Chapter 38: 37

I am wild with desperation. *Where is the door?!* Tears spring to my eyes when I finally see it. I will myself to run faster. My heart is jumping out of my throat but my breathing is too ragged. *I’m not going to make it.* Something in me knows that he is right behind me. I try to turn left, but my foot catches on something and I fall, hard, to the ground. I try to pick myself up but the king is already pulling me up. I don’t realize that I am screaming at him until he slaps me. 

It doesn’t hurt, I don’t even feel it, but I know it happened because I heard it - the sound of something breaking, the sound of someone breaking something in their body. I am looking at the king through my tears when something unexpected occurs. I see his broken hand but when I blink, it is no longer broken. The king and I stare at each other for just a moment, watching the realization come over the other. He can heal himself just like I can break another. 

I cannot say what the king is feeling, for he has a hundred emotions running over his face, but the danger I saw lurking has come out. The moment lasts a few seconds at best, because the next thing I know is that the king grabs a handful of hair at the back of my head and growls something to me. The roaring of the fires in the lamps that are hanging on the walls drown out all other sound. 

I am hitting and scratching at the king as he drags me deeper into the room. We don’t get very far before he throws me to the ground and mounts me from behind. I struggle under him but he is too heavy and I am at a disadvantage in this position. He takes my head and slams it into the ground. A small crack appears. It doesn’t hurt, but it makes my ears ring. He takes the belt from his robe off and ties my hands behind my back, then flips me over. He has a smile on his face and I can tell he is enjoying this. 

“Like I said before, *feisty*.” He sheds his robe and starts to unfasten his pants when he stops, looking thoughtfully at me. “There’s no point in hitting you, but how does your body respond to this?” He wraps his hands around my neck and squeezes as hard as he can, then stops. “How interesting.” He is giddy with delight. “We are going to have quite a bit of fun, you and I.” His eyes are wild. “And to think Jace was keeping you all to himself. Selfish bastard.”

“How can you call yourself king? You are nothing but a scoundrel.” I spit. “Is this what you’ve done to all the girls from my town?” *Anna, did you endure this?* The king barks out a laugh.

“To be the king gives me the right to be a scoundrel. I need to further my line, by true born or by bastard. And this is nothing compared to what I have done to the girls from your town, or from any town for that matter. I thought I found my match with that Maya girl, but you have proven far better.” I feel sick. Is that why Maya has been so cruel and hateful? 

“You’re a madman. You’re not fit to wear the crown. That old lady was right.” The king lifts his fist and swings it down but stops right before my face. 

“I would hate to kill you.” His fist relaxes and caresses my face. “It would be such a waste.” He starts working on his pants again. “Now, I want you to scream. There’s nothing better than a woman who can scream. And if you use a name, use mine, Willard.” *No!* I start to frantically squirm, trying to get out from under him. He laughs at me and reaches down to pull up the bottom of my dress. “Let’s see what Jace has been hiding.” This cannot be happening to me. This cannot be happening. *Jace*. I cry out mentally. I squeeze my eyes shut and brace myself.