Endure - Sara B. Larson Page 0,46
Deron, I’d beaten him.
But in my current state, I was no match for even someone my own size. As the guard dragged me to my feet and the room began to spin, my legs threatened to give out on me. The other guard came over and roughly pulled my arms behind my back, tying my hands together. I flexed my wrists, hoping to keep the bindings from going too tight, but then my stomach lurched, and I lost focus on my hands as I fought to keep from vomiting again.
Akio stepped forward, lifting another cup to my lips. “Drink,” was all he said.
I obeyed, hoping it would settle my stomach and perhaps control the dizziness that assailed me as I swayed on my feet before the sorcerer.
“Better?” he asked when I’d swallowed the last drop of liquid.
“Yes.” I nodded, and it was true. The room had finally settled into one place and I was able to stand without leaning on the guard’s arm. But the pain in my side was worse now, pulsing with each beat of my heart. I didn’t think it was bleeding, but I could tell if I moved too quickly, it would tear wide open. My hands were secured behind my back without even an inch of wiggle room in the bindings.
“Good. Let’s go.” Akio turned and led the way out of the cell. We were in a different hallway than the one we’d originally come through with the black sorcerers. My hopes of seeing or even hearing Rylan or Eljin on my way to the king died as quickly as they’d risen.
Akio said something to the guards in Dansiian, and they each grabbed one of my arms and began to pull me forward.
“Why did they bring me here through those tunnels?” I asked as we marched down the hallway, past a few other doors, and then turned to our right, heading for a staircase.
Akio ignored me as we began to climb the stairs. The pain grew worse, but I forced myself to ignore it, to stand tall and walk as quickly as possible next to the guards’ long strides.
“Tell me why they forced us through the dark for days. Why not just bring us to your king directly — why not stay above the ground?” I pressed, hoping to annoy an answer or a response of any sort out of Akio.
When we came to the top of the stairs, I had to keep my jaw from falling open as we stepped into an opulent hallway lined with windows. Sunlight streamed in through the stained glass, creating a tapestry of color and light that nearly blinded me after so long in the dark. I couldn’t contain a shiver of dread for whatever awaited me in this lavish place — where the sand-colored stone floor was covered by thick, hand-cut carpets, and the side tables were adorned with priceless sculptures and vases. The palace in Antion was beautiful, but this palace made Damian’s seem like it was nothing more than a home in my tiny village at the edge of the jungle.
“To keep you alive.” Akio finally spoke, pulling me out of my shock, finally answering my question about the tunnels.
I couldn’t keep myself from laughing. “You expect me to believe I was dragged through an underground prison for days, and practically starved, to keep me alive?”
Akio stopped, and the guards beside me halted as well. He spun to face me, his dark eyes unreadable. “Yes. It was to protect you. When word spread that you had been captured and were being taken to the king, there would have been any number of threats that could have meant your death on the journey to King Armando’s palace if you’d been out in the open. The tunnels are only known and traveled by his most trusted sorcerers and guardians. It was to keep you safe.”
I stared at him unflinchingly, sure he could read the hatred on my face. “I find that I don’t really care for the Dansiian definition of safe,” I said evenly.
A muscle in his jaw ticked, but he turned without another word and marched forward again, leading us through lavish hallway after lavish hallway. We went out an ornate iron door into a courtyard where I got a brief glimpse of the exterior of the palace — an immense, three-story monstrosity that was all glass and pale stone, with towers that jutted into the heavens. The sun hung in the cloudless expanse of sky, a