Page 129 of Andreas

He lifted his head, a smirk on his face. ‘Word is, princess, you’ve got rats in your palace. They scurry around in your home, beneath your very nose. How else do you think they were able to get that little boy of yours out of the house and lure him down to that lake? A shame, really. So young. He could have been a fine young man if he’d ever had the chance to live.’ The chieftain cackled. ‘You know, rumour has it that those rebels were the ones to kill him. And you know what, you evil bitch? I heard the name of someone you know. Got one of those rebels so blackout drunk, they slipped up.’

‘Who?’ Areanel questioned, her voice dropping to a deadly sort of calm, the sort that had even predators backing away. She moved closer to him.

Someone you know, the thought rattled through her head. But it couldn’t be, because if this man was telling the truth, then that would mean… someone had betrayed them.

Betrayed her.

Areanel didn’t think she could breathe. No. Not again. She couldn’t face another betrayal. But who? Someone you know. Her eyes darted towards the stairs, and with the relentless storm brewing within her, she wasn’t sure what to think.

The chieftain laughed hysterically, blood dripping down his chin. ‘Easy, you Andrean monster. H—’

A dagger sliced across the chieftain’s throat, blood spurting from his neck and down his body as he gurgled and choked on his own blood. ‘What did you do?’ Areanel seethed as she turned to Verdugo, who was cleaning the knife on the chieftain’s already stained trousers.

‘Sorry, darling. The dearly departed chieftain here already divulged the information you glean. However, I am afraid it’s going to cost you.’

Areanel moved forward, reaching for a blade. ‘Ah, ah, ah, princess. I wouldn’t do anything you’ll regret, now.’ Verdugo held up a hand in a placating manner, twirling the knife menacingly. ‘All you need to do is uphold your end of the bargain, and I will uphold mine.’ He pointed the knife at her and then at himself, gaze focused solely on Areanel. ‘You can’t expect me to give up all my cards now, can you? You did make a deal with a demon, darling! And you and I? We aren’t so different.’

He moved closer, his bloody, gloved hand resting on her cheek. She shoved it away in disgust. ‘I know a small part of you enjoyed the pain we inflicted tonight, didn’t you?’ He whispered to her as though they shared a secret. ‘That’s okay. It happens to the best of us. You know what they say: every genius has a bit of insanity in them.’ He laughed, devilish smile not dropping for a second. ‘You should smile more, darling Nelly. It keeps your enemies on their toes.’

‘It was supposed to look like an accident. Not make him a martyr.’ Areanel was still in shock. There was a traitor in the palace. Not just a traitor. Rats. More than one. People she knew, maybe even those she trusted. Perhaps her father was right to be paranoid.

Verdugo grabbed a cloth from his pocket and wiped the blood from his hands. ‘Don’t you worry about that, darling. I will have my people deal with the body. Rumours spread like wildfire in Alabasus! I will sort everything out; we’ll make it look like an unfortunate drunken squabble.’ With that, he started to unchain the dead body and lowered it, the muscles in his slim forearms straining, to the floor with a thud.

‘And the name of the traitor?’ she asked. Her legs were growing tired from standing for hours in tall heels that now dug into the natural dirt of the cellar floor. She should have taken them off, but hadn’t thought the chieftain would last as long as he did. All she wanted now was to return to Rymedur and get some rest. Something putrid was stuffing itself up her nose, and Areanel wasn’t sure it was the rotting egg smell that she had noticed when she first descended down the steps and into the cellar. The earthen walls surrounding her were slowly starting to resemble a tomb. How many people had Verdugo killed down here?

The interrogation had exhausted her, both mentally and physically. All the emotions she had kept bottled were threatening to spill, overflowing her with things she did not wish to feel.

Traitor. The word was like a brand. Someone had betrayed her. Had the audacity to join this false Tar-Angulócë, responsible for her son’s death. Tears pricked her eyes. Why did this always happen to her? Did the gods really hate her so much? She hadn’t done anything to deserve this.

Anger and sadness battled; she wasn’t sure what she should feel anymore. She was just so tired of it all.

Maybe her mother’s prophecy was right after all, and a war would be waged from the hatred of one's heart—because that’s all Areanel wanted to do: wage war on all of Idyssa.

Maybe she was a monster. Maybe the chieftain was right, and she was exactly like her father. Or worse, she was just as sadistic as Sciva Verdugo. Did it even matter anymore if those she trusted turned on her?

Verdugo straightened the lapels of his jacket, and that devilish smile spread across his sharp features again. ‘In time, darling. In time. Now, why don’t you go upstairs and clean up before you head on out? Can’t have you waltzing around the city covered in blood.’ He turned to another one of his underlings, who descended the steps. ‘Scilla, get her cleaned up and send her on her way.’

With that, he turned to dispose of the body as Areanel was escorted up the stairs.

She didn’t regret the old man’s death—hell, she had wanted it—but making a deal with the psychopathic narcissist…

Had she truly made a deal with a demon worse than her father?

Would she be ready to pay Verdugo’s price when the time came? She shuddered just at the thought, and what it could mean for the people of Alabasus.

What had she done?

Chapter 46

Areanel

Trust was a fickle thing. Areanel had learnt that the hard way.

So, why, then, had she trusted his words? When Verdugo had finally revealed who had betrayed her trust, Areanel had wasted no time.

Pushing past Scilla, she raced to the stairs leading to the back door of The Zenith. The muscles in her calves pulled as she bounded up, heels clicking against the dirt-ridden, splintered wooden steps. She needed to get to the others before it was too late.

Boom!