Chapter 259
~ NYSSA
To my surprise, the room wasn’t filled to the brim with vampires. There were a couple of tables, but that was about it.
If I had to guess, I’d say there were only about fifty people on the other side of the door.
The King sat at the end of the table, his eyes watching us carefully as he stood to his feet. “Let us welcome my son and his soon to be mate p>
The people cheered, shouting lurid things that made my skin crawl. Allister squeezed my arm firmly, a silent warning to behave so I did. I forced myself not to react as I was led through the sea of vampires staring at me like I was food on their fucking menu.
Allister led me to my seat first which so happened to be on the left side of the king while he sat on the other side. Panic bubbled up inside of me at the distance, especially considering that the king sat between us, but I forced my expression to remain impassive.
“I thought you would put up more of a fight,” the king drawled as the room erupted into voices once more. “I wonder what my son told you that kept you silent p>
I remained completely stoic as I focused on the plate in front of me. There was a piece of juicy steak and something that resembled porridge but it smelled wrong.
“Do you know what that is?” he asked despite my refusal to speak. “It’s a very special kind of porridge. We only serve it at special events like these. The main ingredient is meat, but not animal meat, it’s meat from whichever bastard is foolish enough to stumble upon our land p>
Bile crawled up my throat but I forced it down. I knew for a fact that the king would not appreciate me throwing up all over his robe.
“It’s meat from the wolf spy your mate sent here p>
My blood ran cold at his words and opposite him, Allister stilled.
“Did my son tell you that he had a plan? That he was going to get you out of this alive? I’ve been alive longer than you have both been breathing combined. You’re not getting out of here. Your mate’s men are being slaughtered as we speak, and at the end of this, you will be mated to my son and my mating present to you will be your mate’s head on a fucking p>
My eyes snagged on glinting metal and I grabbed it with a scream and stabbed wildly towards the king. The knife was mere inches away from his heart when his fingers wrapped around my wrist tightly.
He squeezed hard, causing the knife to drop from my hands and clatter to the ground. Everyone around us had stopped speaking. They watched the scene with morbid fascination all the while my heart hammered wildly in my chest because I knew I’d fucked up… badly.
The king’s eyes flashed with rage as he squeezed my hand so tight I thought my bones would snap. I bit down on my bottom lip, trying my hardest not to fucking scream.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he murmured softly. “I thought you were learning. I thought you were good, but it seems you’re not interested and neither am I. I was hoping we could form a political alliance, but now, it seems it might be easier to kill you and your mate and take over your pack p>
“Like hell,” I spat. “That will never happen p>
“In case you didn’t know, you don’t have much of a choice in the matter. You’re my prisoner p>
That was true, but before I stepped foot in here, I knew that there was only one way I was getting out of her alive. I made my peace with the choice I was going to make.
I glanced at Allister over the king’s shoulder only to find him seated there doing absolutely nothing. He avoided my gaze.
“Fucking coward!” I spat at him.
“He was never going to help you,” the king said with a cruel smirk. “He will never go against me. He cannot harm me p>
“I don’t need him to p>
“How will your plan succeed without him? You’re not getting out of here alive on your own p>
“Who said anything about getting out alive p>
I reached for the dagger at his waist with my free hand and before he could react. He released my hand, trying to stop me from harming myself but I held the knife against my throat, letting the cold blade dig into my skin hard enough to draw blood.
“One wrong move and I’ll slice my own throat open,” I snarled. “We both know what happens when a male’s mate dies. Your kingdom will cease to exist after tonight. Your hold on my pack is gone. Rowan will not stop until every last one of you is dead p>
The king frowned, eyes flashing with anger. “You won’t do it p>
“Do you want to bet on that?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. “I’m willing to die, are you p>
“Stop this,” Allister snapped, standing to his feet. “Put the knife down p>
“Fuck you p>
He didn’t react to my words, merely held out a hand to me. His face was impassive, but there was an urgency in his eyes. “Give me the knife, Nyssa. You know it’s the right thing to do p>
At first, I thought he was trying to compel me, but I didn’t feel the weight of his words, I only heard the urgency. Our conversation from earlier flashed in my mind.
“Why?” I asked, hesitating.
“You can trust me, you know that p>
I muttered a prayer to the goddess, hoping I was making the right choice.
Slowly, I let my hand drop and I placed the dagger in his hands. His fingers closed around the hilt and he smiled. “Good girl p>
The king laughed cruelly, the sound echoing off the walls. “I see you have her in your palm. I should have known. You are my son after p>
Allister moved so fast that I didn’t have the time to process it. In one quick move, he sent the dagger into his father’s chest. He pulled it out and struck again and again, each movement causing blood to spurt everywhere.
“I’m sorry father, but it’s time for you to go.” He pulled out the knife and reached in with his hand.
I watched in horror as his hand went straight through his father’s chest and he pulled it out with his still beating heart in his hands.