Page 144 of The Moon's Fury
Blinking, he waited for his eyes to adjust. There was nothing but darkness.
Scrape.
Scrape.
Scrape.
He tried to rub his eyes, but his arm wouldn’t heed his command.What the fuck is going on?The pounding in his head intensified, as if it had patiently waited for him to wake before becoming truly unbearable.
Awareness slowly trickled into him as he shifted. With dawning horror, he realized his arms were tied behind his back—no, to a tree. He tried to shout, but there was a rough piece of cloth stuffed in his mouth, another one covering his eyes.
His heart hammered against his chest, finally sensing the sheer danger he was in. Wilzad racked his brain, trying to remember what the fuck happened. He had been at the tavern. It had been a successful night—five more men had agreed to return with him. He definitely drank too much in celebration. And then he’d left alone.
Scrape.
Scrape.
Scraaape.
Icy needles of fear pierced his heart. He wasn’t alone.
“Hmnfo?” he tried, but the ratty gag made it impossible to speak.
The scraping stopped.
Cold silence surrounded him, stretching for several minutes, and Wilzad realized he preferred the scraping.
“Oh, good,” drawled a deep voice from behind him. “You’re awake.”
“Mmmph,” Wilzad tried to plead. “Mmph! Lemgme gho! Pleeth!”
The voicetsked, a casual dismissal that made his bones ache with fear. Leaves crunched as the man shifted—he must have been leaning against the same tree Wilzad was tied to.
“Here’s how this is going to work,” the man said directly into his ear. Wilzad flinched, recoiling away as much as possible. Something cold and sharp glided along his jaw, sending a shiver down his spine. He went still, fear locking his body in place.
“I am going to state a fact,” the man continued, unfazed. “If I’m right, don’t say a word. And if I’m wrong…” The sharp edge traveled down to his neck. Wilzad swallowed, and the blade pinched farther into his throat.
He whimpered.
“If I’m wrong, you can do some more of that muffled begging. Understand?”
Wilzad didn’t dare move, dare breathe.
The tip of the blade pressed in harder.
“Do. You. Understand?” the man growled. This time, Wilzad nodded vigorously. His captor removed the blade.
“You’ve been luring innocent men and boys to their death in Valtisaan.”
The words were a punch to the gut.
Shock froze his mind, his tongue.How could he have—
Something sharp burrowed beneath his fingernail.
Wilzad screamed, realizing he hadn’t denied the accusation. He thrashed against the bonds until his back was raw from the tree bark.
Tears streamed down his cheeks, soaking the blindfold, but his anguished, pained wails were lost to the night. His captor finished removing his fingernail, then let out a deep sigh.
