by R. Scarlett
The proud, strong guard he had been only a few days ago had now completely vanished, replaced by a man blinded by self-hatred and deep-rooted sadness. Despair.
His head was bowed, and when Tensley bent down in front of him, he didn’t budge.
“Seto,” Tensley said. “We need your help.”
Seto laughed thickly, but he ended up coughing. “I’m a dead man.” His head lifted, a fire burning in his eyes. He breathed in, the sound shaky and weak. “I killed her,” he whispered more to himself than to Tensley, the words so broken and low, he almost had to lean forward to hear them. “With my own hands.” He stared down at his hands, shaking violently. In the shadows, Tensley saw a tear escape from the corner of Seto’s eye, but the man didn’t rub it away. He let it slide down his face as if pride had left him completely.
Tensley could not remember seeing a man, a demon, filled with so much sorrow. It was foreign to him. And surprisingly, he did not think of Seto as weak for showing so much emotion. He felt like a part of himself understood the man’s emotions.
Seto’s shaking hands rose from his lap, the tips of his fingers skinned and raw from clawing at the walls. “The king told me she died of blood loss and infection—died because of my own hands!”
He roared, pounding his fists into the dirt floor he sat on. “If I could cut my own hands off for what I did. If I could let myself bleed out, on this cold, hard floor as she did, I would. I deserve to die. I deserve to be left alone until I rot like the monster I am,” he seethed, the harsh, determined words contrasting with the soft, fragile tears that kept running down his face.
He stood suddenly, his fists hitting the wall repeatedly, pieces of cement falling from the impact.
As the sound of bones being crushed, and the sight of fresh blood dripping down Seto’s palms, Tensley realized the man was trying to harm himself the only way he could, trapped in this deep, dark hole.
Tensley stood in front of Molly, watching the beast taking control of the king’s guard. He didn’t pity the man, but he understood his pain. If Tensley had harmed Molly in any way, he would have lost it.
“Then make the king pay for what he asked of you,” Tensley hissed lowly, edging toward the untamed animal that was Seto. “He is the one who demanded you to whip Prim,” he breathed in roughly, “which then caused her death. He’s the one who made all these damn laws, making it a crime for a guard to choose a woman. To have a family.” He raised his chin, his voice unwavering, the sound carrying over the pounding of Seto’s fists on the cement wall. If he continued much longer, there would be nothing left of his hands. Only a dust of bones and pool of blood and ruined flesh. “He is the one to blame for all of this. For Prim’s death, for the way she died,” he continued in the same tone. “Together, we can make this kingdom burn at our feet. We can get revenge on what he asked of both of us. All I need is your help and patience.”
Seto’s fists paused, his pants filling the tiny room of darkness.
Slowly, Seto turned, glaring at the two of them.
“You said you’re a dead man—you have nothing to live for but avenging Prim,” Tensley added.
The man stared at them for a long time. Unmoving. So still, Tensley feared he had stopped breathing. The cloud of sadness was back in Seto’s gaze, the despair he was in earlier coming back stronger.
Then he spoke, his voice scratchy and raw, “I want the king’s neck between my teeth.” He took a threatening step toward Tensley. “I want his blood dripping down my chin and his flesh trapped in the creases of my teeth.” His entire body vibrated with anger.
Tensley nodded. “It’s yours.”
Molly held her middle and edged closer to Seto. Tensley wanted to pull her back, but he trusted her. She knew what she was doing. “We need your help, Seto,” she said calmly, soothingly.
Seto glanced at her, eyeing her tiny frame. She didn’t appear a threat, but Seto knew what power boiled within her veins.
“We need to go back to Manhattan. Ares attacked Scorpios, and Tensley’s family needs him,” she explained softly. “Please, we need your help. We need to get out of here, and you’re the only one who knows how to do it.”
“Go back to Manhattan? Why would I help you get away from this place, when I need you here, to kill the king?” he snapped, almost voicing word for word the prince’s earlier words.
“Because my fucking people are getting attacked,” Tensley bit out. “My head is not in the right place. I need to go back, help my people so that I can come back here stronger.” Seeing this was escalating too fast, and he needed Seto has an ally, not an enemy, he sighed loudly, calming himself. “I said I needed your patience. And I do. I’ll give you what you want. I just need time. And I need to save Scorpios first.”
Seto’s face was pure stone, giving nothing away. The well-trained, impassive king’s guard poked through his features.
But Tensley needed the man, the one who had been crying minutes ago for his deceased love. That was the man who would help them. Not the guard. Tensley looked back at Molly, and with just a glance, she seemed to understand what he needed, what he was trying to do.
She approached Seto calmly, carefully. “You loved Prim, didn’t you? You would have done anything to protect her from this fate, to save her the night she was punished. I’m terribly sorry for what happened to her, Seto. I had the chance to speak with her a few times. She was a lovely girl. And she loved you dearly. I could see it in the way she talked about you.” Her eyes fixed on Seto’s empty ones. “And she did not deserve to die, but she did,” she added her voice soft, understanding. There was no trace of malice there, only honesty. “Because of some barbaric king and his stupid laws. Back in Manhattan, we have family. Tensley has a sweet little niece who was born only a few weeks ago, a nephew who looks up to him. He has a mother, who lost her husband not long ago, and brothers and sisters who need his help. But this is just Tensley’s family. There are a lot of people forming Scorpios. Many families, who as we speak, are being torn apart by war. Innocents are being attacked. Children are losing their parents. And Tensley is not there to help them. Just like you were not there when Prim was dying.” Her voice softened. “She was just as innocent as these people are. So, I beg you, Seto. Please, please help us get back to Manhattan. Please help us save innocents from dying.”
Seto stared at Molly for a long time. With only a quick glance, he seemed perfectly unaffected, but upon closer examination, Tensley could see his hands shaking and the pulse of his heart beating wildly through the thick vein of his neck. His eyes closed suddenly, a deep sigh breaking through his slightly parted lips. Neither Molly nor he missed the fresh tear that fell down from the corner of his eye. This was the man. Molly had managed to bring back the man in him.
Seto’s next breath sounded heavy and broken. “It’s what she would have wanted, I suppose.” He looked at neither of them, gaze unfocused. “She wouldn’t want innocents dying. She had a great heart. A tender heart.” Then he looked up, straight into Molly’s eyes. “I have nothing to lose. I have lost everything already. Everything that mattered. I will help you escape, so you can save your people. You have my word,” he finished solemnly.
Tensley’s shoulders relaxed, and Molly glanced back at him, a ghost of a smile to her mouth.
“Let’s go,” Tensley said and took Molly’s hand, gesturing for Seto to follow. “We don’t have much time. The prince is already suspicious, and there’s a chance Fallen is too.” He handed Seto his own jacket, watching as the man shrugged it on silently.
They walked up the steep, narrow steps of concrete, edging their way back above ground, the windows shining in the light.
Seto shut his eyes, raising a forearm to shield himself.
As soon as they hit the main floor, Tensley tugged Molly close.
“Where’s the dagger you used to open the veil between both worlds when we first arrived?” Tensley asked, maneuvering through the hallways.
“In the armory room,” Seto said, bow
ing his head. In the light, his bruised face was gaunt and unshaven, a dark unruly beard coating his jaw and mouth. Streaks of past tears could be seen in the dirt coating the skin of his face. Exhaustion consumed his expression, but the rage in his eyes fueled his body to keep moving.
The armory room was across the castle, where he trained, so they would have to be quick. Once they had the dagger, though, Seto would be able to do it there and then.
“Stay close,” Tensley said, pressing his mouth to Molly’s ear.
A few men glanced over at them, and then looked to Seto, their brows rising in question, but thankfully, no one stopped them.
The grand balcony was in sight, and Tensley knew if they made it to there, they could jog to the armory and be done.
His pace quickened, and Molly tried to catch up.
Seto’s long strides stretched further.
The light spilled onto the marble floors, the shadows edging back, battling for dominance.
But a chilling voice halted all three of them to stop.
“Disobeying the crown, Lord Tensley?”
THE THREE OF them stood in front of their king in his quarters, his fingers drumming on his gold armrest of serpents circling around the feet of the chair.
Guards flanked each side of Fallen, stone-faced, spears clasped in their iron fists.
“First, you disobey my command to stay in my kingdom,” Fallen said, shifting in his seat, his features drawn into an ugly scowl. “Then you release my prisoner—one who dishonored his court and his crown.” He tsked, shaking his head. “My patience is wearing thin, Mr. Knight. Very thin.”
Tensley worked his jaw, the fiery urge to snap back and the need to return home weighing heavy in his chest. “You know why I need to leave, Lord Fallen. My people are dying back in New York.”
“Your people,” Fallen said, the sound of his bitter laugh scratching along the stone walls of the great room. “I’m afraid you forget who you are talking to, Mr. Knight. There is no such thing as your people—they are mine. All of them. You are nothing but a simple Dux, where I am King. They are my people, and I am letting them die.” He seethed, his own rage barely contained.
Tensley had never seen the king so near to losing control, at least not with his own eyes. He had only heard of it, in tales of the king’s unrivaled rage. And he wondered if the king’s tight leash on his own control was failing because he was afraid of the Dux.
Of what Tensley was capable of.
The prince had strongly believed Tensley had the power to take him down, after all. Perhaps, the king was starting to believe the same.
As much as Tensley wanted to snap back with his own boiling rage, he didn’t. He couldn’t lose it. Not yet, not now. This was a crucial moment, and he needed to tread carefully or both Molly and he would end up dead before he could ever say ‘please don’t.’
Fallen turned his attention to Seto, bound in chains on his ankles and wrists, a caged animal. The chains were so heavy they weighed Seto’s hands to his groin, and he struggled to keep himself from dropping. He was probably weakened by the lack of food and water since his imprisonment.
“Your whore begged for you before she wilted,” Fallen said, his eyes curving at the pleasure of watching Seto grow wild. “Such a delicate little flower she was on the outside. But such a debauched, filthy little slut she was on the inside. She tried to give you something that was never hers to give, to begin with. She only got what she deserved.”
Seto snarled, but he couldn’t move.
“Where is your gratitude to your king, bastard,” Fallen roared as he spat on Seto’s bare, blackened feet. “I raised you. When your own father abandoned you, I cared for you. If it had not been for me, you would have been dead long before today,” Fallen hissed at him. “An orphan, a forgotten, unwanted boy. I gave you power, prestige. And what do you give me in return? Nothing. You betrayed me. You betrayed my court and my authority.”
Seto scowled at Fallen but refused to speak.
Fallen shook his head and eyed Molly and Tensley. “I have grown tired of your corruption over my court. And I have grown tired of your pitiful attempts at making a fool out of your king. You will be punished for disobeying me,” he snapped, his dark, fuming eyes burning into Tensley’s. He held his ground, unmoving. But when Fallen’s eyes suddenly slid to the side, hovering over the small form of his wife, Tensley couldn’t suppress the vicious shiver that attacked his body. He grabbed Molly’s hand tightly into his own. It was clear Fallen hadn’t missed the movement when a monstrous smile slowly took place over his lips. “For believing that you have any sort of control over my people. For believing you own something that is mine, and mine alone, perhaps I should have my initials carved in your wife’s flesh. As a reminder.”
Tensley glowered at the king, stepping in front of Molly. “You won’t touch her.”
“Oh?” Fallen’s brow hiked high to his hairline. A sinister grin warped his features into something inhuman. “Giving his king orders now, are you? You should know better, Mr. Knight. That only tempts me more,” he said, the evil glint in his eyes now full blown. He turned toward one of his guards and flicked his finger in Molly’s direction. “Bring her forward.”
Tensley roared as he yanked Molly into his chest before any guard could touch her.
Fallen’s features darkened even more. “Do not dare disobey me more than you already have. Bring her here now,” he said. His head tilted to the side dangerously. “Or would you rather the punishment be more severe? I am a man of great power, Mr. Knight. I can do far worse than carve my initials in one’s flesh.”
Molly shuddered in his tight grip, but she glared at the guards surrounding them.
“You won’t touch her,” Tensley hissed, the beast within him growling wildly.
“I am your king!” Fallen shouted, the veins in his neck visible and throbbing. The dark lord who had once ripped out the heart of the woman he loved out of rage now staring back at them.
Tensley needed to weaken the king. To make him feel vulnerable and exposed in front of his court. If he could prove to the court that their king was weak, maybe then he’d manage to be freed.
“You are a king who once loved a human,” Tensley snapped back, watching Fallen’s features for any change in his demeanor, but there was none. “According to your own rules and laws, you are nothing but a weak demon. A man who should be shamed based on our society standards. A man who doesn’t deserve our respect.”
Tensley looked into Molly’s eyes briefly, and she nodded softly, understanding what he was trying to do.
She spoke for the first time since they had been brought to this room, her voice strong and loud—the voice of the daemon. The voice of a woman who could take down a king, if only she desired. “All of these people,” she began, her eyes, moving slowly across each member of the court present in the room. “All of these resilient, hardened warriors,” she continued, her gaze then moving from warrior to warrior. “They have worked and earned the respect of this court. These warriors gave up everything they had and everyone they cared about, for a position in this court. But for what? A tyrant who fell for a human? Who let her control him? A man who gave up his own world for simple beauty, too blinded by love to notice the beauty was only playing him, waiting for the right opportunity to strike and betray? According to this ridiculous court, are women not seen as lesser than men, Lord Fallen? Then doesn’t it make you a lesser man for falling for one?” she spat, her eyes shining brightly. “They deserve a better man as their king. A man who is capable and strong.”
Fallen’s nostrils flared, and he blinked rapidly, his other hands fisting. “Do not speak of her in my presence.”
“I know why you created all of these rules, Lord Fallen,” Molly said as if the king hadn’t uttered a single word. “It’s because you are deathly afraid. You are afraid of men challenging you, dethroning you. But most importantly, you are afraid of women. You are afraid of what they can supposedly do to men. Tempt them, ens
nare them, manipulate them, and then betray them. Like your little princess did. You are nothing but a fool who never got over his broken little heart. What a great king you make, indeed.”
Fallen’s brow wrinkled. “How dare you, you little—” he began, rising from his throne, his entire body now shaking with red-hot anger, but she stopped him by raising her hand. Tensley grabbed Molly’s arm out of reflex, partly to be ready in case he needed to shield her from the king’s attack, partly to let her know she needed to take it down a notch before all hell broke loose around them. He could see the people around them starting to whisper to each other, and the guards in the room were starting to look uneasy.
“But you know what is even less surprising, King,” she continued, spitting the last word like it tasted bitter in her mouth.
“You were right to fear the people around you. Not only did your little princess betray you, but your own wife also tried to betray you. She has been scheming behind your back all along. Your own son, the prince, has tried time again to betray you. Your best guard has betrayed your authority for a woman. Even we,” she said, looking briefly at Tensley with a soft, confident smile. “Have tried to betray you because we don’t believe in your power over us. And I’m sure this is only the beginning. Many more will eventually betray you because your biggest mistake was to believe you are playing all of us when, in reality, we are all playing you.”
A dead silence filled the throne room, and Molly refused to look away from the red-faced king.
“Leave us,” Fallen commanded the guards, and each guard backed off, taking Seto with them, leaving the room. “Leave us all.”
Tensley rubbed Molly’s hip and stared at the king’s bowed head in frustration, his crown, lacing his hair, tilted at the angle.
Silence.
Unbearable fucking silence.
“Let us go now, and we will never return,” she began, unaffected by the king’s silence. “But keep us here, and I promise, Lord Fallen, that I will raise hell in this castle before you can even try to kill either me or my husband.”