Endure - Sara B. Larson Page 0,54
the king he said, “Of course, Your Majesty. As you command. But if she bested my brother, who is to say that she won’t be able to escape from these chains? That she won’t kill everyone? Even I — the greatest of us all?” The man’s eyes sent a shiver of terror creeping down my spine to lodge deep in my gut. “And don’t forget, time is running short, my king.”
“I am well aware, Evocon,” King Armando snapped. “She won’t be able to hurt any of us. She is in my power now. Do not forget your place — I am the greatest of us all. You are mine, and therefore beneath me.”
“Of course, Sire,” The Summoner murmured, but I didn’t miss the loathing that burned in his eyes for a brief moment, making the air flare hot around us, before smoothing into a look of placid agreement once more.
The king turned to face me. “Alexa, do you understand what is happening here?”
“No,” I answered, hating the way my hands still shook. I clenched them together in front of me, hoping to hide my fear. Armando thrived on it, and I couldn’t let him have the satisfaction of knowing he’d succeeded in frightening me.
“I have created sorcery such as the world has never seen before. The Gods that strengthen my sorcerers have given us many gifts already — gifts that the Blevonese weren’t brave enough, or strong enough, to deserve. You’ve already seen evidence of our blessings: Rafe and Vera, two of our successful creations.”
“Your gifts come from demons, not the Gods. And Vera is dead,” I said coldly. “So not very successful after all, perhaps.”
“Silence,” King Armando shouted, slapping me against the mouth so hard my head snapped to the side and my lip split open. I lunged forward, but the sorcerers at my side yanked me back. “You might have stopped her, you might have even stopped Iker and The Summoner’s brother, but now that you are in my control, you will see the beauty of my power. You will sacrifice yourself to me so that I might take what is rightfully mine!” His declaration ended in a shout.
I longed to yell back at him, but my mouth still throbbed from his strike. The bitter tang of blood encouraged me to swallow my angry retort. “What is it that you want?” I asked instead.
“Everything.” His voice dropped to a whisper, his eyes burning with the fire of insatiable greed. “And now that you are here, you can’t take it from me. Not anymore.”
“How could I take it from you — why do you think I am so important?”
“You are the one!” King Armando cried, grabbing my jaw, yanking my face toward him again, as he’d done the first time I’d met him. The sorcerers pulled my arms back, keeping my shackled hands pressed against my belly, not allowing me any slack with which to attack their king. “My father told me you would come. But I have made myself stronger than he ever could have dreamed possible. I have created sorcerers the likes of which this world has never witnessed. You won’t stop me — no one can!”
The flash of madness in his blazing blue eyes frightened me more than anything else I’d seen to that point. “Your father never knew me,” I said quietly, and his fingers turned into claws, digging his nails into my skin. “I’m not the one you think I am.”
“Yes, you are! You are the one — the warrior no sorcerer can stop. He claimed you would come, that you would stop my plans. But now we will bleed out your invincibility and take it for ourselves. We will claim every ounce of your power for Dansii — for me.” He leaned forward until his mouth was only inches from mine. I stiffened, my heart thrumming a panicked triple beat beneath my ribs. “You are mine now.” He remained there, staring into my eyes, his hot breath blowing over my bloody lips for a long moment. But then, suddenly, he let me go and turned back to the room. My chest rose and fell rapidly as I tried to contain my emotions. My entire body trembled, despite my best intentions to not let him see that he’d frightened me.
“I killed him, you know,” King Armando said without facing me. “He told me that I would never be a good king. He predicted that you would come — that you would stop me —