The King's Cursed Bride

Surrounded: Part 2

The Reapers were so clustered together that Carissa couldn't even see down either end of the hallway. Each had their Scythe in their hands, but they weren't moving. Carissa was tempted to wave her hand in front of one, to see if that would reanimate him, but that was probably a bad idea.

One Reaper stepped forward. "Zorelle requests your presence."

And she'd nearly forgotten about Zorelle as well. Perhaps her head injury had been more debilitating that she'd realized.

Elon glanced at her, a slight smile on his lips. "What say you, Carissa? Should we visit Zorelle while we're here?"

Carissa squinted at Elon. What was she supposed to say? What was he planning? If only he'd told her before they'd stepped into the hallway. But perhaps he'd chosen not to for a reason. "Of course. It will be... interesting to see her again." And find out how the Esmeray she was alive—at least, if this was the Zorelle Carissa suspected it to be.

Elon nodded and turned back towards the Reapers. "But we would like to be armed when we meet her."

The mass of Reapers seemed to stir at his words, and Carissa pressed closer to him.

The Reaper spoke again, "Zorelle would prefer you to come unarmed. She has someone who would like to meet you."

Carissa tugged his sleeve. "Who does she have, Elon?"

"Lila," he whispered back.

Carissa felt her face go slack. "Then we have to go, don't we?"

Elon squeezed her hand. "We will. But allow me to do some negotiating first." He turned towards the Reaper. "We go armed or not at all."

The Reaper twirled his Scythe. "We're prepared to take you by force, if that's what's required."

"You're welcome to try." Elon flashed him a smile. "But it might not turn out well for you."

In reply, the Reapers began to close in on them. Carissa raised her sword, her feet shifting into a fighting stance. Before the Reapers could reach them, Elon darted forward, slicing one's arm and causing his Scythe to clatter to the ground. Then all of the Reapers descended on her.

Carissa blocked one, ducked beneath the swing of another. If at all possible, she wanted to avoid being cut. That would be less for Elon to heal later on. She glanced over her shoulder but couldn't see him through the writhing mass of Reapers.

While she was distracted, one Reaper clawed at her hair. A Scythe swung towards her, only to glance off of her armor. Once this was done, perhaps she ought to buy her own suit of armor.

Pain tore across her scalp as the Reaper wound her hair around his fist and began to drag her. Anger flared in her chest. This was at least the second time today her hair had been used against her.

Carissa lashed out behind her with her sword, and the blade sliced through her strands of hair. She pulled free of the Reaper, leaving him gripping the severed ends of her black hair, and plunged the sword into his chest.

Before she could whip around to face another Reaper, a shout rose above the commotion: "Stop!"

The fighting slowed, and a few Reapers turned towards the voice.

One Reaper, likely the Reaper they'd spoken to before the fighting, held out his palms. "We... agree to your terms. We will take you to Zorelle armed."

Carissa glanced down around her and suppressed a bout of surprise at the number of Reapers littering the ground. Elon stood a few yards away, coating in sweat and black blood. He caught her gaze and grinned. Apparently his negotiations had proven rather effective.

Elon held out his hand towards her. "Ready, Carissa?"

She picked her way over him, avoiding black puddles and corpses. "Always." She clasped his extended hand.

The Reaper turned. "Then follow me." He and the other Reapers strode down the hallway, Carissa and Elon following in the rear.

Elon glanced over at her, his gaze fixed on the shortened ends of her hair, the length of which fell between her jaw and shoulder.

Carissa's face grew hot beneath his scrutiny. She knew the length was more common for a man's hair than a woman's, but she hadn't stopped to consider that while she was fighting. "I decided it was time for a new look."

Elon laughed, his eyes crinkling in amusement. "I like it." He tugged the end of a lock of her hair. "It suits you."

She likely would have continued to stare and blush at him like a silly adolescent, but Elon tugged her to a halt and she glanced forward.

Their group stopped at the end of the hallway, in front of two large double doors. The Reapers shoved it open, revealing a stone room with overturned tables, toppled chairs, and rotting food.

In the middle of the room, a large divan had been set atop a table, making a throne of sorts. And on top of the throne sat Zorelle, identical to the Zorelle Carissa had known. Movement caught her eyes, and Carissa glanced down. Lila was curled on the ground, though she sat up at the sight of them, her pale blue eyes wide with hope. Her collar had been fastened to one of the table legs.

Zorelle rose, lifting her arms magnanimously. "Welcome, your highnesses, to my kingdom."

Elon glanced around the room. "I mean no offense, but this room was a lot nicer when it was within the confines of my kingdom." He nudged a molding piece of bread with the toe of his boot, grimacing. "Not to mention cleaner."

Zorelle arched her eyebrows. "Due to your speedy destruction of my last fortress, I'm afraid I didn't have much time to tidy up this one before your arrival."

Carissa studied Zorelle, but she appeared to be uninjured. "Better late than never, considering you shouldn't be alive right now."

Zorelle grinned, displaying her fanged teeth. "We have healers who excel in the dark arts. They can even revive someone once their heart has stopped, but only if they reach the person within an hour, before the body cools."

Fantastic. The Reapers could raise themselves from the dead.

"However," she continued, "there is a price to pay." She tugged down the collar of her shirt, revealing a black scar encrusting her skin along her sternum. "If the darkness is to heal you, then you must embrace it."

"Then why didn't you kill me and offer to heal me if I embraced darkness?" Carissa asked. "Surely that would have turned me to your side."

Zorelle's smile flattened. "We both know you would have rejected the offer, leaving me with a corpse instead of a queen." Her smile returned. "And I would much rather have a queen."

"So why did you bring us here? To convince me to join you?"

Zorelle shook her head, stirring her white hair. "No. There's not enough darkness in you yet. I came to offer you a trade." She gestured to Lila. "If one of you willingly offers to be my slave, I will trade you for this lovely little girl."

Before Carissa could speak, Elon stepped forward. "I would do it."

***

Author's Note: No time for proofread, but I did post the sneak peek!

P.S.

I was reading through all of the comments just before I wrote this chapter, and I can't tell you guys how honored I am to have such amazing readers. College life is crazy and stressful, but your comments motivate me like you wouldn't believe.