Ember of Hope
Chapter 41

They ate the food because they needed their strength for whatever was to come and huddled together with their backs to a wall. Raegan was disappointed to see paper plates and plastic forks which weren’t any useful. The bastard was cautious to provide them anything that could’ve been used as a weapon. After her little display of affection back home, he’d learned his lesson apparently. Trying to come up with an escape plan, they both fell asleep.

The loud noise of the door opening startled them both out of the uneasy sleep they had fallen into. There he stood again with his disturbing smirk. This was getting old fast.

“Hey asshole, would it kill you to be normal for once in your life?” Raegan snapped.

“Such a dirty little mouth you’ve got there sweetheart. What am I going to do to that mouth of yours? Hmm” he tapped a finger against his lips. Raegan’s heart was beating so fast she knew he could hear it from where he was standing near the wall with shackles. Dread laid its roots deep in her gut. He turned his head and looked her over with piercing eyes, like he was imagining things to do to her.

“You are so pretty sweetheart, just like a work of art. I think I’m going to mount you on this wall right here”. A soft gasp left Sarah’s lips but Raegan refused to show him her fear. She lifted her chin and looked him straight in the eye. The thing about bullies is that they feed on people’s fear.

Once again he whistled and two men entered. On Titan’s instruction, they took her arms and pulled her up. She kicked and thrashed and almost got free when Titan came forward and grabbed her face in his hand. His fingers were hard against her cheeks but her eyes showed her fire. “You’re such a feisty little thing, aren’t you love?” he jerked his head to his men and they took her to the wall. Her wrists were shackled first from the cuffs hanging with thick chains. Then her legs were pulled apart and secured in shackles next.

“So beautiful. So perfect” he murmured while trailing a finger down her cheek. She turned her head and bit his digit before he could retract. The bastard laughed. “Mmmm I think I’m going to like playing with you”. She looked at Sarah, whose eyes were huge and full of worry for her. She tried to reassure her silently.

“Well, here’s how we’re going to play this game love”. Titan started, “If you don’t play nicely, my men will be free to play with your little friend over there. If you scream; I’ll let them have their way with her in front of you” his eyes were devilish and the men standing behind her couldn’t hide their excitement. She wanted to throw up. Sarah was in this hell because of her. She’d brought her to Evreux and now she was caught up in this mess. She didn’t know if they’d make it out of here alive. She didn’t know if Val and Dimi would be able to replace them in time. She looked at her friend with apologetic eyes but kept her mouth shut. She hung her head in defeat. She couldn’t make things worse for Sarah.

“That’s what I thought” Titan grinned.

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There were murmurs among the guards. Tristan knew his brother was up to something. What that was, he didn’t yet know – but he would soon. He didn’t ask the men about it or Titan would get suspicious. He decided to follow his brother the next day. Titan was just like their father. He reveled in people’s misery and pain and Tristan hated him just as much as he hated his father.

He could still remember the bruises he’d replace on his mother on almost daily basis before they’d eventually fade – preparing her for the next beating at her husband’s hands. Titan was old enough and strong enough to have stopped their father from being so cruel to their mother but even though he loved her; he never said a single word to their father about it. And Tristan hated him for his need to always appease father. And he remembered his own beatings at father’s hand too. But his father – King Varamont never raised a finger on his prodigal son who he was raising in his image to be the next cruel king.

Tristan lay awake that night, unable to fall asleep. There was a feeling of unease deep in his stomach that didn’t allow him any rest. When morning came he wandered outside his brother’s room to pick up any conversation or sound coming from behind his closed doors but found nothing. He went to the dining hall next where his mother sat at the dining table waiting for her sons. She smiled when she saw him approach.

“Good morning mother” he bent down to kiss her cheeks and sat directly in front of her. “Where’s our king?” sarcasm still managed to drip through his tone, even when he tried for his mother’s sake, to not let it.

“Titan didn’t come home last night. He is off somewhere for work” her tone was a little disappointed. She always wanted her sons around for at least the first meal of the day.

“Oh” Tristan couldn’t say anything more. What are you up to Titan. He thought to himself.

When Titan didn’t come back for another two days, Tristan started getting antsy. Nobody knew his whereabouts and he’d taken only his most trusty friends with him. Each as blood thirsty as himself. Tristan decided to search for him.

Next few days went in searching for Titan in his usual haunts with no luck. Tristan had a sneaking suspicion that his brother was planning something big. There was only one place left to look. Tristan shuddered just thinking about going there. The place deep in the mountains still gave him nightmares.

Once when he was a little kid, Tristan took him to “play”. He told mother he’d take care of him and teach him some tricks while they stayed there. He told Tristan that it was a game of treasure hunting. Titan hid pieces of dried meat all around the main house and told Tristan that if he wanted to eat he had to replace the food. He locked him in the house and went away. Eager to prove himself in front of his big brother; Tristan ran from room to room trying to replace the hidden pieces of food until night fell. He waited for his brother to come get him… and waited and waited but never came.

That night he’d cried himself hoarse. Every shadow looked like a monster and every sound frightening but the night was never ending… and so was the next one. Two days later his mother found him unconscious near the bottom of the stairs where he’d fallen trying to get away from the dark of the upstairs.

That was the place he needed to go to if he wanted to replace his brother. He’d say mother had asked him to look for Titan.

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