Chapter 412: Prove It

Bram;

The answer comes to mind immediately. None.

Absolutely none.

And judging by the way the warlock is smiling...

He knows it too.

A new panic begins clawing its way up my throat.

No. No. NO!!

There has to be something. Something useful. Something valuable I can still do for them.

They can’t just discard me!

I meet the boy’s eyes, and he raises a brow when he sees the look in mine.

"You people need me," I say, and he blinks. Then scoffs a laugh.

"Aww. Is the truth that hard to digest?" He mocks, and I nearly lose it.

"You need me!" I scream this time, and he sighs.

"We really don’t."

"I can still help," I say, almost begging now, and the warlock sighs.

"Bram." He calls with his tone, suddenly sounding tired.

Like he’s bored. Like he’s already finished with me.

"You’re not listening." He continues as his fingers tap against the bars.

"The trap is already set." He says with a small tap against the bars, and I swallow.

"Rhydian and Igma are already walking into it. That’s on us. You failed your task. So, now I’ve been ordered to kill you." He concludes this time with no expression whatsoever on his face, and that worsens my fear.

My heart begins hammering violently in my chest as my mind races.

I can’t die. I know a part of me thinks dying will take me back to earth... but I’m not done yet. I can’t go back, knowing Elian is here, living like a god. That truth’ll haunt me.

For once. Just once, I need to let him feel pain. Let him see that he’s not some special untouchable being guarded by plot armour. So many horrible things have happened to me in our world, and this, I can’t die without feeding him some of it!

"I’m not dying!" I blurt, and the warlock rolls his eyes.

"I can still be useful."

"You can’t."

"I can."

"You really can’t." He says in a sing-song tone, and I damn near see red from rage.

"I can!" I yell.

The shout echoes through the dungeon, and for a moment, silence follows.

Then the boy sighs yet again. Dramatically this time.

"Fine." He breathes, and my heart immediately leaps.

But then his grin returns. A cruel and creepy thing.

"Entertain me." He says with a shrug, and my brows knot.

"What?"

The boy then leans closer.

"Give me a reason to spare you." He adds, and I swallow.

My mind immediately begins racing.

A reason to keep me alive. Do I–do I say I have information?

No. They already know everything I know.

I–I can swear loyalty—What am I thinking? He just said to me that they know I’m a traitor. They’ll never take such a vow seriously.

Do I beg him? No. I’ve already done enough of that.

I freeze when an idea suddenly forms.

A dangerous, desperate, but perfect idea.

A slow smile breaks the tension on my face, and the warlock notices immediately.

He hums as he leans forward. Now interested. Now curious.

I lick my lips, then quietly say her name.

"Queen Cassia."

The warlock’s grin widens as he seems to understand where I’m headed without me even saying a thing.

"Go on." He grins, and my expression slowly bends to match his.

A laugh escapes me. A weak, shaky, but hopeful one.

"If I kill Queen Cassia..." I begin, and the young warlock becomes very still.

"The Ashfangs lose their foundation." I breathe, and the boy tilts his head slowly as though painting the picture.

So, I continue quickly. Words spilling out before he can interrupt.

"Rhydian worships her. Gravemaw worships her. The entire kingdom has invincible strings that lead back to her." I explain as I step closer to the bars.

Desperation makes my voice shake, but I can’t help it. I am desperate. This is me defending my life here. My words right now are either going to keep me alive or kill me.

"If she dies, everything falls apart faster than anyone would ever imagine," I whisper, and the warlock’s eyes narrow.

For the first time since he got here, he looks... interested.

Almost even intrigued. Like a child being told an extraordinary story.

How could a boy his age be so twisted?

I don’t care. I just need him to see reasons not to kill me.

"And when Wilhelm learns she’s dead... He’ll come. Everyone would be shaken. The Ashfangs will break." I continue, but stop so my words hit harder as I point at him.

"And your enemies become weaker. Much easier to attack and uproot." I conclude, and what follows is silence.

Long, dangerous silence.

The warlock studies me. The way a predator studies wounded prey.

Then finally... He laughs. Softly this time. Almost even fondly.

"You know..." He says as he tilts his head.

"I was planning to kill you immediately." He adds, and my stomach twists.

"But now I’m curious."

Hope explodes inside my chest on hearing those words.

The warlock reaches through the bars, and I watch as magic immediately begins crawling across his fingers.

Dark, wrong, and unnatural.

I take an instinctive step backwards, and his smile widens.

He may just be a boy, but he’s clearly very powerful. I shouldn’t make any wrong moves.

"There’s nothing to do at the covenstead anyway. We can have a little fun. To spice things up, I’ll give you a little bit of magic. I know you must have been eyeing that. Craving a taste of such power, no?" He says, and my heart flops as I process his words.

He’s... he’s giving me magic??

You get one chance. One target. And whatever grand plan you have in mind, you must carry it out. Tonight." He orders as his magic reaches for me.

I freeze as the darkness wraps around my body. So cold, it makes me gasp.

"If you fail..." He warns as his eyes meet mine.

I watch as the laughter, jokes and twisted delight vanish from his eyes in that very second, replaced by something twisted. And wrong. The kind of insanity that horrifies you the most because of how...calm it seems. Until it’s not.

"I’ll personally make sure your death follows you into the afterlife." He breathes, and I go numb.

The threat sends ice through my veins, and with that, his smile returns. Like it was never gone.

The boy claps his hands together happily.

"Now."

He beams, while I struggle to stay upright.

"Let’s go see if you’re worth saving." He adds.

As the magic around me strengthens, I stare at the dungeon walls one more time. At the cell. At the chains. At the darkness.

And I can not help the sm,ile that splits my face. It’s my first smile in...days.

Because in this moment, it dawns on me how wrong they are.

All of them.

The witches, the warlocks, the Ashfangs... Everyone.

I’m still useful. And tonight... I’m going to prove it.