When Kaden remains on the ground fearfully, my heart aches for the boy.
I wanted to reach out my hands and comfort the boy, telling him everything will be okay.
But even I know that's a lie.
I turned to the silver-haired prince and saw his eyes continued staring at me.
His red eyes brought a shudder down my spine, and I waited for the reason he brought me on this carriage.
And why he wanted to know my name.
It can't be anything good.
I lowered my head and swallowed my pride, and I asked. "My prince, please don't bring the child into this; he's innocent."
The silver-haired prince sneered and asked mockingly, "Why should I show mercy to a human child?"
I took a deep breath, answering carefully that wouldn't displease the man, "Because he's innocent."
The silver-haired prince said with a snort, "Innocent. No one is truly innocent in this world. He might be innocent now, but someday he'll be a grown man with blood on his hands."
I nodded my head, and I said carefully, "True, but he hasn't committed any crimes now."
The prince stared at me, although I couldn't see it. His stare made me uncomfortable, but I endured it.
I heard him speak in a low, menacing voice, "Lift your head."
I was confused, but I didn't refuse. Lifting my head up but keeping my eyes down.
This doesn't seem to please the prince. He said with a sneer, "Don't act innocent, feral one. I want to see your eyes."
I lifted my head, my blue eyes boring into his with fearlessness, and I saw the prince stare at me with faint interest.
"I should gouge out your pretty eyes. They would look good in my collection."
His words brought another shudder down my spine, and I could feel an invisible sword across my neck.
I said with a forced smile, "My prince, if you gouge out my eyes, they won't look pretty anymore."
We stared at each other for a few seconds, my heart pounding like a drum, and I almost felt sick to my gut.
I wanted to look away, but I remembered the boy, Kaden's life was in my hands.
Then the prince lifted his head toward the cup on the table.
Hed, his voice almost casual, almost amused. Like he was commenting on the weather.
"Drink."
I turned toward the cup with my chest in dread, and I saw the small white cup on the table.
I was filled with confusion, then I turned to the prince, who lifted his brow. "I won't ask again."
I almost clenched my hands on the floor, and I was going to stand up till the prince spoke again.
"Crawl."
His words brought a shocking alarm in my veins, and I wanted to demand. What the hell?
This bastard wants me to crawl on the ground like a dog.
I forced myself to calm down and told myself to think of the boy.
I crawled on my knees as I was told; the hard floor made my kneecap throb with pain, and my back throbbed from the lashes.
It was almost agony, and I clenched my teeth, and once I reached the table, it took seconds.
But it felt like hours, and I grabbed the cup on the table with a sharp glare toward the prince.
The prince looked at me with amusement in his red eyes, like he was enjoying toying with me on the spot.
Once I looked down at the cup. My heart stopped like a cold wind flushing through my veins.
I wanted to shout at the prince. Why is there blood in the cup?Does he expects me to drink it?
I wanted to vomit on the spot, and I glanced at the prince with confusion.
I asked with hesitation in my voice, "You want me to drink this?"
The prince didn't answer. He only tilted his head with a raised, challenging brow.
That was enough of an answer for me. I took a deep breath. Besides, if he wanted to kill me, he would've done it a long time ago.
In the prince's mind, death was too easy, so he wasn't going to let me off the hook.
I held my breath and closed my eyes as I forced myself to swallow down the blood.
The blood was warm and thick like iron—salty and a little bit sweet.
I set down the cup when I wiped my lips. I looked toward the prince with my brow raised in a haughty expression. "I finished it."
The prince didn't say anything. He was silent, and his eyes stared at me; amusement radiated from his gaze.
Later, the pain throughout my body fades away. My back didn't throb like before; only a faint pain lingered.
I furrowed my brow, I raised my hand to touch my back, and I felt no pain from the lashes.
No wound.
No pain.
It's…
It's all gone.
I was confused, and I asked, "How is this possible?"
The prince lifted his head in a sneer, and he explained in a way a child would understand, "My blood can cure people."
I was surprised by his answer. Why would this man cure me? I asked carefully, my mind struggling with the mind-blowing information.
"Why would you heal me?"
The prince set down the white cup on the table, and he rose from his chair.
He strode toward me, his body radiating with menace like a deadly, quiet predator.
He stopped a few inches away from me, and my heart beat like music, trapped in its form.
I waited for something, and I clenched my hands when the prince raised his hand on my head.
I turned away from him before he could've had a chance to touch me any further. I don't know what sick game the prince is playing, but I'm not playing along.
Like a chess piece on a board.
The prince smirked at me, and he said, "I don't need your gratitude. I only need you to obey me like the slave you are."
His words brought a wave of fresh anger in me. I almost wanted to throw the cup at his face and break his golden mask.