Page 71 of The Goblin Twins
‘When your brother and your blond bitch come.’ The words bounced around in A’bbni’s mind, a swell of relief coursing through him. Ba’shea did not know that Shi’chen and Lai had snuck out of the house late last night and should already be in The Keep. Ba’shea and Mii’ra had not seen Shi’chen or Lai leave his bedroom after Lai’s offer of a drink the night before, and they had not checked his room before grabbing him from the dining room this morning. A’bbni forced his eyes to fill with tears, as if Ba’shea’s words distressed him. “Please, don’t do this,” he said softly.
Ba’shea only gave him that cruel smile. “Perhaps His Sovereignty will not execute your brother right away. I would relish the chance to crush his spirit.” Ba’shea reached up to slide one bony finger down A’bbni’s cheek. “After all, children are easily broken, and we know what his greatest weakness is, don’t we?”
A’bbni shuddered, trying to turn away from the touch on his face. Ba’shea’s gnarled fingers suddenly grasped his chin and jerked his face toward him. “I asked you a question, boy, and you will answer me.”
A’bbni swallowed hard, his hands starting to come up to push Ba’shea’s fingers away from him before he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Mii’ra had pulled a blade from her sleeve and suddenly flung herself at En’shea, arm raised to strike. En’shea did not move, but Hi’jan did. Quicker than A’bbni could see, the Commander had unsheathed his short sword and swung. Mii’ra stopped in her tracks, a line of red suddenly opening across her throat. Blood began to pour from the wound as her head tipped back at an unnatural angle, barely still connected by her spine, and her body collapsed to the floor. Blood poured from the stump that had been her neck.
A’bbni opened his mouth to scream, but Ba’shea’s hand on his chin slid up to clamp over his mouth and shove him back against the table, cutting off the sound. A’bbni’s back hit the tabletop, knocking the air from his lungs as he struggled against the hold. He felt a wave of dizziness hit him as the smell of fresh blood reached his nose, and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as his stomach surged into his throat, the feeling of the scarred wood beneath him sending a tidal wave of panic over him. Ba’shea was suddenly leaning over him, his thigh pressed painfully between A’bbni’s legs, holding him in place, so close that A’bbni could feel the other man’s heat against him.
He couldn’t stop a soft whimper that escaped his throat as he stared into Ba’shea’s yellow eyes, so close to his that he could see the striations in his irises. Eyes exactly like Hi’jan’s. He wanted to scream, to strike him, to do anything to get away, but all strength seemed to have fled his body, and his mind was a terrifying mess of blankness except for the dark gape of his Father’s mouth, the stench of death, the single drop of blood on the ruby stone, and the pain as Hi’jan took him from behind. He saw that same cruelty in Ba’shea’s face, knowing that the man could see every whisp of weakness in him that he could exploit, knowing that Ba’shea could see in his eyes exactly what Hi’jan and En’shea had done to him. His hands flew up to desperately try to pry the hand off his mouth, but Ba’shea only squeezed tighter, his fingers digging viciously into the soft parts of his cheeks.
A’bbni closed his eyes for a moment, trying to get his racing heart and mind to calm. The last thing he wanted to do was pass out again in this room. He knew if Shi’chen were at his side, his brother would stroke his hair and tell him to breathe. Ba’shea held his mouth, so he forced himself to inhale through his nose, his fingers curling slightly against Ba’shea’s hand. The first one was a struggle, but he let it out and slowly drew in another one, and then a third. His mind strained to focus on something, anything, that would keep the smell of Mii’ra’s blood from sending him into a panic he couldn’t get out of.
He knew what Ba’shea wanted, what all of them wanted from him. Submission. Compliance. To play the meek little scholar they thought he was and follow their commands. If he did what they wanted and did not fight back, the fun would go out of it for them. Keeping his eyes closed, he slowly pulled his hands away from Ba’shea’s grip, opening his fingers in submission and letting them rest on the table by his head, trying hard to relax the tension in his body.
Laughter from all three of the goblins echoed hollowly against the stones, but once his hands went still, Ba’shea’s grip on his face shifted down, pulling A’bbni up by the front of his shirt until he was on his feet again, the small of his back still pressed to the table’s edge.
En’shea had not moved from where he had first stopped before Mii’ra leaped at him. He was watching them all move around him like they were no more than shadows. His eyes met A’bbni’s, and A’bbni felt a shiver go down his spine as those unfeeling, golden eyes bored into his, reading something in him, though he didn’t know what.
“Sovereignty, we should get you to safety before Captain Er-Ha’sen has the crowd assembled,” Hi’jan said, bending down to scoop up the blade that had fallen from Mii’ra’s limp hand. A’bbni leaned back against the tabletop, bracing his hands on it as his body felt too heavy to stay upright, focusing all of his effort into not screaming or crying. En’shea was still watching him with that unnerving stare, as if he were looking for something.
“Commander.” En’shea addressed the tall goblin over his shoulder without moving his eyes from A’bbni’s. “You said that the half-elf that returned with them is our Dear Cousin’s lover, is that correct?”
“Yes, Your Sovereignty,” Hi’jan said, casting his eyes over at A’bbni as well, and the prince felt heat rush to his cheeks and ears as he stared back at En’shea.
“Capture him alive, and then bring him to us,” En’shea said, giving A’bbni another of his icy smiles. “We want to ensure our Dear Cousin gets the chance to say goodbye to him. He will have a very. Long. Time.”
The air left A’bbni’s lungs like he had been punched in the stomach, and an unbidden sob wrenching itself from his throat before he could stop it.
“Of course, Your Sovereignty,” Hi’jan said with a smirk at A’bbni. “It would be my pleasure.”
And with that, the three goblins turned and left, leaving him in the room with Mii’ra’s corpse and the flicker of firelight over the widening puddle of blood. The door closed and locked as A’bbni dropped to his knees and vomited.
Chapter twenty-three
Shi'chen
Theproblemwithhavingto wait for so long was that his mind wandered to all the things that could go wrong. Of which there were many right now. What if the people of the city did not assemble? What if Hi’jan did not bring En’shea to The Keep for protection? What if Ba’shea had found out they left the night before and had Hi’jan search The Keep? If he and Lai were discovered and captured, no one would know. All these thoughts were circling in his head in a whirlpool of frustration that threatened to drown him like the ocean.
Shi’chen thought he might have dozed off, because there was a sudden clatter outside the door, and he heard En’shea’s sharp, nasal voice. “We do not care about them; we want our Cousin arrested!” The hallway door the guards stood at opened, and a faint flicker of light could be seen from the hallway as several servants entered and began lighting the lamps around the rooms. Next to him, Lai stiffened and went completely still, and Shi’chen followed suit.
“I know, Your Sovereignty. I have guards at every entrance.” That voice was unmistakably Hi’jan’s.
“We grow tired of your incompetence, Commander,” En’shea said, stalking into the first room and knocking aside what must have been a goblet with a sharp, tinny crash as it hit the stone floor. “If you allow our Cousin to breech The Keep, it will be your head on the wall next.”
“Yes, Sovereignty,” Hi’jan said smoothly, as if he had heard this threat many times before. “He would not dare to make a move against us while we have his brother. You are well protected here, and we will not let him get to you or the prince.”
The impact of the words hit him like a physical blow. Shi’chen had to clap his hand to his own nose and mouth to keep from screaming, turning with wide eyes to Lai next to him, who looked just as shocked. His heart began to thunder in his chest, so loud he thought it might be heard in the next room. Hi’jan had A’bbni, and he was holding him prisoner somewhere in this tower. Unfortunately, enough time had passed between them leaving the night before until now that he doubted it was a bluff on Hi’jan’s part; the Commander was too confident.
He felt his muscles tense, ready to spring from under the bed and grab Hi’jan by the throat. Lai shifted almost imperceptibly next to him, laying a hand on his arm, though whether as reassurance or warning, he didn’t know. He forced himself to relax one muscle at a time, though his heart continued its drumbeat in his ears.
“We hope we have made ourselves clear that you do not get our Dear Cousin until his brother is dead,” En’shea said, suddenly coming into the bedroom. Shi’chen could barely see his slippered feet under the edge of the comforter, coming closer.
“Yes, Sovereignty.” Hi’jan sounded like he had heard that before, too. Several servants entered and began to light the lamps around the bedroom, and Shi’chen and Lai didn’t even breathe.
“We are considering not even letting you have him,” En’shea said coldly. “Your grandfather’s willingness to betray us to placate the Council does not reflect well on you, Commander. If we have reason to question your loyalty again, we will simply have our Dear Cousin executed as well, and you will join him.”
“I understand, Sovereignty.” Hi’jan sounded like he was speaking through clenched teeth.
