War (The True Reign Series) (17 page)

The soldier standing behind Rema didn
’t hesitate to reach for her. She spun around to face him. Using her momentum and strength, she landed a punch right to his nose. He stood there, stunned, as blood poured from his face and his vision blurred from the hard hit.

The two remaining men rushed to seize her. She dodged one, but the other grabbed her from behind, trapping her arms at her sides. Rema wasn
’t ready to give up. She shifted her weight backwards, lifted both legs as high as she could, and kicked the other soldier’s stomach and head repeatedly until he fell to the ground. The soldier who held her tightened his grasp, but she quickly elbowed his stomach and groin using both arms. She was able to create enough space to loosen his grip. She faced him, pulled him down, and kneed his groin until she was able to break free.

She started running. One of the soldiers had already recovered and he sprinted after her, tackling her to the ground
, smashing her face into the dirt. She rolled over to escape, but he was already on top, punching her stomach and ribs to weaken her. Rema lay there in pain as she gasped for air, trying to catch her breath. Filled with anger and frustration, she used every ounce of strength she had left and threw punches to his body, hoping to escape, but he had already defeated her. He rolled her onto her stomach, forcing her hands behind her back.

“
Go tell Captain we’ve got her!” the man said, wrapping a rope around her wrists while his knee dug into her lower back. Rema turned her head to the side, spitting out dirt. Two soldiers hurried away to get Nathenek.

They were on a busy market street, yet, all the citizens studiously ignored them. Rema wondered if this sort of thing was a normal occurrence.

A soldier lifted her to her feet. “I was wondering how Nathenek lost you. Now I know. You’re a squirmy one.”

She glanced at a woman passing by, but
the woman refused to acknowledge her. The soldier dragged Rema down the street, the remaining two following close behind. People quickly moved out of their way, going about their business.

She
tried wrenching free, but his grip on her arm was too tight. “Release me,” she demanded. “How dare you treat me in such an undignified manner?” She spit out more dirt.

“
This isn’t undignified,” the soldier said, chuckling. He grabbed her by her tunic and slammed her body against a nearby building, her head smacking against the stone, sending pain radiating through her. The soldier kept Rema pinned against the wall, her feet dangling two feet above the ground.

“
Now this is undignified,” he smirked. Since her hands were tied behind her back, she couldn’t fight him. Tears filled her eyes as his lips slammed down on hers. Revulsion consumed her and Rema bit his lip, drawing blood. The soldier screamed and dropped her to the ground. She rolled to her stomach. As she started to stand, he kicked her side, knocking the wind from her body. An enormous amount of pain shot through her. She couldn’t breathe. It reminded her of when she’d been thrown from her horse, Snow, and he’d accidentally stepped on her ribs. The soldier yanked her hair, forcing her to stand. Her vision swam from the immense agony.

“
You’re lucky I have orders to capture you alive,” he said, holding his free hand to his mouth where blood trickled from her bite. He released her hair and stepped away.

Nathenek
stood behind the soldiers, the hood of his cape low on his face, making him look menacing. Not uttering a single word, he stepped past the soldiers and stood before her. His eyes narrowed, making him appear furious.

“
Let’s go,” he said. “Two of you will escort her, two of you behind her. And you,” he said to the soldier who had assaulted her, “walk next to me.”

The men formed a box formation around her and started down the street.
Rema felt something wet and sticky dripping down the back of her neck. Breathing was laborious, and her vision blurred. The soldiers on either side of her held her up.

“
I…I…don’t think…I…” Her voice trailed off.

Nathenek spun around, his eyes scanning her body.
“Is that blood?” He pointed to her head.

“
Yes,” one of the soldiers answered.

“
She can’t die before her scheduled execution,” Nathenek murmured. He walked over and released the bindings around her wrists.

“
Aren’t you afraid she’ll make a run for it?” a soldier asked.

Maybe if she sat down
, she’d feel better. She tried to sit, but Nathenek picked her up, cradling her in his arms.

“
Let’s go,” the assassin commanded.

Rema turned her head toward
him. If only she had managed to get away. Instead, there she was, captured, and her body felt broken. Resting her cheek against his torso, she felt something hard under his clothing. It was her key necklace—she was sure of it. Why did he have it on? She was about to ask when darkness consumed her.

****

She awoke as they entered a tall, brown, three-story structure.

“
I have a prisoner for execution,” Nathenek said, his voice rumbling in his chest.

Rema closed her eyes, hoping the overwhelming pain would go away if she managed to fall asleep.

“Put her with the others, down the hall.”

“
No,” Nathenek responded. “She is injured and I need to ensure her survival until her scheduled execution. The emperor would be upset if he didn’t have the pleasure of watching her die.”

“
Very well,” the man answered. “Second level, third door.”

Rema felt Nathenek climb a flight of stairs.
She heard a door open, and then her body was laid down on a hard, cold surface.

“
Are you awake?” the assassin asked, his voice soft.

“
Yes,” Rema croaked.

“
Tell me what’s wrong.”

“
Everything,” she replied.

Nathenek sig
hed. “Let me see the back of your head.”

Rema rolled onto her side
, allowing him to investigate the wound on her head.

“
What happened?” he asked.

“
The one soldier threw me against a wall, and I banged it. That’s all.”

His fingers moved her hair aside, examining the wound.
“There’s blood, but it doesn’t look that bad.”

“
My stomach,” she said, pointing. “I was kicked. It hurts to breathe.”

“
What were you thinking?” Nathenek asked, lifting the bottom of her tunic to look at her wound. His fingers pushed on her ribs. It was painful, but manageable.

“
I was thinking that I needed to get away from you so I could avoid my execution.”

The assassin
shook his head. “I meant what were you thinking to take on five soldiers? Five.”

“
I wasn’t,” she murmured.

“
Obviously,” he said, lowering her shirt. “Definitely bruised, but not broken.”

“
I just wanted to get away,” she admitted.

Nathenek sat cross-legged before her.
“Those men have trained the majority of their lives. You’ve trained for what? A few weeks?”

“
I had to try.” Tears filled her eyes. She would be hauled out to her execution broken. She’d never see Darmik again. She was unsuccessful as a queen and leader. She had let everyone down. “I failed,” she whispered.

“
Wait here.” Nathenek left and returned several minutes later with a basin of water and a small towel.

He sat next to her.
“I need to clean your wound to make sure it isn’t serious.” Rema nodded.

Nathenek gently moved her hair up, away from her neck.
His fingers carefully felt around the back of her head. “It looks worse than it is,” he said, immersing a cloth in the basin of water. “I’m going to wash the blood away.” He began wiping the back of her neck.

She closed her eyes, having no energy to argue with her captor.
What was the point in tending to her wounds when she was about to be killed?

“
The cut on your head has already stopped bleeding.”

The water was cold, making her shiver.

Rema heard several voices talking, some of them seemed angry or upset. It sounded like the commotion was coming from outside the tower. “What’s going on?” she asked.

Nathenek ignored her question.
“Here,” he said, pulling something from his pocket. “Eat this.”

“
I’m not touching anything from you.”

“
It’ll help control the pain.”

Rema grabbed the small, brownish lump from his palm and ate it.
It was bitter, but she immediately felt better.

It sounded like a crowd had gathered outside her window.
“Are those people here to watch my execution?” she whispered.

He
shook his head. “No, your execution isn’t until later.” He stood and went over to the small window, looking outside.

“
What is it?”

Nathenek rubbed his face and sat down
, leaning against the stone wall of her cell. No longer feeling dizzy, Rema stood and went to the window. Below was a large courtyard, packed with people. Everyone stood facing a platform. There was a young boy, ten years old perhaps, standing there.

“
What’s going on?” She demanded. He didn’t answer. “What is going on?” she asked again, looking down at the assassin. He was sitting with his head between his knees, his hands atop his head.

Focusing back at the courtyard, she saw two soldiers tie the boy
’s arms to a post, ripping off his shirt, and tossing it to the ground. Another man came out dressed all in black, carrying a long stick.

The courtyard w
ent silent.

“
No!” Rema screamed, realizing what was about to happen.

A few heads turned in her direction.

“He’s only a child!” she yelled. “Please don’t hurt him!”

The cane went up, sliced through the air
, and wacked across the boy’s back. The sound of the cane tearing into the boy’s flesh was utterly disgusting.

“
Stop!” she cried. “Please! I’ll take his place! He’s only a child.”

Strong arms wrapped around her body, pulling her away from the window.

“Don’t watch,” Nathenek whispered in her ear.

Tears streamed down her face.
What kind of sick, twisted place was this? How could they harm a young boy? Rema buried her face against Nathenek’s chest, sobbing.

Darmik

The door closed behind the emperor. What did he say?
I personally oversaw your training when you were here. I know everything about you.
That seemed impossible. Darmik had only ever met his uncle that one time. Perhaps the emperor was simply trying to rattle him. After all, when he said,
You’re not as good of a liar as you think,
that certainly frightened him. His uncle must know he wasn’t telling the truth about Rema.

Darmik needed to return to his friends, and they needed to come up with another plan to rescue Rema. At least she hadn
’t arrived yet. Exiting the room, he found Audek, Gaverek, and the remaining soldiers standing in the hallway waiting for him.

“My
orders are to escort you to the military compound where you will remain with your companions until the emperor decides your fate,” Gaverek said.

“Interesting,” Darmik mused, trying to figure out why they were being taken to the
garrison instead of the dungeon.

“Yes,”
Gaverek said, staring at Darmik with an expression of hate. “The emperor wants you locked up, but not mistreated. It seems he is acknowledging your title and family connection; otherwise, you wouldn’t be handled so kindly.” He turned and walked at a brisk pace down the pristine corridor, Darmik and everyone hurrying to catch up.