of Sword and Flame

Chapter 48: Reunion

Kyra was standing in the training room. A few feet before her, an old sack stuffed with rags stood erect from the hard floors. She could hear the king's voice from behind her like a blade scraping against wood.

"Demonstrate your gift," he willed her. Kyra suppressed a shudder, staring straight ahead at the sack. She heard the king's steps and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as he appeared behind her.

"Do not," he muttered for only her to hear, casting a wary glance at the five other children, "let it go again."

Kyra inhaled sharply. She supposed he could still remember how she had burned before. She raised her hands, preparing to strike the makeshift puppet. That's when he struck her.

Flashes of pain spread across her back in little rivers, running from the center of the blow. The king's hold on the baton in his hand was firm, unwavering, and he watched with a cold stare as Kyra doubled over, hands slamming into the ground. The lashings across her back still sent ripples of vomit-inducing agony as Kyra tried to stop the world from sinking beneath her. She coughed, gagging around the air.

The five other trained killers watched in silence. None dared to flinch.

None except Jin; their head snapped ever so slightly away in fear of the sight. Kyra's pain became audible as she slumped against the floor, grunting. They could all see it—the jagged lines cutting through her clothes like knives, the outline of blood. The biggest of the cuts were vertical to each other, cutting down across her shoulder blades to her lower back.

Oh, Kyra, Jin shuddered. Your wings.

Kyra screamed. It echoed through the disgusting cell, bringing her back, if only by using her pain. A few inches from her face, breath fanning across her face, was the golden-eyed guard. She thrashed about, kicking at him as the chair lifted and slammed against the ground. Her foot went into his shin, sending him flat on his knees against the ground.

"I'll kill you!" Kyra shrieked. He stood there, his fists shaking.

"Why, you!" he yelled, snapping his fingers. In an instant, the guard with the vines appeared, sweeping light hair out of his face as he entered the cell. With a twist of his hands, thick coils of green plants wrapped themselves around Kyra's legs.

The man with the vines didn't stop there. He lifted a second hand, fingers dancing through the air. Kyra felt something cold against her neck. It slithered there, wrapping itself around in layers.

Kyra tried to scream. As soon as a slight gasp escaped, the snaking vines around her neck sunk their teeth in, squeezing her throat. A strangled hiss managed to push its way out.

"Sit still, witch!" The golden-eyed guard spat. "Now tell us what you know of Vorin. Give us," he hissed, "what we need!" The vines loosened against her skin. Kyra began to open her mouth, and both the guards went silent, waiting for her answer.

"I," she began, voice trembling, "would rather die than live with the burden of giving you anything." She choked the words out. Kyra wanted to grin, to say she'd won and laugh in their faces. They hadn't gotten a single word out of her, after all, since she'd done it all before. The bruises, the blood. It wasn't a stranger.

But not the memories. They piled up by the dozens, weighing on her mind like a pile of bricks.

It hurts. Tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with her blood and making their way toward her clenched jaw. It hurts so much.

"Alright then," the golden-eyed guard uttered in defeat. He reached up, rubbing his hands together. "You should know we weren't planning on using this next part."