Page 15 of Crowned A Traitor
Lucifer pulled on a copy of Dante’s Inferno, and with a loud crank, a wooden panel dropped from the wall, exposing a row of small chests.
“Now let’s see what we have here,” Lucifer said opening and closing chest after chest.For the love of God, how long does it take to find a heart!Frendall went to support her as her arm slipped from the arm of the chair.
“Don’t,” Klara growled, and Frendall went to wait by the door, his frame rigid once again but she was doing it for his own protection.
“Perfect! Just created this one last week, super fresh. Not identical to your own but the ingredients were pretty much the same,” Lucifer said taking the glowing red heart from the chest. The vibrant heart pulsed in his hand and as she focused in on its call, she heard the steady beat pounding in her ears. Klara pulled herself from the chair and exposed her wound.
“This is going to sting a little,” Lucifer said, and she heard the smile on his lips. He saw her suffering as another lesson in readying her for her throne. Any sign of weakness and he would only prolong it.
“Get on with it,” Klara said, and Lucifer thrust his hand into her chest. Klara let out a roar as her veins weaved their way into the new heart. The room disappeared, and she was afraid her body would splinter if her suffering went on for another second.
“Breathe daughter,” Lucifer’s voice echoed through the white space as she wanted to rip the organ from her chest. She sank to the floor as a pulse coursed through her. “Is she rejecting it?”
Klara heard Frendall behind her, but his voice was muffled and distant. “No, otherwise her screams would be heard on Earth.”
Klara forced herself to ignore the pain and the men in the room as her magic tried to find any ill intent within the new heart. Klara had her answer as the pain subsided and all she could feel was a tingling sensation in her hands and arms. The soft maroon carpet cradled her weak body, and violent red hair covered her face, exposing the depths of her pain.
Lucifer gripped her hair, forcing her to look at him.
“This is forbidden,” The King’s eyes were black as he released his grasp on her roots and Klara collapsed back onto the carpet.
“This is why…” Lucifer ranted, “you cannot conceal what you feel— Do you want to die!” Lucifer paced beside her. Klara felt the rage radiating from him as her body tried to pull her to sleep.
“The wigs…” Frendall started, and she opened her eyes to see Frendall shielding her from Lucifer’s path.
“See to it.”
Klara didn’t know who spoke because the floor turned to waves beneath her body. “Take her to her room,” was the last order she heard before slipping away.
~5~
Thump, thump, thump, the beat in Klara’s ears startled her, and she jerked forward. A thin sheet dropped from her body. Klara’s eyes adjusted to the beams of Hell’s blood-red moon drifting over her. Her childhood room sat around her untouched. After Klara fled from her last visit, she was surprised her Father hadn’t ordered the Doomed to strip the room.
Klara pulled her t-shirt, exposing the healed pink skin at the centre of her chest. Her fingers grazed over the tender skin as Klara noticed her jumper and jacket beside her. She couldn’t face putting them on as the thin blanket was enough to stifle her in Hell’s heat.
“Heiress?” A Doomed in a white robe said as she came in through the door. “I’m to see you dressed.” The Doomed rose her eyes and Klara could see the terror in them.
“That won’t be necessary,” Klara said, but the Doomed bowed her head and remained still.
Klara stretched her arms and groaned; her muscles were tight from sleep and dehydration. “Bring it here,” Klara ordered softly as not to frighten the girl. The Doomed placed a jug on the bedside table, and Klara saw the scars on the girls face and hands.
“I won’t need your services while I’m here,” Klara said, and the Doomed hesitated by her bed.
“On the Commander’s orders, I am to assist you,” the Doomed’s words were barely a whisper.Frendall has sent a spy, Klara’s eyes searched the girl. With her hair covered in white cloth, Klara wondered how old she was.
“Please Heiress. I will serve you well. The Commander will be displeased if I return to Quarters,” she said, gripping her hands together tightly.
Maybe Frendall has become my Father’s beast. The Doomed was barely in her teens when she entered Hell and must have been here over a century to rise to the position of Handmaid.
“I relieve you, there will be no punishment,” Klara reached into her pocket and pulled a small silver coin from the pouch.If the Torturers question the girl, this will silence them.
“For services rendered,” Klara winked, and the Doomed girl hesitated, her hands gripped at her chest.
“Take it,” Klara said, and placed the coin in her lashed hand.Thievery must be her sin; her hands have been torn apart and put back together.
Klara pitied the Doomed, “If anyone asks, you are to send them to me and me only.”
“I will leave you then,” The girl backed away slowly before rushing through the door. Klara took the jug in her hands and eyed the water.Poisoned?Frendall wouldn’t dare, and she was too thirsty to think on it. She downed the contents feeling the iced water slip through her veins.
