Free Web NovelChapter 46: Chapter 46
Adonis breathed in slowly and watched Aman intently, studying his eyes, his ears. He was a fine man in his prime, Adonis was sure; it was a pity they had to part on such terms.
Adonis had set Aman’s head perfectly on the table so he could face it. The hollow eyes, the slightly parted lips. He did not hate the man, so he tried to make his cut as clean and as swift as possible.
"The rest of you..." he said to the rest of Aman’s men in the room, his voice dangerously low, "sit."
No one sat. They all stared at him as he landed from the sky. Adonis looked at their faces; however, they seemed to perceive him in that moment, and he was exactly that.
"I said sit!" He growled.
They sat. They looked like wounded animals seeking pity. Ironic, when Adonis had been the one injured.
"I would hate to waste much of your time, as you have already wasted mine, so I will go straight to the point," he said with an air of authority. "As you can see, your master has left us.
By now, the messengers I sent a while back would have already alerted my men, and they would have made a retreat, which means the bombs you planted are as good as useless. My men will come back for me, and in so doing, slaughter every man, woman, and child until there is nothing but blood and corpses on these lands.
But if you do not want that, I suggest you make quick arrangements. Call off your army, speak to the others who need to be spoken to, and in turn, I will let you rule peacefully beside us."
Two of the men stared blankly at him while the other two lowered their heads and gritted their teeth. Adonis hoped to the gods that they would not sense his heart thundering in his chest or how he wrung his hands together so much so that he’d felt like he’d somehow broken it.
"So," he said, his eyes darting from one man to the next. "Do you agree to my terms?"
The men were silent. Adonis could feel them wavering under his gaze. Their shields are cracking, and the fear is seeping in. Just a little more push. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"Answer me."
"Of course, your majesty, we will do as you wish." A man to his right spoke.
"But on one condition," another chimed. "Aman, our king, his children, and other members of his family must remain unharmed."
They wouldn’t back down without a fight, Adonis saw and smirked at them.
"Of course," Adonis said. "That I can do."
"And also..."
"Don’t push it, sir," Adonis warned. "When it is time to discuss, then we shall. For now, I would like to be done with this war.
The men bowed and stood to leave.
"Wait," Adonis said, stopping them in their tracks. "How did you get those bombs?"
"Only the king knows of its origin, your majesty. But as you can see, he is no more."
A corner of Adonis’ lips twitched upwards.
"You may leave." He said, finally. "And Andrea, could you please follow them; make sure they call off their soldiers?"
"Of course."
When the five of them had left, Doris winced as she sat down.
"Is it bad?" Adonis asked.
"I need to get it stitched and bandaged before I have an infection."
I’m so sorry, Doris. When this is all finally over, I’ll make sure you get the much-needed rest you deserve. I’ll make sure everyone does."
"Let’s just hope and pray Astrid got to your men in time. If not, it’s going to be a massacre. And it will not be their heads on a table."
Adonis sighed heavily. "I pray to the gods that she did."
They hadn’t been alone for too long before Andrea rushed back in, panting. "The soldiers, they’re back. So many."
Adonis shot up from his seat. "What?!"
"They’ve surrounded the palace. And those old men, they didn’t do as you asked. They’ll soon be here, so we have to leave."
"Leave? To where?" Doris asked. "You’ve just said they’ve surrounded the whole palace."
"That doesn’t mean we patiently wait here for our deaths now, do we?"
Doris sighed. "I don’t think I’d be able to walk for long if that were the case. I’d only be slowing you down." She said despondently.
Adrea walked up to where she sat and slammed the table, jerking Doris backwards in her seat. "I’d better not hear you saying such filthy things with your mouth ever again."
"Of course. Sure." Doris replied quickly, still a little stunned.
"Let’s go."
Andrea went back to the door and creaked it open slightly to check if the corridors were clear, then she motioned for them to follow her.
Adonis inhaled, got up, and tore a piece of cloth from his inner garments, then fastened his wound. Then he tore away the hems of Doris’ garments and helped her with her wound.
"I’ll have to carry you, Doris, unless you’ll only slow us down," Adonis said.
Doris nodded, and he immediately carried her on his back.
They ran as fast as they could. They tried to take a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway to their left and heard muffled conversations and clanging metals.
Immediately, they turned the other way and ran.
"I hear something," they heard one of the soldiers say.
"Could it be those intruders?"
Adonis and Andrea tried to run faster, but they could hear the footsteps catching up to them.
"Stop them!" One of the soldiers shouted.
Adonis and Andrea ran down another flight of stairs to their right. They managed to reach the last floor and turned to run left, but saw a few soldiers running towards them.
They turned right, towards the kitchen. There was hardly anyone in it, save for three cooks. Andrea fastened the door and brought out the dagger she had.
"If you want your lives intact, I suggest you do exactly as I tell you."
