Page 75 of The Goblin Twins
Hi’jan stroked his hand down the back of A’bbni’s head like a dog. “You may act brave, Your Highness, but we both know your brother. He will not leave you in my hands.”
A’bbni knew Hi’jan was right, but he just squared his shoulders and lifted his chin as best he could. “My life is not important when it comes to stopping En’shea’s cruelty.”
“Of course, it’s not,” Hi’jan said, his fingers sliding down A’bbni’s cheek, then suddenly grasping his chin tight in his fingers, not unlike his grandfather had done earlier that day. “But your brother won’t see it that way. And, of course, your life not being important to anyone else won’t stop you from suffering.”
A’bbni forced himself to swallow the fear that wanted to escape his throat, instead glaring at Hi’jan with all the fire he could muster. “If I have nothing left to lose, I will spend the rest of my life trying to take yours.”
For just a moment, Hi’jan looked surprised at the words. But he recovered quickly and ran his thumb down A’bbni’s cheek. “We’ll see, little mouse. Perhaps me killing your brother won’t crumble you to dust like I thought.”
A’bbni’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t respond. Hi’jan’s thumb slid lower down A’bbni’s cheek, brushing over his lower lip, and A’bbni snapped his teeth together on the thumb. Hi’jan let out a yell, kneeing A’bbni in the stomach; that sent the prince to his knees, releasing the thumb with a streak of blood down his chin and Hi’jan’s hand. He sucked in a breath, then heard the slap before he felt it, suddenly finding himself on the floor, his cheek on fire, his ears ringing. He winced and tried pushing himself up on trembling arms, not quite managing to get himself off the floor.
“You will regret that, boy,” Hi’jan hissed, clutching his bleeding hand to his chest.
A’bbni glowered up at him, spitting out a mouthful of blood, though whether it was his or Hi’jan’s, he didn’t know. “I only regret I did not bite it off. I will have to try again the next time you put something in my mouth.”
Hi’jan’s eyes flickered, but he only smiled that cold smile again. “Such big words from the little mouse. I bet that bravery makes your brother’s cock even harder for you.”
A’bbni ignored the jibe, glad Shi’chen wasn’t there to hear it and fly into a rage at Hi’jan’s goading. His cheek and jaw throbbed painfully, and his ears were ringing enough that he did not dare to try to get to his feet. He instead pushed himself into a sitting position and leaned back against the wall so he would not lose his balance. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he thought to himself that it was good he never pursued military training. How did Shi’chen deal with getting tossed around in sparring all the time?
Hi’jan’s eyes glittered as he cradled his hand. A’bbni felt a momentary surge of pleasure that Hi’jan was right-handed, and that was the hand he had bitten. It wasn’t much, but hopefully it would help if it came down to a fight, which he suspected was exactly what Hi’jan intended. “Don’t worry, Your Highness, I’ll make sure you have a chance to say goodbye to your brother. I want you to hear every scream I draw out of him before I kill him.”
He strode out of the room and slammed the door, making A’bbni’s ears flatten from the echo. Then he became aware of a noise that was gradually growing louder. Eventually he was able to discern that it was outside the palace walls. It had to be the insurgency, which he knew would be the moment that his brother and Lai would grab En’shea, if their plan was still in place. He felt a surge of pride in his chest that the city had actually risen up in protest of En’shea.
The movement of guards in the hallways increased, growing louder and then softer, and he would catch occasional bits of conversation. From what he could discern, no one had seen Shi’chen anywhere in the crowd or at any of the entrances into The Keep, and that gave him hope. In his role as a Captain of the palace guard, Shi’chen had often strategized with their Father or the Commander about scenarios both real and figurative, and while inexperienced, his ideas were well thought-out. And Lai’s plan to move immediately instead of waiting might have just been the idea that saved their lives.
There was a sudden disruption in the orderliness of the guards nearby as a muffled shout came from somewhere above them, and then several guards were running past his cell toward the stairs leading upward. A’bbni felt his heart pick up as he listened, trying to hear what might be happening, but all was suddenly quiet again for a time before he heard someone coming down the stairs nearby and calling out, “Commander!”
He heard Hi’jan’s feet in the corridor, and A’bbni instinctively shrank back, but Hi’jan did not come in. Instead, he passed by the closed door, and then he heard him speaking to the goblin on the stairs. A’bbni strained to hear. The first part was muffled, but he made out ‘Emperor,’ and then his heart did a flip in his chest when he distinctly heard, “Captain Er-Ha’sen.”
“What?” Hi’jan’s voice demanded, rising up enough that A’bbni could hear him clearly.
Whomever he was speaking to said something A’bbni could not catch, but then he heard Hi’jan say, “Are you serious?”
The other voice said something, and then came the distinct sound of Hi’jan’s hand striking whomever he was speaking to. A’bbni flinched at that, knowing it had to be one of the palace guards at the receiving end of that strike, and he felt a small surge of fury that Hi’jan would raise his hand against one of the guards under his command, even though it did not surprise him. Someone stumbled past the door, and then sounded like they fell or were tossed down several of the stairs. Hi’jan stood outside the door. “Bandage up his injury, and do not let anyone leave The Keep, alive or dead. Is that fucking understood?”
A’bbni heard several voices respond affirmatively from what must have been the first level of The Keep by the door, and then suddenly the room’s lock clicked, and the door was shoved open. Hi’jan stormed into the room in a black cloud of fury that A’bbni had never seen from him before, and he wished he could disappear into the wall as Hi’jan’s yellow eyes turned on him, burning with rage. Any courage A’bbni might have been able to summon fled, his ears flattening back in terror as he scrambled back away from the murderous gaze. He hit the wall much too soon, curling defensively against it, expecting Hi’jan to strike him.
Instead, Hi’jan stalked over to him and grabbed him by his ponytail, wrapping his right hand, now bound with a blood-soaked bandage, around it to jerk A’bbni up and back against him, making the prince cry out, tears stinging his eyes at the grip that felt like it would tear his hair from his skin. “Let’s say hello to your brother, shall we?” Hi’jan’s voice was no more than a ferocious hiss, and A’bbni was sure he had met desert snakes with less venom than Hi’jan had in him now.
Hi’jan jerked him toward the door, and A’bbni’s vision blurred both from the agony of the twisted fingers in his hair and the tears that pain caused. His hands flew up, clawing at the grip on his hair, but Hi’jan seemed beyond feeling the scratches, yanking him out the door, and A’bbni hurried to keep pace with him so as not to be dragged.
When they reached the steps leading up, Hi’jan let go of his hair, and A’bbni had barely a moment of relief before Hi’jan wrapped his hand around his mouth, and he felt the prick of a cold steel blade against his throat. He could not stop a soft whimper of fear around the hand crushing his mouth, but Hi’jan ignored it, pulling him up the stairs to the third level, down the corridor, and then up the stairs to the fourth level.
At the top of the fourth level stairs, there was a small pool of blood that had not yet dried, and A’bbni wondered if that was from the injury the guard Hi’jan had struck had received. He did not have much time to consider this as they stepped into the corridor, and he saw two familiar shapes at the other end by the stairs. Shi’chen had En’shea pinned face-first against the wall with the shaft of a spear. Despite the fact that they were all the way down the corridor, A’bbni could hear En’shea laughing in his eerie way, and the sound sent chills down his spine. Lai was nowhere in sight. He felt his breath catch around Hi’jan’s blade at his throat.
And then, suddenly, Shi’chen’s eyes met his down the corridor, and A’bbni couldn’t help but give a struggle against Hi’jan’s hold on him. Shi’chen grabbed En’shea by the back of the neck and shoved him to his knees, and A’bbni could see his cousin was blindfolded and had his hands tied behind him.
“I applaud your ingenuity, Er-Ha’sen. Too bad it was all for nothing.” Hi’jan’s voice echoed in the stone hallway.
“Release my brother,” Shi’chen hissed, the point of his spear angling down to En’shea’s throat the same way Hi’jan held him.
Hi’jan laughed. “You really think I would just give him up to you?”
Shi’chen’s eyes narrowed. “You know I will kill him,” he said, the blade pressing harder against En’shea’s skin, but the teenage Emperor only smirked.
“Of course, I do,” Hi’jan said, and A’bbni could hear the roll of his eyes in his voice even if he couldn’t see it. “You certainly have the upper hand in this negotiation. But I know how to level the playing field.”
A’bbni suddenly found himself tossed to the ground, and before he was able to even consider moving, Hi’jan’s booted foot slammed down on his knee.
