Page 98 of The Throne's Undoing

Jaw twitching, Laurince's eyes flicked to the door. Dread filled the room as his attention remained on the door for a second too long.

He mumbled, "I shouldn't be here. It was risky to come. Even riskier to show you who I am." He brushed a hand through his short black waves, his fingers shaking slightly as he ran them through the silky strands.

Myra loosened her grip around his wrist and folded her shaking hands in her lap. "Why are you here?" she said lowly.

One of his hands rolled into a fist, his knuckles blanching. "I just"--he took a deep, steadying breath--"I need to know." His determined gaze met hers.

"Know what?" she asked, confused.

"Is he alive?"'

Her lips parted then closed before finally asking, "You do not know?"

Laurince shook his head. "He..." His brows twisted with pain.

Myra knew very little about Laurince and what kind of man he truly was beneath the armor. But she did understand people's emotions, and his fear and pure concern were potent. "You can tell me," Myra whispered.

Laurince rubbed a hand across his face. "The king has been missing from the public eye since the wedding. They said he was injured and then had fallen ill, needing to be isolated. But I saw him leaving the castle and followed. I was surprised to find him taken here of all places. I was even more surprised to learn he was locked in the dungeon. When I discovered that you were being taken there...I had to find out." Laurince wrung his hands together, peering at her. "You have seen him, though?"

Myra nodded. "He is alive, but I cannot say he is well." She swallowed and forced the words out, no matter how hard they were to say or how confusing they were in her mind. "The other man--they took him, and I don't know what happened to him. I do not think he is dead, but I am not sure that is a blessing either."

Laurince's brow creased. "What do you mean? What man?"

Myra, however, held her tongue as she narrowed her gaze. Laurince was the Frenzian king's guard. He had to know the truth. How could he have not?

Was this some sort of trap? Was this another ploy of King Domitius's?

She wasn't sure. Even though she felt no malice or treachery spilling from his emotions, she proceeded carefully.

"Have you been in the tunnels beneath the royal temple in Frenzia?"

"The tunnels?" Laurince asked, eyes narrowing. "What do they have to do with anything?"

Myra pursed her lips. "So you know they exist."

"Well, yes. They're ancient, but they are no longer in use. From what I've heard, they're no longer passable after centuries of decay." He shrugged.

Myra's gaze flitted across his face as she tried to find traces of a lie.

She found none.

Swallowing, she said, "There are creatures that live in cages within the tunnels."

"Creatures?" he repeated.

Myra nodded. "Prince Sebastian and the late king were conducting experiments. King Domitius somehow got wind of it, and now he has begun his own experiments with the prince's assistance."

"Fucking Sebastian," Laurince hissed. "I knew something was amiss when he was the one I saw getting out of the carriage." Laurince shook his head and returned his gaze to her. "Do you know what these experiments are?"

Myra bit her lip. "They tell me very little," she said at last. "Though I fear the results."

"Yet you help them?" he pressed, his gaze turning cold.

Myra shifted uncomfortably and said, "I have no choice."

He scoffed then. "Everyone has a choice."

Guilt wrapped around her throat. She felt sick as she thought of what she had done for the king.

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