Fury lit up Eliza’s face, and she lifted the rod, about to swing it when someone knocked on the door to the bedchamber. She rushed over to answer it. “Excellent,” she said as she closed the door and faced Allyssa again. “My guard has just informed me that Kerdan returned to his room and saw the mess. He assumes you’ve escaped and has sent out a search party to retrieve you.” She smiled, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I suspect things are going to get interesting around here. Too bad you won’t be alive to see it.” She swung the metal rod, hitting Allyssa’s outer thigh.
Allyssa screamed, curling into a ball. Blood seeped out of the wound in her arm, soaking her shirt and pooling on the floor. She needed to stop the bleeding, but every time she moved, she aggravated it further.
Eliza smiled. “You have no idea how long I’ve been planning this.” She took a step closer.
“I’m sure it was long before your daughter assassinated the queen. The two of you probably came here with the intention of using Russek to conquer Emperion.” If she could distract her, perhaps the evil woman wouldn’t hit her again.
“Is that what Kerdan told you?” Eliza shook her head, disgust written all over her face. “Men are always meddling in my plans. Well, the prince can meddle all he wants, but it won’t make a difference this time.” Raising the rod, she inspected it. “I can’t believe my life has resorted to this,” she mumbled, tossing the rod in the corner of the room. It landed with a loud clank, startling Allyssa.
“We came to Russek with the intention of starting a new life. I didn’t expect the king to fall madly in love with my daughter. But when he did, it changed everything. I watched my husband sleep with whores,” Eliza whispered. “Do you think I would allow my daughter to behave in such a degrading manner? The perfect opportunity presented itself, so we took it. Jana refused the king’s advances, making it abundantly clear that she wouldn’t share a bed with a married man—even if he was the king. He threatened to have her executed for refusing him. Jana said she would rather die with her virtue intact than do something she would regret. He was furious, and it made him want her even more. A week later, the queen died.”
Kerdan had implied that Jana killed his mother. Allyssa had seen the letter the queen wrote about not trusting Jana. “Surely you’re not saying King Drenton killed his own wife?”
“That is exactly what I’m telling you. Once the queen was properly buried, the king presented himself to Jana, and she accepted his marriage proposal.”
“You’re lying.” Allyssa’s body shook. She was in so much pain she could barely focus on their conversation.
Eliza raised her eyebrows. “Why would I lie? What purpose would it serve?”
“It seems…too convenient.”
“I’m not saying Jana didn’t encourage him. Because she did. We took full advantage of the situation. But she did not kill the queen, nor did Soma have anything to do with her death. The murder of the queen is on the king’s hands.”
A man capable of killing his wife was not a man at all. Didn’t Eliza fear for Jana’s safety?
“When Drenton learned Jana and I were sent into exile, he vowed to seek revenge on our behalf.”
“Jana probably planted that idea in his head as well,” Allyssa ground out. The tips of her fingers started bleeding from working on the knots.
Eliza shrugged. “It is not my fault he is easily influenced. That turned out to be an unexpected boon. Unfortunately, he does have one major weakness—his son, Kerdan.” She said Kerdan’s name with thick disdain. “That boy has too much of his mother in him. It’s time for him to go as well. Luckily, he is the one who lost you. When the king learns of your escape, he will be furious, and the prince will be punished.”
“Your plan won’t work. Kerdan will discover that I have been taken.” One of the knots came loose, and she almost cried out in joy. She started working on the next one. It felt like there were two more to go.
Eliza laughed. “No, he won’t. And soon, it won’t matter because you will be dead.” She knelt on the ground, pulling out a long, skinny dagger, the hilt embedded with diamonds. Allyssa’s heart beat erratically—this could be it. “My grandson recommended a sleeping tonic. However, that would be far too merciful for you.”
Allyssa’s bindings wouldn’t come loose, no matter how furiously she struggled.
“Stupid child. You can’t escape me.” Eliza slid the dagger along Allyssa’s leg, slicing her pants open and leaving a thin line that filled with blood.
Allyssa refused to die here like this. Tears slid down her cheeks. She would fight until the end. Flinging her head forward, she tried to head-butt the woman, but missed. Even though her ankles were tied together, she swung her legs around, kicking Eliza’s hip. The woman fell to the side. Irate, Eliza righted herself, grabbing Allyssa’s injured arm and squeezing. Allyssa’s body went limp, the pain excruciating. Eliza placed the tip of the dagger above Allyssa’s right breast. She smiled and pressed the weapon into her skin.
A white-hot sting shot through her, and Alyssa cried out. I can’t die like this, she silently pleaded. There were too many things she wanted to accomplish with her life. So much left undone, unseen. She wanted to live, to love, and to save her people. The word failure screamed in her mind, breaking her heart, her spirit.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Eliza said, gently stroking her face. “I’m not done with you yet.” She moved the dagger to Allyssa’s shoulder, sliding it down her arm to her elbow, cutting the skin open. Then she placed the dagger below her ear, preparing to slice it off.
Unable to move, Allyssa squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ready herself for the torment that was about to come. If only she could have seen her parents one last time to tell them she loved them. And Odar. Hopefully, he didn’t do something stupid when he leaned of her death. She would never feel his lips on hers again. Never know what it was like to be his wife.
The weight of Eliza’s body suddenly disappeared. Allyssa opened her eyes. Kerdan held Eliza by the neck, slamming her body against the wall. “Is she alive?” he demanded.
Odar knelt next to her, his eyes red. “Yes,” he answered.
The woman’s legs kicked out at Kerdan as she dangled a foot off the ground, clawing at his large hand wrapped around her throat.
“Allyssa,” Odar whispered, his fingers pushing back her hair. He kissed her forehead before cutting the rope around her ankles. He helped her sit up, and then he cut the bindings around her wrists. “Can you stand?”
“I don’t know.” Her ribs and leg throbbed.
Odar gently pulled her to her feet. She yelped from the sharp pain in her thigh. In one swift motion, he picked her up, carrying her to the large bed.
“Besides the piece of wood sticking out of your arm and the shallow knife wounds on your arm and leg, is there anything else I need to know about?” Odar’s eyes scanned her body, assessing her injuries, his face revealing uncurbed fury.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him.
“I must remove the wood from your arm.”
She nodded, knowing it had to be done despite how much it would hurt. It couldn’t be worse than having her fingernails removed.
“Look at me.”