Lord of the Night

Chapter 30: What You Want

I glanced again at my father, a shriveled shadow of his former self. Fear, anger, and despair overwhelmed me. In my darkened vision, Danif's smile appeared to widen beyond possible proportions, defying the boundaries of his face. My hands shook with the urge to remove that smile permanently.

But I couldn't do that right now. Right now, I needed to ensure my father's safety for as long as I could.

"Fine," I said. "I'll do it. Tell me more."

I listened with a careful numbness as Danif explained his plan. He described each step like a passionate professor delivering one of his favorite lectures, a smile never leaving his face. Nausea churned my gut and images pelted my mind, but I kept it all to myself, voicing only one neutral question.

"Do the Queen and King approve of this plan?"

He tilted his head in consideration. "More or less. They don't know the details, and they don't ask, but they like that I keep Isalio under control."

It was hard for me to believe any parent could approve of this, even an evil one. I had punched the High Prince, and part of me wanted to do it again, but to imagine what Danif's retraining might entail—that was as awful as the sight of my father before me.

As he led me back to the room, I barely even noticed the nausea induced by the journey. I sat on the bed and watched the door close behind the General. Then I began to pace the room, footsteps speeding up in time with my stampeding thoughts. There had to be some hole in his scheme...some way for me to ensure my father's safety without giving the General complete power to fulfill his twisted desires.

Could I break my father out myself? No, impossible. Beg Isalio to help me? He had not reason to comply, and even if he did, he probably didn't have the power to help me. The Queen, King, and General already distrusted Isalio, and in the likelihood that we didn't succeed, there was a high chance the General would be given easy clearance to do as he liked to both my father and Isalio. But then what option remained?

The cuff weighed heavy in my pocket.

I sank down on the bed and dug out the cuff, examining it. The object itself appeared inoffensive, a rubber-covered metal band as wide as two of my fingers and plated in a way that looked almost decorative. A strange heat curled around my gut. In very different circumstances, maybe I'd enjoy putting these cuffs on Isalio. In a different life, maybe I'd enjoy his helpless submission when I kissed him until he was panting and begging me for more.

Then the cold reality slammed back into me, smothering the heat. This time, I would enjoy kissing Isalio less than I had last time. Even though he had betrayed me, I didn't relish the thought of betraying him. Perhaps I could have stomached ending his life with a quick blow of a Demon-Slayer mace. To put him at the mercy of Danif's twisted desires...no, I didn't want that for anyone, and I definitely didn't want that for Isalio.

After another hour of pondering, I had finally reached a decision—not one I liked, but the one I disliked the least. I would follow through with the plan at the start, but I would look for an excuse not to continue or a way to sabotage the General's plan along the way. If all else failed, I would try to leave a message for the Duchess. Maybe, just maybe, she'd have a better idea for how to save her nephew than anything I could come up with.

At the time the General designated, I knocked on the wall near the bathroom. That wall was connected to Isalio's room, he told me, and Isalio would be in his room at that time, changing for dinner. Part of me hoped the plan would fall apart right then and there; that Isalio would either not hear the knock or not bother to check my room. But just as the General had promised, Isalio arrived less than a minute later.