Rise (The Order of the Krigers #1)(48)

Still frozen, I couldn’t speak. Morlet touched my wrist, and my body warmed, movement gradually returning.

“What did you expect?” I said. “For me to go quietly to your torture chamber? I thought you knew me better than that.”

Morlet stood, pulling me up with him. He yanked my arms behind my back and bound them with rope. My vision blurred, and standing became difficult.

“You used too much power,” he whispered in my ear. “You’re going to pass out. Wonder what will happen to you when you’re unable to fight back.”

I wanted to punch him but instead, sank into his arms and into a dream.

***

Blackness surrounded me. Something cold and hard pressed against my body. My breathing sped up, and fear cascaded through me. Whatever contraption I was in was meant to instill fear. I had to remain calm.

But I couldn’t.

My heart thundered as if it were going to burst out of my chest. There wasn’t enough air to breathe. I wanted to scream and pound against the device I was in. But that was what Morlet wanted. When he was ready, he’d let me out of this thing.

Closing my eyes, I imagined my father reading to me. When that didn’t calm me down, I pictured walking in the forest with the towering trees. Anders’s face appeared before me.

“Kaia,” he said. “You have to be strong. You can survive this. You’re the toughest girl I know.” He smiled, filling me with confidence.

Something banged above me, and I heard people talking. Light suddenly gleamed into my eyes, making me squint. Rough hands grabbed my arms, pulling me to a sitting position. I was in a rectangular box that looked like a coffin. I jumped out and stood staring at the sadistic contraption I had just spent an hour or so in.

“Ever wonder what it would feel like to be buried alive?” Morlet asked from behind me. “Put her on the table.”

Scattered throughout the room were various instruments I’d never seen before. To my right was a wooden rack with chains attached to either side. The chains were connected to a crank. In the corner of the room was a pointy metal instrument covered in blood. My stomach twisted violently, and I lifted my hands in the air, trying to gather my power in order to protect myself.

“Oh, my dear Kaia,” Morlet purred. “I’ve taken precautions so you can’t do that in here.”

He must have cast some sort of spell on the room in order to render my power useless—which meant that he couldn’t use his magic, either. Two soldats clasped my arms, dragging me over to a flat wooden table in the center of the room.

“Please don’t do this,” I begged Morlet. “What do you want? You already know I’m the twelfth Kriger.”

One of the men lifted me, but before he could set me on the table, I twisted my body, clutched his shoulders, and slammed my knee into his stomach. He dropped me, and I kicked my leg out, knocking him over.

The other soldat wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Stop fighting,” he said, holding me tightly, “or you’ll go on the rack. Trust me, the table is a far better option than having your limbs torn off. It is the least violent contraption in this room. I suggest you start cooperating before she gets here and punishes you.”

Tears poured down the sides of my face.

The man picked me up and put me on the table, holding me in place while the other one locked my wrists and ankles to it. Morlet leaned over me, his penetrating blue eyes focused on mine. I stared back at him, challenging him to hurt me.

He rested his hand on my cheek, his thumb gently brushing away the tears. “Don’t cry, my dear Kaia.”

“Then don’t do this to me.”

“You have information we need. This is the only way.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Tell me who has been assisting you.” He removed his hand and placed it on the table next to my body.

Didn’t he want to know where my weapon was? “Why do you think someone has been helping me?” I needed to keep Anders and Vidar’s identities from Morlet.

“You never would have made it out of the capital otherwise.”

A valid point. “I’m resourceful.”

He tapped his finger against the table. “When I first saw you in the Town Square, a man was with you. I didn’t see his face, but it was clear, based upon his actions, that he is no ordinary person.”

I had to stay as close to the truth as possible. “There was a man there, but that was the first time I saw him as well.” It would be so easy to say Anders’s name. Morlet probably didn’t even know him, and if he did, it wasn’t as if he could hurt him. The assassin was hidden in the forest, far from here. However, he was my friend, and I would protect him at all cost.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between us. When I didn’t elucidate, Morlet leaned down, his face only inches from mine. “You’re keeping things from me,” he whispered. “You’re making the choice, not me.” He took a step back. “Just remember, I never wanted this.”

The door flew open and Skog Heks entered, wobbling over to me. The putrid smell of rotting flesh filled the air. “Where’s your weapon?” she demanded, her voice grating on my ears.

My bo staff was hidden in a cavern. As to its exact location, it was a mystery to me. Turning my head so Skog Heks could see the fury in my eyes, I spat, “Like I’d tell you.”