Chapter 17 Seventeen

Chapter 17 Seventeen
Cupid

I couldn't stand it. At first, I was afraid and trembling at the sight of him, horrified at the thought of what evil he would do to me next.

But when he started sneering at me while I was naked and vulnerable in front of him, I felt a familiar fury start to burn in me again.

The way his burning eyes raked over every inch of my exposed skin as though I was his property, or he thought I was some kind of brainless object meant only for his satisfaction.

My fellow woman washing me was one thing, embarrassing but bearable. But him…

No.

Absolutely not.

I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to cover myself up, but it was useless. There was too much to hide and not enough hands. I sank lower in the water, drawing my knees up to my chest, making myself as small as possible.

"Don't," I said, my voice shaking. "Don't look at me like that."

His eyebrow arched, that cruel smile playing at his lips. "Like what, precisely? Like you belong to me? Because you do, little spy. Every inch of you is mine by right of conquest."

The rage that swept through me was so sudden and overwhelming that it burned away every trace of fear.

Without thinking, I scooped up a handful of the soapy water and threw it directly into his face.

He hissed and jerked back, water dripping from his face and hair, his eyes squeezed shut against the sting of soap.

Cersei gasped from behind me, her voice high with shock and horror. "How dare you! How dare you lay hands upon… have you no respect for your king?!"

I stared at my own hands as though they belonged to someone else, stunned by what I'd just done. I did expect the feeling of pure satisfaction that I had felt watching him flinch.

What was happening to me? I was a Heartwalker. Kind and gentle and devoted to peace and love and healing. I had never hurt a fly in my life, nor did I ever attack anyone.

I did not swear vengeance at soldiers or threaten to cut my own life short, or intentionally provoke a beast three times my size. What in the goddess's name was this place doing to me?

But that thought lasted exactly one second before a different thought filled my head.

He deserved it.

Those people in the dungeons. Aerion and the old man and the white-haired woman and all the others. Trapped for a thousand years in that hellhole, suffering in darkness and temperature swings that broke both body and mind.

All because of him.

I grabbed another handful of water and threw it harder, making sure it got in his face.

"How dare you!" I screamed, my voice raw and broken but loud. So loud. "How dare you hurt those people! They did nothing to you! Nothing!"

I threw more water, splashing it at him wildly, my hands shaking with rage and passion.

"They were taken from their families! Stolen as children and locked away to rot forever without end! And for what? For what?!"

Hot, furious tears streamed down my face

"Who do you think you are?! What gives you the right to destroy innocent lives and then stand there as if… as if you're some kind of god who can do whatever he wants without consequences?!"

I was standing now, shin-deep in the water, my hands curled into fists while my whole body trembled with fury I could barely contain.

"And then you set me free, only to mock me and laugh in my face. You're a monster," I spat. "A sadistic, cruel, evil…"

Suddenly I couldn't speak. I grabbed frantically at my mouth and tried to move it, but I couldn’t.

My mouth had become sealed mid-sentence, my lips pressed together by some invisible force. My arms snapped to my sides, stiff as boards while my legs locked rigid in place.

Some dark magic was binding me, keeping me completely silent.

I whipped my head around and saw Cersei with one hand raised, her empty grey eyes focused on me with perfect concentration as she held the spell.

It was strong, a powerful magic far tougher than I imagined she was capable of. I should’ve known, once again I’d been to open, too trusting of a stranger who showed me even the slightest bit of kindness, and once again I was paying the price. First Lyriel and now her.

I tried to scream but nothing came out. I tried to move but my body wouldn't obey. All I could do was glare helplessly; at her, at him, at both of them, with every ounce of hate that I possessed.

The Dragon King wiped the water from his face slowly and when he opened his eyes again, they were blazing brighter in a rage, as he tried and failed to keep his composure.

He stared at me for a long moment, clearly baffled by what I’d just done. Water dripped down his jaw, his chest heaving with controlled breaths.

Then he turned to Cersei.

"Your intervention was... timely," he said, his voice blank. "You may release the spell and take your leave."

It wasn't some grand show of gratitude, it would be remiss to even call it an acknowledgement. But I watched in disgust and disbelief as Cersei's entire face lit up, as if he'd just given her the greatest compliment of her existence.

Could she be the girl I was looking for? I wondered.

My great plan, the one that had brought me here in the first place was to find a love fit for the Dark King, so he would lose the hate that drove his very existence and lose his power.

He clearly respected her, in his own strange way, and she was devoted to him. 

She has to be his perfect match, didn't she?

I glanced sharply from Dragus to the servant girl, then to Dragus once more.

It would take little effort to pull my bow and arrow out of the air and shoot them both, tying them together forever, but I couldnt, not while I was restrained like this.

And that aside, I had only just met her. I have to make sure first that she was the one for him. I had not yet sensed the instinct of oneness between two different people that inspired me to make my usual matches.

"Thank you, my king," she said softly, releasing the spell reluctantly. "It is my honour to serve you. Always."

She turned to me, giving me one last vicious look.

"Behave yourself," she hissed. "Or next time I will not be so gentle."

Then she swept out of the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click that sounded unnaturally loud in the sudden silence.

Now I was alone with him.