Page 51 of The Sun God's Prize
“Merely making alliances for the Overking,” he says with a chuckle, walking forward a few steps after all, the breeze carrying that cloying scent of him to me again.He disgusts me, and I’d hoped for the chance to kill him myself, so perhaps this little pause in the Sun God’s temple will afford me three deaths delivered in one place.Fate might be kind after all.“My,” he says with laughter in his tone, “how the mighty have come to a terrible ending.Jhanette would be so disappointed.”
If he thinks he can wound me, he’s wrong.I’ve already been battered by her memory.But hearing her name from his mouth makes me want to kill him even more.“What did the dragon’s magic do to Vivenne, Hallick?”I look up and meet his dark eyes.“She was dead and now she’s… not alive.”
Anger flashes in his gaze.Did he think me so easily rattled?This round is mine as he tsks softly at me, one hand brushing the air between us as though to ward off my words.
“I saved your aunt after you murdered her,” he says.“Despicable child.”
“I’m sure you’re regretting your decision,” I say, “since she failed you the way she did.”I shrug.“And not for the first time, either.”
Now he snarls at me, turning to pace, though not coming close.He has to know he puts his life in his hands merely by being here, but the temptation to come and taunt me must have been more than he could resist.I let him carry on, confident that I can reach him before he can escape.I’m anticipating his throat in my hands as I squeeze his life out of him while he speaks again.
“You’re here now, regardless,” he says, visibly forcing himself to stop and hold his ground, hands tucked inside his dark robe.He must be sweating in his heavy garments, the humidity intense even with the breeze, but he’s chosen to maintain his Chancellor’s attire even here in the Sun God’s lands.“Exactly as I intended.That’s all I require.”
All he requires.“Does the Overking even know you’re here, Hallick?”What is he up to?And have I misunderstood entirely who it is that actually rules in Protoris?
No, surely not.
Hallick doesn’t answer me, eyes narrowed as he stares me down.“I understand you finally met your father,” he says.
I’m done talking.I flash him a vicious smile, rising slowly to my feet.He doesn’t sense the threat yet, the fool.Instead, his scowl deepens.
“Tell me of the Overprince,” he says.“Did you kidnap him?Or did the foolish boy go willingly?Ah,” he says, “you parted your legs and he fell face-first into your cunt.I thought as much.”
That’s enough of that.I stalk forward, closing the distance in smooth, short strides, staying loose and quiet as he finally realizes I’m close, far too close for comfort.Hallick scrambles backward, past the lip of the floor, into the garden, until he’s on a path, the guards tensing when I emerge to follow him.
Four bows rise, arrows trained on me, while Hallick regains his composure.
“I’ll see you soon, highness,” he says, spinning and striding off, his dark robes flaring around him.I watch him go, weighing the time it would take to catch him against how many arrows might hit me before I took him down.
But doing so would mean sacrificing my joy in ripping out the throat of the Sun God and his mewling boychild.
I’ll have them all in one place at some point, I’m sure of it.I can wait.
The guards relax when I retreat.While their anxious looks at one another make me smile.They’re right to be afraid.
If they don’t stay out of my way, they’ll die, too.
***
Chapter Twenty-Five
I manage some sleep, worn out from the day’s fighting, the emotional turmoil, and more than enough drama to allow my body to rest, if not my mind.Though I’m already used to being plagued by dreams of my mother’s death, none come, and when I wake, I thank whatever power that controls such things that I was allowed one night of clean sleep.
There is no doubt in my mind that I’m going to need it.
The private bath invites me, and I can’t resist, sinking into the deep water, scrubbing myself almost raw when I realize I still have some of the blood of my opponents on me despite my short visit to the bath at the Dome, missed flecks of them a reminder I no longer wish to carry physically, though I’ll hold them in my mind for a long time yet.But like other battles, they, too, will fade, and I’ll find peace.
As soon as I’m able to leave this place and do what I’m supposed to.
Someone has taken my armor when I return to the bedroom, leaving behind a robe and the collection of clothing that awaits.I’m furious with myself that I failed to safeguard it, because this feels far too much like a repeat of what happened in Winderose, and I know better.Why did I forget the penchant of servants to take what doesn’t belong to them?
I rummage through the fabrics and come upon a pair of trousers that balloon outward, cuffed at the ankles and tying off at the waist, much like the ones Yiratille wore, though the matching top is ridiculously tiny and shows far too much skin.Not that I’m prudish, of course.I’ve worn less for worse reasons, but I have no desire to share anything at all with this false god and his court, and would prefer to drape myself in yards of fabric if that’s the opposite of what their current fashion demands.
If it weren’t for the heat, of course, so I grimace and concede, at least a little, one of the selections only exposing a thin, vertical line of midriff as I button the sort of waistcoat that hangs down to my knees, sleeveless and embroidered to stiffness.It fits well enough that I can fight in it, the trousers billowing but sufficient for my needs.I choose bare feet over the ridiculous curved-toed shoes of silk that won’t hold up to a short walk, let alone a battle, and don’t care what anyone thinks.
The second I get my sandals back, I’ll be sleeping with them to ensure I have something on my feet I can rely on when the time comes to run.
Escape is going to be my only option at this point, I’m sure of it, grimly planning ahead, and trying not to feel bitter about all the time I’ve wasted already when I should have just done so in the first place.If this is where I was going to end up ultimately, I’ve played right into Hallick’s hands yet again, and I’m getting very tired of feeling like I’m being moved about a playing board like the pawn I’ve always refused to be.
