The Savior's Throne

Chapter Seven

This is the second time this week I have woken up where I don't belong. Instead of looking up at stone ceilings, I see a wall of silver. I'm in a metal cell, on a metal bed, with no pillow or blanket. I start to get up, but sway under the effort. My hand goes to the back of my head and I whimper when my fingers slide over the bump.

"I didn't want to do this," a figure looms forward and into the light. 

My eyes land on Sahil and sadly, I'm not surprised. "Yet, you did it anyways." I say. "How did you know I was in the East?"

"You were spotted by one of our watchers. You've been locked inside a palace all your life; I knew it was a matter of time before you would start to explore the outside world."

"I didn't escape, I was kidnapped. Surely all of my guards have told you that. Anahi was also there; she knows what happened."

With a swipe of his hand, Sahil dismisses the truth, "The details do not matter. You are predictable and because of that we found you."

"I don't have to die, Sahil."

"We both know that you do, stop fooling yourself Salvare, you were always meant to die."

"Stop fooling myself?" My throat burns with thirst. "The prophecy is a lie, I'm not the only ungifted child born into existence. My death would no longer be a sacrifice, it would be murder." Sahil doesn't seem to care about what's right and wrong because he's still shaking his head. "Let's not discuss your inevitable death right now. What I want to know is who kidnapped you."

"I will never disclose that information with you," I tilt my head with mock sympathy, "you must know that."

Sahil's hand wraps around the metal bars, "we have ways of making you talk." His voice is cold, so different from the voice I've always known.

"You would never," I say in response to his veiled threat.

"If it my only option, then it is what I must do." His words don't tumble and his eyes stay steady-he's telling the truth. Considering he is a United, he could torture me all day only to heal me so he could torture me again the next day. I don't even need to guess who he would have torture me. I'm sure General Kai would love to break me.

General Kai is a Valiant, I've watched him move boulders without breaking a sweat. Fear rakes its way through my body and Sahil notices the difference in my emotions, "Ready to talk?" He asks.

If I tell him of who kidnapped me, he'll want to know why. If I tell him who kidnapped me, soon he'll ask what they have planned, how many people are with them, how many weapons do they have, and so on. The questions will never end and my answers will never satisfy him. For the first time, I am truly seeing how selfish this man is.

"I'm not saying a word." To punctuate my statement, I press my lips together and glare.

Sahil sighs, "You'll break eventually." Yes, because everyone has a breaking point. I breathe in a steady breath; I must be brave. I can't be like everyone else, I can't break.

#

I sit hunched over, strapped to a chair, with sweat dripping into my eyes. I heave, gasping for air. My wrists are tied to a chair with rope and the same goes with my legs. General Kai came to my cell and his strength was too much for me to handle. My attempt to fight back was pathetic and unsuccessful. He tied me to this wooden chair and then he started with my fingernails. One by one he tore them off and my voice is now hoarse from screaming so loudly.