Page 143 of Bloodguard

A few of the gladiators spit in their direction, muttering and demanding they release me. Some taunt the guards, itching for a fight.

“Arseholes!” Ned shouts. “That’s all the lot of ya will eva be!”

He was already struck for cursing them. Pega, Rye, Ioni, and Luther, too. Some others I don’t know joined in as well.

Rye whistles so he can drop his pants and slap his ass at them when they turn.

The gladiators are trying to distract the guards in hopes their strikes won’t be as potent.

It’s an interesting strategy. I wish I could lift my head and tell them it’s absolutely not working. The guards keep switching off so everyone can take a turn at the gladiator with the broken heart.

Maeve… She was real. Sheisreal.

But I can no longer stand the thought of her name.

She swore that she would do anything to become queen. Was I foolish enough to think she only meant it with me sitting on the throne beside her? All along, she meant to meet her own needs, and I damn well fell for it. It’s why she motioned for me not to interfere. She didn’t want me to ruin the big announcement.

Abouther.

And her maggot of a future husband.

Slice.

“Fuckin’ animals!”

“Son of a whore!”

“Bastards!”

“Hang in there, boy,” Ioni tells me. “They almost be done.”

Slice.

Twenty, I think. Maybe more. The guards have never been good at counting. Or maybe they’re just pretending they’ve lost count so I don’t spoil their fun.

“He’s had enough, ya filthy pigs!”

That might have been Pega. I don’t know anymore.

My head drops farther than seems possible. The sound of shackles across the stony walk has me looking off to the side. It’s nightfall. The gladiators should have been hauled back to the barracks long before this. But my punishment is an opportunity to show what happens when a dog threatens a king.

My back is on fire from the lashes and the injuries I received in the arena. Something bit me or stung my arms and belly. Or not. It’s hard to tell.

Except nothing compares to the agony in the center of my chest. Where my heart is, or was, until Maeve destroyed it. I was an imbecile for trusting her.

Slice.

Sixteen? Are we back to sixteen?

“What are ya doing?” Ned demands. “He’s had enough. Let ’im go.”

I sustained more injuries than expected from my clash with the guards. I did quite a bit of damage before they were able to get me under control.

I laugh.

Control.

That’s a funny word.

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