax .

They quickly grab him and rush back to the castle. I catch a brief look from Kas when he looks over his shoulder in my direction. I can see it, the indecisive look in his eyes as he debates whether to come after me or stay with Dax .

I shake my head as tears fall from my eyes. I know he can’t hear my whispered words, but I hope he understands anyway. “ Go . Save him.”

His eyes narrow, but he gives me a sharp nod, then disappears from view as bodies close in. I’m thrown over someone’s shoulder and carried off like a sack of potatoes. I don’t fight, what would be the point? I can’t fight off all these men. And the only men who could, are too busy trying to save Dax .

My head bounces, and I close my eyes as my tears slide into my hair from being carried upside down. My nose is now clogged, so I have to breathe through my mouth. The man holding me slaps my thigh, growling, “ Stop blubbering, it's irritating.”

The tears won’t stop, though. No matter how hard I bite my lip, I can’t force the pain to override my need to cry. The tears won’t stop.

I’m flipped upright again and thrown into a carriage, my head painfully smacking against the floor. But even that pain doesn’t override the crater in my chest. The door is slammed shut behind me, and I hear the man complaining. “ I hate crying women.”

Safe within the confines of the carriage, I break. There’s no longer any point in trying to hold in my cries. So … I let it go. I sob and sob as I curl into a ball. Sobbing to the point of hiccupping, I scream, “ I hate you!”

I hate him. I hate all of them. They made me care. Made me feel things I’d never felt. Cherished . Needed . Loved .

I scream again as I thump a fist against the floor of the carriage. How dare they! How fucking dare they! They are villains. But … that isn’t really how I feel. They never felt like villains even after what I saw. The only evil thing they did was steal my most precious possession.

My heart.

The problem? I don’t know if I had stolen theirs. And now, I’m not sure I’ll ever find out.

I thump my head against the floor until I can feel myself getting dizzy. I give my head one last hard thump against the carriage floor, sending myself to meet the darkness. The dark is better than the utter agony I feel with each beat of my heart.

Maybe I’ll find Rev in the dark. If so… I never want to wake up. Please . Please death, take me. Death would be a mercy at this point. Allow me this mercy.

I didn’t die. No , unfortunately, I woke up to the smiling monster I wished to never see again. I must have done something terrible in a past life because the gods have never smiled upon me. No , only villains deserve this treatment.

He grins down as he reaches for me. “ Come , Little Snowflake . I’ve missed you.”

I shake my head as I push myself against the opposite wall of the carriage. I press as close as I can, hoping to meld with the wood. To disappear.

He impatiently clicks his tongue and holds out a hand. “ Now , now. You know how I hate to wait.”

Tears gather in my eyes. The one thing I promised never to do in front of this man was cry, but I can’t stop it. I choke on a sob, and he snaps out a hand, grabbing my ankle. I kick at his hand, but his grip is too tight.

He laughs. “ Oh , I will love breaking you again, pet.”

He drags me out of the carriage kicking and screaming. His pace is quick as he takes me to the castle. He barges into his room and pins me on his bed. “ Chain her up!” he orders.

A few of his men come into the room and circle around us. My hands are pulled, and shackles are placed on my wrists. My heart quickens when I hear the click of them locking around not only my wrists but my ankles too.

I’m positioned spread eagle as the king rises and shifts off the bed. He stares down at me with his disgusting mirrored black pits for eyes. Darkness gathers around him as he demands, “ Leave me to my prize.”

I tremble as I watch his men obey, and I’m left helpless at the king’s mercy again. He licks his lips as he strips off his clothes, his cock springing to life. He grabs a knife from the floor before moving toward me again. Slipping the blade between my breasts, he wastes no time in cutting my shirt off me.

The men who dragged me here had stripped me of my armor, so I was left with only my shirt and pants. I hadn’t bothered with undergarments this morning, but I wished for them now.

He licks his lips as he cuts off my pants, leaving me completely bared before him. I shrink into the bed as his fingers caress the scars he had given me. The scars Dax had made his own.

“ Your skin slices so beautifully,” he says hoarsely. He slides off the bed, looking around the room. I quickly do the same myself and find a large mirror above me as well as several others placed around the room. When my eyes find the king again, they widen, and my heart starts to race. He pulls a whip off the wall, then walks over to me. He taps it in his palm as his eyes meet mine.

“ Knives are my favorite, Little Snowflake . But I have hungered for your screams ever since I heard how you screamed for my son.” The sound of glass breaking makes me look up to find the mirror above me melding into tentacles.

My wide eyes turn to him as I beg, “ Please … please don’t.”

“ Hmm , you beg so beautifully too. Can I make you scream and beg me to stop?” He taps the whip in his palm once more before letting it unravel. The darkness in the room flares as he pulls his arm back. “ Let’s see if I can break you.”

The moment he yanks his arm back, the tentacles reach out and squeeze my breasts. Each snap of the whip against my skin makes me scream until my voice is hoarse. The king’s breathing grows heavier with each of my screams. Tears stream down my face as the tentacles caress my skin. It’s not loving or pleasurable like my men. The touch is cold and harsh as the tentacles slip between my legs. “ Stop !” I beg as a hiccup slips between my lips.

He pauses for a moment, and I look down to find the head of his cock dripping with pre-cum. It looks like one simple touch will have him exploding. His chest is rapidly rising and falling, while his eyes take in the bloody mess he’s made of my body, and the tentacles in between my legs. He groans. “ Beg . Beg me to stop.”

I don’t hesitate as I sob, “ Please , stop!”

I watch as he runs his hand down to squeeze his cock, pumping it a few times. “ I hope my son is dead,” he says as he pants with excitement, “then I’ll get to keep you.”

With one hand he’s painfully squeezing his cock as he pumps. With the other, he rears back with the whip. The moment it slices my bruised and broken body covered in welts, he roars out his release. I can’t do anything but sob while he pumps himself until he lets out a satisfied grunt. “ No one here is allowed to touch that cunt, except for me. You are mine. My men had their fun with you before, but now you are my toy and mine alone.”

I cry harder when I feel his finger slip inside me. “ This cunt is mine now, Little Snowflake .”