Page 43 of The Soul of the Dragon

"You should watch that ugly little mouth of yours, Kitra, before I am forced to do something about it."

A blast of fear shot down my spine and I swore I felt the pain at my back all over again.

"And you should take a woman to your bed who doesn't hate your guts."

A loud crack sounded through the room and my head was thrown to the side before I even realized what happened. But the immediate bloom of pain to the entire left side of my face registered just fine and tears filled my eyes as I clutched my cheek.

"Why would I care about your feelings towards me? Or whether you come to my bed willingly? I'm done waiting for you to behave with respect and proper decorum. If you want to be treated like a lowly-born daughter of a whore, then that is what I shall do."

"My mother was not a whore. How dare you speak of her like that!" I lunged forward to strike back at him, and one of the guards behind him that I'd failed to notice moved in a blur, blocking me from the King and swatting away my hands as if they were nothing more than tiny gnats.

"That is the privilege of being the King. I can say and do anything I please and there is no one to stop me." The sick, twisted arrogant smile on his face made me burn with hatred. I'd thought what he'd done before had broken the old me, but I was wrong.

It was this moment, right here. When he'd insulted my mother and made it clear that he’d never cared for anyone other than himself. And his precious desire for a true heir, because it was clear that Magnus was never going to be good enough.

"I'm not a virgin anymore," I blurted out the lie so automatically and with such vehemence, I almost believed it myself.

If I thought he looked like a monster before, it was nothing compared to the twist of his expression into the ugly, hate filled man who truly would stop at nothing, including taking what he wanted from me and then discarding me when it was done.

"Well, then I guess we will have to find something else for you to do until you bleed again. Because you won't be passing off some whore spawn as mine. And then when we are certain you are without child," he stepped closer and wrapped his hand around my neck and squeezed until my air was cut off. "I will fuck you like a true king should."

I grabbed at his hands and tried to pry them from my throat. As my lungs strained for air, despair seized me and my thoughts went wild with visions of my death here in this strange house in a village of strangers who couldn't care less what happened to me.

Dots filled my vision and I was about to pass out. By the time I woke again, if I did, I would be right back where I started. In a filthy cell inside the King’s castle, destined to die.

"Get her out of here." My stepfather abruptly released my neck and I was too disoriented and exhausted to catch myself before I crumpled to the ground.

"It's a good thing her magic is still bound," someone said from a distance, but I didn't have the energy to investigate. Nor did I fight when I was lifted roughly from the ground.

"I'm hardly worried about her capabilities. The wizard who wielded that dark magic assured me that nothing or no one could unbind it except for him. And now that he's dead..."

Several men chuckled as I tried to piece together the meaning of his words through my oxygen deprived mind. Rough hands jostled me up and carried me from the seer's home as I dangled between them. I attempted to pull away, but the hands holding me prisoner were as strong as the shackles that awaited me.

As if my thoughts conjured them, the clang of chains rubbing together sounded in my ears and I felt the cool metal wrap around both of my wrists.

"That will keep her under control." The King chuckled as he raised the cloak over his head and we emerged into the blazing rays of the sun.

At the end of the path in front of the seer's home, the King's carriage awaited, as well as a small army of his guardsman on horseback.

They'd easily set a trap for me, somehow knowing I would be at this place at this time. I was jerked forward, and it pulled me off balance. I clumsily stepped on the edge of my dress at the same time I twisted in the opposite direction, causing my dress to rip and expose my breasts.

The guards roughly pulled me back to my feet. "Stand and walk or this is going to get a whole lot worse."

Since I had no desire to figure out what could be worse than my current predicament, I straightened my body and moved forward.

We didn't get ten steps and an anger filled roar sounded from above. We all stopped and stared at the black as night dragon streaking towards us with a plume of dark smoke trailing behind him.

Isaac.

I nearly sagged in relief.

"I thought BOTH of the dragons were neutralized?" The king yelled as he rushed for the cover of trees. He could easily wield his magic against Isaac, but if he wasn't quick enough then he'd be left out in the open as a target for Isaac's anger.

"They were, your grace. I don't know how this one escaped the poison."

Poison? My face twisted towards the guard as he tried to drag me away. With one last burst of energy I dug in my heels and twisted in their arms in an attempt to get free. They held fast, but at the same time the dragon let loose with a burst of fire that didn't quite reach us, but we all felt the blistering heat from it.

I gasped from the sudden bite of pain as flames erupted around us. One guard caught fire and dropped my arm and the other jerked too hard and forced me to the ground before letting go of my chains. My crash to the ground forced the air out of my lungs, but I had the foresight to roll away from the guard.

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