Chapter 39

How could Kayla be so stupid? Did she really think she could get past the enchantment that holds us all captive? The enchantment will lure you in and give you a sense of security. It lets you think you can pass. Then it attacks and devours you. She is lucky I got to her in time. She could have killed herself.
She had done the unthinkable trying to escape. I would have put my bet on her being too curious to stay away from the second floor. She would have had the fright of her life if she had ventured up there. I shuddered at the thought of the second floor and the glass encasement flashes in my mind. A beautiful replica of Kayla lies sleeping, a curse put on her by the first witches. She will sleep until the day the prophecy has come to light or passed.
When she awakes, she will seek her revenge. My father keeps her close by, to ensure she never wakes. Meredith is the only one powerful enough to stop my father.
“Cole!” My father’s voice bounces off the bare walls. I follow the direction it came from. It is never good when he calls. I don’t fear my father, nor do I shake at his voice. I pity him. The only emotions he feels is anger and sadness. However, I don’t fear my father himself but what he can and will do to others. I have suffered many years of pain, delivered by his hand, and now I am numb to any feelings towards him but pity.
“Miss Knight is waiting in the chamber; she requires fifty lashes. She will pay for not reporting that Kayla had left the castle walls.”
I bow my head. “Father, fifty lashes will kill her. She is an old woman.” I try pleading with him, why? I don’t know. He doesn’t care. He loves death. The highlight of his day is watching the servant’s blood pool around them as they scream and beg for their life, sometimes it can be up to three or more a day. On a good day it can be as little as one.
“Then death will be her sentence. A painful one at that.” He smirks, making my stomach twist in disgust.
I walk slowly to the chamber with my heart hammering in my chest. It doesn’t matter how many times I have done this. It still rips me up every time. I hate to be the one to make them suffer.
Each time I do, it kills me even more inside. Soon I will just be like my father. No soul to speak of. With each evil deed I carry out, the dark hole that threatens to pull me in widens. Soon I will fall.
Miss Knight is crouched in the corner of the room. I put on my cold hard face. If I show any sympathy, it will break down my walls, and I will be the one being beaten to the brink of death.
Father will not kill me though, not yet anyway. He needs me to marry Kayla. He is not strong enough to break through the walls of the angel realm. Once I am bonded to Kayla, we will both suffer.
Our wedding will be our death sentence. I understand why she tried to run. I have tried many times. But there is no way out. My father has made sure of that. He is stuck here, so he makes sure the rest of us are too. Now the gate is open he his watching the portal more closely. We can only leave if he allows us to, on his terms.
He sent me to watch Kayla from afar when he learned of where she was. Her mother hid her well, and her selfless act in killing herself to save her daughter has saved Kayla’s life. I am sure if my father had found her as a child, he would have seen no other reason for her to live apart from opening the portal that traps him here.
The rumors of her power and how strong she is even before she has undergone the change has spiked my father’s interest. She has become a bigger tool for him to use against his fight for power.
I pick up the whip which is hanging on the wall. Miss Knight lets out a small whimper. She knows what is coming. She understands the method of torture all too well.
“Stand, woman,” I demand. She slowly rises and moves into the center of the room. I can see in her eyes she has accepted her fate. They are lifeless. She stares blankly at me and then looks at the ground.
“Turn around,” I order in a cold, emotionless voice. My heart is screaming for me to walk away. I know it is not possible as my father will make her suffer more. I try to tell myself I am doing her a favor.
With the first whip I bestow on her back, I get a sickly feeling inside. She doesn’t cry out; she doesn’t make a sound. I whip her a few times and watch the blood drip down her back. I feel physically sick now.
I walk towards her and hold her head in my hands.
“You have to save her,” she says in a croaky voice. “Get her out of here, if not all will be lost.”
With a hard twist, I hear her neck break, and let her body fall to the floor. I know she is right. Once my father has destroyed everything in his path, then nothing will remain. I just don’t know how to help her. How can I help another when I cannot even help myself?
One of the other servants’ rushes in to remove her. I stare into space feeling disgusted with myself. I am no better than my father. I walk back to the den in a daze.
“How many?” Father asks with a smirk when I enter the den. “Twenty, then I snapped her neck. I couldn’t put up with the pathetic screaming anymore.” I shrug and pour myself a whisky.
“Come here, my boy.” He beckons me over. I know what is coming. He has been doing this for years.
I hold out my hand. He holds his magical dagger over my palm. The evil power-hungry smile on his face gives me cold chills.
With one angry swipe, my hand is split open. The wound is deep. Blood pours out and over my hand and drips into a wine glass. Once my palm starts to heel, he cuts it open again, until the wine glass is full.
I watch in disgust as he chants over my blood. The liquid bubbles and foams and then dies down. I turn away as my father drinks it down in one. I can’t watch, it is revolting, and my stomach twists with utter disgust.
For years now, he has been stealing my powers and those of the servants. I lied to Kayla when I told her all the servants were human. All the slaves here have a little magic running through their veins. It is just a tiny amount. Diluted through generations, yet enough to add to my power-hungry father’s gain. Once I marry Kayla, we will both be sacrificed, and our powers will belong to him. He will become unstoppable.