Page 33 of Kingdom of Rot & Ruin
“Hey,” I whispered into the darkness.
He took small, hesitant steps into the room, eyes trained on the floor. I thought he’d be more … excited to see me. I had saved his life, after all, and he mine. He only had a poultice patch on the bottom of his long legs, likely the only part of him that had stuck out from my body when I’d laid on top of him.
“Thanks for getting L,” I said, though I’d literally sacrificed my body for him. I was gracious, after all, and Vession said to always be gracious. Though I wouldn’t soon forget how much agony it had been when M had pried my body off of his to get away.
I could forgive that, though. It had been necessary in order to retrieve help.
M froze, not meeting my gaze.
“How are you alive?” he finally managed. “I didn’t think …”
I burned to tell him about my rituals and experiments, but hesitated at his tone. He was upset I was still alive. Frustrated.
“M, I?—”
“I’ve never been big and strong like B,” he interrupted. “I’m not funny like some others. I’m not smart like you. How am I supposed to survive?”
He finally met my eyes, deep, deep sorrow etched into the lines of a face too young.
That happy feeling inside of me popped like a ruptured waterskin.
“What—”
“I have to survive here. You agree that we each gotta do what we gotta do, right?” He stepped forward, hands laced together as he pleaded with me.
I agreed with him and his sentiment. I was just too confused and stunned to do so out loud.
“I thought you weredead, Z. I’m sorry.”
My confusion turned to dismay, morphing into bleeding, hot anger as B pushed his way into my tiny room, shoving M to the side to make way for three more of his goonies.
“I see,” I deadpanned, something important inside of me shriveling up and dying. “I see.”
I saw, finally. M hadn’t hurt me to get away to get help.Leaving me for dead, he’d fled like a coward, eager only to shore up his new alliances now that I was no longer alive to protect him.
Supposedly.
“I’msosorry.”
M turned tail and fled.
And this time, there wouldn’t be any Fireguards around to save my ass. They never came down to the dormitories. This was our domain.
Pain worse than the dragon’s fire assaulted at M’s betrayal. I broke it away from me and shoved it down deep. This was what happened when you trusted people. This was what happened when you relied on others.
I vowed never to do so again.
“Hey, book runt.” B sidled up next to my bed, his friends crowding around him. It was claustrophobic with so many people in my tiny room, but I fought to remain calm. “Finally, get our day, don’t we?”
I said nothing. It pissed me off beyond reason to know I’d survived a goddamn dragon, but would end up being murdered in my bed by this fucking mouth breather.
I shoved all my fear deep down and relaxed my body as much as I could, and added M to the list of people I’d kill slowly with bloodmagick:
The queen,
B,
M.
