Page 139 of Wings of Betrayal

The watcher moves toward me, and I kiss Kyle just as he drags me away. Kyle tries to stop him, but the other watchers restrain him.

“Zarla! No!” he shouts.

A watcher opens the doors leading to the room Zalore is keeping Astelle in and throws me through them. I stumble and fall onto the cold stone floor.

Scanning the room, I get to my feet. It’s Zalore’s huge throne room, just as I remember from the last time, and watchers lineeach wall, leading to the raised platform at the end where his throne sits.

But where is he?

Someone wraps their hand around my throat from behind and pulls me against them. The pressure exerted on my neck muffles my scream.

“I was looking forward to our next encounter, Zarla. But I must say, I didn’t expect it to be so soon.” Zalore says in my ear as I desperately try to take in a breath.

He loosens his hold on me ever so slightly then roughly leads me down the centre of the room before throwing me down on the floor at the base of the stairs to his throne. Lost ones hover around the back of his throne, where he sits down and glares at me.

A door opens, and the sound of chains rattling steals my focus. Zalore looks past me and smirks. I whip around to see Astelle dragged in by that same chain and collar attached around her neck.

I’m not sure how it’s possible, but she appears worse than the last time I saw her. Her bruised and battered body is covered in smears of blood. My chest aches for her, and I struggle to control myself.

The watcher chains her up to the base of Zalore’s throne, and he strokes her head like a dog. I narrow my eyes at him as I ball my hands into fists that shake with fury. This male is disgusting.

“Where are my orbs?” he demands, his voice the only sound in this awful, gloomy place.

I drop my gaze to Astelle, who slowly lifts her eyes up to meet mine. She is broken and weak, and it looks as though it’s a struggle for her to even lift her head. She gives up and lets it hang as she stares at the floor.

I get to my feet and glare at him.

He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose in annoyance. “I wouldn’t recommend making me ask again.”

“I absorbed the orb’s power,” I tell him, surprising myself at how strong I sound given the circumstances.

He laughs a little, but I know he doesn’t find any of this amusing. “Absorbed it?”

I reach into my pocket and pull out the two orbs, which have shrunk down after I absorbed their powers. Zalore frowns as he tries to make sense of what I’m holding, then he abruptly stands, storms down the steps toward me, and yanks the two orbs from my grasp.

He studies them a moment before his green eyes meet mine. Then he throws them across the room at the wall, where they shatter into thousands of glass-like pieces. I jump at the impact.

“You absorbed their power?” he slowly asks.

“I didn’t mean to. It just happened when I touched them. Their power merged into me.”

He strokes his fingers over my cheek and across my bottom lip. “That’s because you’re a powerful goddess. You will be of great use to me now. You will take your sister’s place, and I will allow your friends to leave this Kingdom unharmed.”

I swallow hard. “Okay. Let them go.”

Astelle’s chain rattles as she tries to stand but fails. “No! Do not agree to anything! He’s a monster!”

Zalore storms up the steps to Astelle and grabs the chain around her neck, lifting her head up. He then punches her hard in the face.

I grit my teeth, taking my daggers out and move toward him, but several watchers rush toward me first and restrain me.

Zalore looks back at me and smirks. “Good. I like a fighting spirit.”

“Fuck you!” I scream at him.

He laughs. “Soon enough. Release that one, and chain this one up,” he instructs his guards. “And get the rest of them out of my Kingdom.”

They undo the metal collar from around Astelle’s neck then drag her down the middle of the room and open the doors at the end. I catch a glimpse of Kyle outside just as the watcher latches the metal collar around my neck. Kyle bares his teeth, every muscle in his body tense. I can sense his anger through our bond, but he can’t get to me.

---