Page 17 of The Death King

General Titan glanced back and forth between us, his unease written clearly across his face. “Your Majesty, I assure you she’ll be thoroughly punished by my hand. You have more important matters to attend to?—”

“Why are you still here?” The Death King turned to give the general his stare, and it was far more ruthless than the one he’d just given me.

General Titan froze at the threat.

The Death King stared him down and waited for him to leave.

I was stiller than a statue, doing my best to disappear from existence, the tension too much to handle.

General Titan chose to stand his ground and speak. “I’ve chosen this woman for my own, and she’s chosen me.”

The adrenaline was instant. The rage was potent. “That’s bullshit?—”

“Is that why you denied her freedom?” The Death King cut me off like he hadn’t heard me speak. “When she found the black diamond?”

My eyes flicked back to Khazmuda before I looked at the Death King again.

General Titan didn’t say a word.

“If she’s your woman, why is she trying to steal my dragon in the middle of the night?” The Death King continued his interrogation, catching the general in all his lies. “You know what happens to those who lie to me. So, you’re either a fool, or you think I’m the fool. Which is it?”

He continued his silence.

“You’re dismissed, General.”

General Titan shifted his gaze back to me for a brief second before he forced himself to turn away. He began the slow rise up the mound of sand, reached the top, then moved to the other side and slid down to the base.

Now, it was just me…and him.

Like the matter was decided, the Death King walked back to the dragon.

I stayed put, unsure what my next move should be. I could either run back to the man who’d kept me as his plaything for the past year…or I could leave with the man who’d burned my city.

He halted halfway to the dragon and turned to look at me. “You choose to stay.”

“I—I don’t know.”

“You’d be a fool to repeat your actions and expect a different result.”

“And I’d be a fool to come with you.”

A long, piercing stare ensued. “Perhaps.”

I stayed a distance away, sizing him up as an opponent I could never defeat. He wasn’t just taller and bigger than General Titan, but his confidence was deadly. It was quiet and heavy, filling the air around us with a palpable energy that I could feel right against my skin. I’d felt it ten years ago when he’d stormed my castle, and I felt it now. “Do I have a choice?”

“You always have a choice—but you don’t always get the answer you want.”

He spoke in riddles, and I hated that. “What happens if I walk back to the compound?”

“You doom yourself to a life of labor and subjugation. Your life will be brief and unpleasant, and the few moments of respite will be ruined by the buffoon who shoves himself between your legs.”

I felt a twinge of pain because that had been my life for the past year. Hearing it described by another person…made it more traumatic. “And if I leave with you?”

His eyes hardened like he didn’t like to be questioned.

“I want all the information before I make a decision.”

He turned away slightly, looking over the sands in the moonlight. “That was the largest black diamond that’s ever been found. I’m sorry you weren’t granted the freedom you deserved. I’m a man of my word—and he diminished that.”

---