Page 122 of Kingdom of Death and Hope

If only everything was easy in life… then we wouldn’t be in this situation right now.

“Have you thought about telling me the truth now?” Avira asks as she walks into my cell. “Has being in the room tied to the chair taught you a lesson?”

I stay silent.

Avira hums and purses her lips. “I guess not. Part of me was hoping you had thought things through and were going to make things easy on me. The other part of me was hoping you hadn’t so I would be able to torture you.”

Biting the inside of my cheeks, I allow the pain to ground me and not say anything stupid.

Remember to put up a wall. Henry’s words flash back to me.

I close my eyes for several seconds and imagine placing each individual brick up, blocking Kieran from having access to my feelings.

“Lucky for you, I decided to bring a friend today to help me,” she says as a man walks into the room. “You’re going to get well acquainted with him if you continue to lie.”

Terror runs through me as I watch him crack his knuckles, a wicked smile plastered across his face. The muscles on his arms could crack my skull in two if he placed it in between and squeezed. Shit. Am I going to survive this?

“Do you want to reconsider telling me the truth?” she asks, cocking her head to the right.

I don’t say a word.

The right side of her lip tilts up. “I was hoping for this,” she says as she steps closer to me. “Do you know how long I have been waiting?”

She chuckles and looks over at the man in the room.

“John, you can rough her up a little and I’ll be back after I talk to the king.” Avira waves her hand in the air.

She isn’t going to stay and watch? I thought she had been waiting for this for a long time.

Avira leaves the cell, whistling as she walks down the hall. My eyes connect with John’s and I take a shaky breath in.

Wall.

While taking a deep breath I focus on the wall I have mentally placed, hoping it’s enough to keep Kieran from feeling anything from me.

“Where to start,” John mumbles as he walks around, looking me up and down.

I clench my jaw, my eyes following his every movement so I’m not caught off guard.

“Please, don’t do this,” I can’t help but plead. “I have done nothing wrong.”

He chuckles and bends down so we’re face to face. “Do you honestly think I believe you?”

“I promise I didn’t do anything wrong,” I whisper, my voice sounding frail.

“Avira thinks otherwise, and I follow her orders. She hasn’t been wrong yet.” He stands to his full height.

“Bu—”

Pain erupts on my cheek as his fist connects with my jaw, my head swinging to the side.

Adeline! Kieran yells through the bond.

Shit.

I focus everything on the wall I created, trying to push Kieran’s voice out of my mind.

Talk to me. What is going on? Why can’t I feel your emotions? he asks.