Page 47 of The Throne's Undoing

Chapter 14

MYRA

"Get up,"a low voice commanded.

Myra grunted as a boot kicked her in the side. With the fog of sleep slowly evaporating, she raised a shaking hand to her face, shielding herself from the bright flames of the torch before her.

She squinted up at the guard but couldn't identify the man beneath the full-faced helmet he wore.

For almost a decade, Myra had lived among the Ardentolian guards. She had walked the halls beside them, exchanged pleasantries, and even ate among them on the rare occasion.

While she never considered the guards true friends, most of them had been kind to her or looked upon her without malice.

Now, the guards treated her as if she was nothing more than the last dregs at the bottom of a barrel of ale.

Myra had sacrificed her friendship, ignored her morals and values, and lied to everyone close to her by the order of the king. And where had it gotten her?

"Now," the guard roared, slamming his foot into her side again, eliciting a grunt of paint from her lips. "The king has requested your presence."

Myra's stomach turned, the nausea returning and rendering her immobile.

The guard released a groan and yanked her up by the crook of her elbow. Myra's legs trembled as she attempted to stand. With her head spinning, she failed to steady herself and collapsed.

The guard cursed, anger spewing off him as he pulled her up again. "We cannot keep the king waiting."

"I'm sorry," Myra mumbled.

The guard tightened his grip on Myra's arm and yanked her forward, dragging her behind him. Outside the cell, a second guard nodded and turned, leading them down the hall.

Myra narrowed her gaze at him and stumbled. "Where are we going?"

"The king has decided it is time," the first guard said.

She blanched, her face paling. "Time for what?"

"Time for you to be of use."

Her lips parted.

But as if the guard felt another question brewing, he halted and spoke before she could. "You have been in the king's employ for several years. I should not need to tell you this, but I will: save your energy on futile questions. You will need every ounce of energy you possess for whatever task the king needs you to perform."

Trepidation dripped from the guard walking ahead, giving her pause. Although it was not his anxiety that had made Myra bite her tongue, but rather the emotions coming from the closest guard. Unlike the second man, malice and anticipation slithered from the guard gripping her arm.

Myra stayed silent as they led her deeper into the dungeon and through parts of the castle she had never known existed in the years she had lived there.

The torch in the guard's hand was the only source of light in the tunnel. Its flames danced across the stone walls, dispersingthe shadows. Still, darkness followed them, chasing after the light like a starving beast.

They passed several cells barred with large iron doors not unlike the one she had come from. The further they went, the more decrepit the hall became. Shredded cobwebs hung from the ceiling. A scattering of footprints covered the hall, disturbing the dust on the ground.

Myra looked at one of the cells from which the foul emotions were most potent. Both guards' postures had changed slightly as they passed the cell.

"What's in there?" Myra whispered.

"If I were you, I'd stay as far away from those cells as you can. You never know what beast will crawl from them."

"What do you mean?" Myra asked, recalling the creatures lurking beneath the Frenzian temple. Could it be possible that Domitius was harboring his own?

"Stop trying to scare the girl more than she already is, Kolen," the other guard said over his shoulder.

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