Page 99 of King of the Unsightly

He was so cold and distant.

I had never witnessed this side of Lucien. “I’m sorry.” I looked away from him. “You wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for me.” I choked on the last word but forced back the tears and smiled weakly at him. “I will fix this.”

Lucien stayed silent, and I yearned for him to hug me and say he had missed me.

That he was glad to see me.

And if he had to choose anyone to be in a situation like this—he would choose me. Each time.

But he didn’t say anything.

A deep ache burrowed into my chest as my heart pulsed erratically. And no matter how many deep breaths I took, it was there, pounding rapidly until I felt like I was going to explode.

A myriad of emotions flickered across Lucien’s face like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

I was about to speak to him when a bloodcurdling scream reverberated against the stone walls, and a hot liquid sprayed against my back, soaking my clothes.

The look of horror was written all over Lucien’s face as he pressed himself away from me and leaned against the opposite wall.

My breathing turned shallow as my body spun around on its own volition to witness what—or who—was behind me.

I stood there horrified.

My eyes had to be deceiving me.

It couldn’t be him.“Kaschel?” I whispered as I gaped at the towering man before me soaked in the blood of the guards.

Their mangled corpses lay crooked and bent on the floor.

“I should have known there would be no other place for a little flea but in a dungeon rotting away in filth with the rats and mites.”

“What. How.” I stumbled over my words, too aghast to speak clearly.

Kaschel inclined his head and chuckled; it was throaty and menacing as it echoed throughout the empty corridor. “I had told you once before I had schemes you were unaware of.”

Kaschel wrapped his strong hands around the bars and the shadows crawled from his body and swallowed everything in sight except for the small corner of the room he forced me into.

Now there was nothing between us. Nothing to stop him from doing whatever he had come here to do.

Kaschel stalked toward me and snatched my wrist. “My little insurance plan paid off.” He kissed the back of my hand; the crescent moon radiated silver, expelling all the shadows away.

A loud hissing assaulted my ears, and I involuntarily puked my guts out as I fell to my knees.

My world spiraled, and I couldn’t stop hyperventilating as my erratic breathing felt like knives against my throat.

Kaschel’s amethyst eyes outshone the light, and it revealed his wicked nature as he crouched in front of me.

Kaschel tipped his head down, and his alabaster hair moved with him. “I keep my promises,unlike you.Now hurry. Your friend doesn’t look so great.” Kaschel clicked his tongue and turned his back to me. “And don’t worry, your punishment will come later.”

A black hole materialized in the corridor, and he walked out of the cell and vanished into the abyss.

I stumbled to my feet and snagged the key off the guard’s mutilated body. The key soaked in blood, I fiddled with the lock on Lucien’s cell until it clicked open.

I ran to his side and collapsed next to him, but he wasn’t moving, lifeless again.

I grabbed his cheeks and squeezed. “We need to go now!”

Lucien’s head flopped forward, his arms dangled to my sides, and he fell into me; no matter how much I squeezed—he didn’t move.

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