Page 87 of Brutal Fae King
“What’s that?” she asks.
I walk over to the battlements, taking her with me. When we lean over, I feel cool, sweet relief wash over me.
“It’s our victory,” I whisper.
Our army is cheering. The battlefield looks as bloody and horrendous as any other, bodies littering the ground like autumn leaves, but the enemy army—what remains of them—is fleeing through the castle town. Only our army stands, and they’re cheering, watching the army retreat.
As they celebrate, some of them look up and notice us at the top of the battlements. They notice one by one, and once they’re all staring at us, I release Ebelor and then walk toward Dralis. I grab Dralis’s binds and drag him to his feet. I half-carry him over to the battlements so the army can see him. When they do, they break out into even louder triumphant screaming than they did before.
I look around and find Ebelor. I take her hand with my spare one and raise them into the air. The cheering is even more frantic, and it’s just myself and my wife, bathing in the sound of our triumph.
Chapter 27 - Ebelor
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?” Vicmar says, a cheeky grin on his face.
I give a playful scowl back, but I’m not as annoyed as I’m pretending to be. It’s nice to have something else to focus on aside from the battle that happened a few days ago. It’s a little unbelievable to think about now; less than a week ago, I was in a life-or-death, do-or-die battle. Such a short while ago, if someone had said that I would be in such a battle, I would have laughed. It still makes my brain swim when I try to consider it. But I did it. I cast the magic, I wielded the sword, and I got a good blow in on Dralis—the man who was a feared god to some.
Idid that.Me.I can’t believe it…
But that means that Dralis has even more reason to come after me than he did before…
“He is secure in the dungeons, right, Vicmar?” I ask nervously.
“For the last time,yes,Ebelor!” he says. “You can check the wards yourself if you want!”
The idea of seeing him again, even in the context of the dungeon, makes my skin crawl a little.
“N-no, thank you!”
He chuckles lightly.
“I know he has teleported in and out of the dungeons before, but the sigils and wards we have up on the walls and on every bar of that cell are meant to bind the powers of dark fae,” he says. “And we know not a single guard here is willing to workwith him in any way, so he’s not worming his way to escapethatway.”
I nod.
“And… um… what are we doing with him?” I ask. “In the long term, I mean?”
That’s when Vicmar shuffles uncomfortably and hangs his head.
“I wouldn’t know,” he answers. “I just… heismy brother… we grew up together…”
He doesn’t say it out loud, but I understand what he’s trying to say.
“It’s okay,” I say quietly. “As long as he doesn’t escape.”
“We have made sure he couldn’t,” he says. “We have checked and double-checked—teleporting in and out of that place should be impossible. And that’s even if he can still do it now his trickster god has abandoned him.”
I nod lightly.
“Are we… Can we check to make sure that’s true?” I ask nervously.
“I don’t know if there’s any way to check,” Vicmar answers. “But I’ve never heard him wail like that. It’s like he’s dying slowly and painfully, but physically, he’s well. We’ve had healers down there, and none of them can find anything wrong with him. I doubt that even Dralis could fake something so distressing to listen to, and the entire time, he’s begging for mercy from Mischevil.”
I nod again. Vicmar nods as well, but he’s looking down at the floor, a little pain furrowing his brow. I walk over and put ahand on his shoulder. His tense muscle loosens under my hand. He just smiles weakly at me.
“I apologize,” he says. “I should pull myself together. It’s just that… I still remember the days when Dralis and I were children. When we used to play together, and he was my big brother… I know he’s not the Dralis I knew before, but… I don’t know.”
