Page 18 of Wicked Prince of Carnage
Servants halted their movements but only for mere moments before returning to dusting furniture and arranging flowers in tall vases. Sterling studied the stone and wooden walls, thebeams across the ceiling with lanterns hanging from metal chains. She memorized the layout in case she could break free with Cyan at some point.
Even though she didn’t believe the prince had so much as a shriveled heart buried in the dark pit of his rib cage—maybe the gods would bless her brother enough to let Winter free him after slaughtering her. Cyan would be all alone, but he was resilient. Archie’s mother might even take him in. Maybe that was what Sterling should’ve done to begin with—given her brother to someone else instead of keeping him tied to a reckless sister who couldn’t give up on revenge.
Micah took her down two hallways before leading her up a wooden staircase, each step creaking beneath them. Her lips set in a tight line as she wondered where he was taking her—it couldn’t be to the dungeon…
They came to a large double door with silver vines crisscrossing one another. A large man stood guarding it, his chest bare.
“Lijah, tell the prince that Red Riding Hood has arrived,” Micah said, his voice smug while giving the chain a hard tug.
“Are you sure this pitiful thing is her?” Lijah asked, his brow furrowed.
“We’ll find out,” he cooed.
Lijah shot her a glare and opened one of the doors. A pleasant scent caressed her senses—clovers and embers. Low candlelight cast shadows across the large room, and bright orange flames crackled within a stone fireplace in the corner. A massive bed covered in brown furred blankets was pushed up against one wall, a painting of a stag skull above it. Across from the bed rested a chest of drawers, a desk, and a settee.
“You won’t be sleeping in the bed.” Micah smirked and pointed to the opposite corner behind her.
Sterling pursed her lips as her gaze connected with a large metal cage hanging from the ceiling. She stood in her spot as Micah lowered the cage to the ground using a pulley system. He then opened the door, and with a low whistle, he called her to him like apet.Cyan… Cyan…she repeated his name over and over inside her head so she wouldn’t say something that could make the situation worse.
But when he reached for her, she seethed, “Don’t touch me. I’ve got it handled.”Asshole.
“Suit yourself.” Micah slammed the door behind her after she crouched into the small space. There wasn’t enough room to stand, only sit. No water. No bucket to relieve herself.
The cage swayed as Micah hoisted it back into the air. “Uncomfortable? Too fucking bad, bitch,” he taunted before leaving the room.
Please let me kill him at some point before I die.
Sterling sat for what felt like eternity, wishing she could at least remove the damn chains that had rubbed her skin raw. Her throat was too dry, and she desperately needed a drink of water, when finally the door opened.
She peered down through the dimly lit room, the sound of boots echoing. From the shadows, Winter stepped forward, his clothing not the least bit wrinkled.
“I knew you’d come, but I didn’t think it would be so soon. You’ve made it terribly easy for me, human,” he said as though he were bored. Even now, even after knowing who she was. “You must’ve been eager for a reunion.”
“I’m surprised you remembered me.” She glowered, her fingers wrapping around the cool steel of the cage.
“I tend not to remember humans.” He shrugged, looking up at her with an unreadable expression. “But you made quite the impression back then.”
Fuck you. “Please let my brother go. He’s innocent.”
“It’s possible he is.” Winter leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “But you’re not.”
“You murdered my grandmother,” Sterling ground out, her chains rattling.
The prince smirked. “I believe it was Micah who did that, and you can hardly blame me for you witnessing it. I warned you to disappear that day, didn’t I? Then you decided to start killing my packmates, so you did this to yourself.”
Sterling would grovel if she had to, would doanything. “Please free him. Cyan did nothing wrong,” she begged.
Winter pushed off from the wall and sauntered toward her. “Why should I? He could turn out just like you and your kin.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You really don’t know, do you?” His smirk turned into a wicked and beautiful smile, unveiling his dimples. Then his tone changed, and true hatred slipped from between his lips as he growled, “Your treacherous grandmother was once the leader of the hunters, and she killed my mother, thequeen.”
Sterling’s eyes widened. Her grandmother… Impossible… “Lies.”
“Oh?” He went to the desk and yanked open a drawer and withdrew an arrow. “Recognize this?”
Sterling gasped. The shape of that arrow, how it was made from antler, and a red line painted at its center… It was one that her grandmother had shown her how to make, but it didn’t belong to Sterling.
