Page 104 of Kingdom of the Two Moons

The last words are directed toward the spymaster, who nods once and pulls a long, leather whip free of his belt.

We flay them. Fifteen times.

Horror sluices through me as the two guards cut the siren’s shirt open at the back, exposing her bluish, slightly striped skin. My throat has turned so dry I can barely swallow.

Caryan raises his head. “There is a traitor among you. And I do not deal kindly with traitors. Let this be a warning to all of you. This is an exception I will only make once. The next one who deems it wise to break my rules will find their head put on a spike and left outside for the crows and vultures to feed on.”

With this said, he returns to his throne.

“No!” I whisper as the spymaster runs the whip through his fingers one last time, adjusting his position. “No!” I want to storm out to grab the siren, but sharp nails dig into the flesh of my arm, and Nidaw’s face is suddenly next to mine.

“Don’t, girl! That would only mean your certain execution. The spymaster and the guards are crimson-horns, the most dangerous of their kind. They’ll kill anyone who interferes with their tasks. Once they shed blood, they cannot stop. They can only do so when the Dark Lord commands them to.Forcesthem to stop. They dip their horns in the blood of their victims and never wash it off.”

Nidaw keeps digging her nails into me until her words register. Only when I nod slowly does she let go. Angry, bloody half-moons remain on my white skin.

A crack splits the room, followed by a heartbreaking scream. And every word, every thought, every feeling leaves me.

I watch numbly as the spymaster brings the lash across the siren’s back again, another patch of her skin ripping open, the crack reverberating through the vast halls like a warning.

When I can’t take it any longer, I glance back at Caryan, who looks sinister and infinitely bored. Riven’s face behind him is a mask of glorious disinterest.

How can he not want to stop this?

“Come now, girl,” Nidaw whispers into my ear, her long-clawed fingers tugging at the fabric of my clothes. “You’ve seen enough. Come now.”

I let Nidaw sweep me away back to the kitchen, the siren’s screams ebbing off with every step we distance ourselves from the throne room.

***

Later, in the kitchen, Nidaw puts a pot of steaming water with herbs in front of me. Just then, the doors open, and some sirens drag the wounded girl in. Nidaw straightens from her place at the hearth and walks straight toward the girl.

I flinch when she slaps the girl so hard her head tilts to the side, her long, pink hair falling into her face.

“Stupid, stupid girl. What did you do?”

The girl, the fabric of her clothes still hanging in scraps along with her skin, just lowers her head. “I’m sorry, Nidaw.”

“I brought you here to our king and you… you bring shame on all of us. You’ve been accused of treason.”

“It was just—”

“Enough. We all heard it, loud and clear. You can be glad that he looked into your blood. I know he’d have killed you if it weren’t for me, foolish girl. He spared you because of me.For me.”

The girl falls to her knees like she did in front of the Dark Lord. “Forgive me, Nidaw.”

Nidaw glowers at her before she sinks down on her knees as well. Briefly, I think she is going to slap the girl again. But then shetakes the girl’s face in her hands, her eyes wide with pain. I understand then, the warning Nidaw gave me in the throne room.

She whispers to the girl, “How would I have lived with seeing you beheaded, huh? How would we all have lived with that? How could you be so stupid?”

I jolt up as the siren turns her head and points a finger at me. “This… this is all because of her. Her presence imperils us all.”

Her face is suddenly contorted with fury so intense I feel my cheeks flame with heat. There’s so much anger in her eyes, in her aura as she beholds me, as if she’d love to burn me with her gaze.

Nidaw grabs her by the shoulders and shakes her. “Stop it now, Everly, and never say that again, do you hear me?”

Everly finally lowers her head, but whispers loud enough that I can still hear her, “I’m sorry, Nidaw, but it’s true. We all think it—all would be better if she’d never come here.”

“I warn you, girl. One more word and you’ll be sent to the prison, you hear me? Now, let me see to your wounds, silly one.”

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