The Legends of Kartas | Ongoing

19. PRECURSOR

It was silent as Yoongi dined with the king in the great hall. He sat at one end of the long dining table, the king at the other. But Yoongi could still hear the clatter of cutlery reverberating through the emptiness. The sound reminded him of the clacking of metal—of chains—and it sent chills crawling down his spine.

Even though he was holding a knife and fork, he couldn't bring himself to take a bite of the food. Too many nightmares clouded his mind and made his stomach churn, and the awkwardness of the situation made him all the more queasy. So during the entire dinner, Yoongi avoided the king's eyes, which only resulted in thicker tension. That alone was enough to help him stifle every ounce of fear from becoming visible and keep his lunch from climbing up his throat.

He could still feel his face set in the emotionless mask he always wore. Underneath it, however, he was hyperventilating, about to run out of the room just to breathe some fresh air. Suppressing the urge to rub his neck, Yoongi fought against the tremors in his limbs and cut a piece of meat.

When he impaled it with his fork, blood gushed all over the plate, and the sight sent his already wavering appetite out the window. The blood was so red like the blood of a human—the blood of his mother, of his brother. Yoongi's neck twitched. He tugged the piece of meat off of his fork and opted to wait for the king to finish his own meal.

The king's teeth ground on meat and tore through layers of fat on a roasted pig's leg before wine washed the food down. Yoongi kept his eyes downcast, but his acute sense of smell and his sharp ears illustrated the entire scene unraveling at the other end of the table. It was unnerving how powerful the scent of blood was because Yoongi could distinguish the tang of metal—even taste it on his tongue.

He just had to hold out a little bit longer before he could return to his room and contemplate in a bleak solitude. That was what kept him calm until a knight rushed into the great hall, tiptoeing to the king before whispering into his ears. Although Yoongi couldn't hear what was said, when the king whipped out his handkerchief tucked under his collar and slapped it on the table, Yoongi got the hint.

Cowering, the knight sketched a ninety-degree bow and zoomed out of the room as quickly as his legs could carry him. Once the doors shut softly, the king rose to his feet and stalked across to where Yoongi sat. Every hair on Yoongi's neck stood upright as the king stopped beside him, his hands clasped behind his back.

"King Leonis has sent his regards but has also brought grave news," the king drawled in his grating voice. Yoongi closed his eyes to block the nightmares from materializing before him. "Look at me when I address you, mongrel!"

Gulping, Yoongi tore his eyelids open and turned his face slowly like the muscles in his neck were rusted. When he took too long, the king seized Yoongi's chin and forced him to meet eye-to-eye. Yoongi's breath hitched, and for the first time that evening, his mask cracked.

"Look. At. Me," the king muttered, accentuating each word.

Yoongi's head went hazy as the room began to melt around him, the blood seeping from the meat on his plate bubbling and pouring over the table. The smell of blood spiked, burning his nose, raising bile to his throat. Deft fingers wrapped around his neck as the scars on his back flared to life. Chains coiled around his ankles and wrists as the fingers brushed over the bruises marking his skin.

Everything was fading to black, and Yoongi was feeling light-headed, about to faint, until the king released him. He snapped out of his hallucination, and it took all his willpower not to throw up. His ears rang, but behind the noise, he heard the king's voice. "There will be a Royal Council held in Umbra on the next dark moon. I would leave you to your own devices, but that broken bastard of a king has required your attendance. Do not fail me, mongrel, for it would be a shame to sink back into your chains when you have just earned your freedom."