Emperor Of The Abyss

Chapter 10

"Kane, son of Seraphine the demon, bearer of cursed blood, stained upon the royal line,I arrest you for the willful and malicious murder of Elara Whitmore, loyal servant of this house. You will be held in the dungeons until such time as a sentence can be carried out. May the gods have mercy on your blackened soul."

Kane's lips curved into a smile. It felt wrong on his face,stretched and unnatural. But he couldn't help it. This had to be a joke. Some kind of sick test.

"You can't be serious." 

He said. The smile wobbled but stayed in place. 

"Aunt Morgana, please. You know me. You've known me my whole life. I would never…"

The slap came out of nowhere.

Morgana's palm connected with Kane's cheek with a crack that echoed down the hallway like a whip. His head snapped to the side. Pain exploded across his face, white-hot and blinding. Stars burst in his vision.

For a moment he just stood there, stunned. His cheek was on fire. He could taste blood in his mouth,he'd bitten his tongue when his jaw snapped shut.

"Never." 

Morgana said. Her voice was low. Dangerous. Each word sharp as a knife. 

"Never call me your aunt again."

She stepped back and straightened her robe. Smoothed down the fabric with careful, deliberate movements. Her hand had left a perfect red outline on Kane's face, the shape of her fingers stark against his pale skin.

"You are not my nephew. You are not my family. You are not even human." 

She looked at him with such disgust it made Kane's stomach turn. 

"You are a demon wearing human skin. Nothing more. An abomination that should have been destroyed the moment you drew breath."

She turned to the guards. Didn't even look at Kane anymore. Like he wasn't worth her attention.

"Take him away. Lock him in the deepest cell we have. The one we use for traitors and murderers." 

Her voice was cold. Clinical. 

"And make sure he understands exactly what he is."

The four guards moved as one. Their hands clamped down on Kane's arms,rough, bruising. Steel-strong fingers digging into his flesh. They yanked him forward, away from Elara's body, away from the blood.

"Wait…" 

Kane tried to pull back but they were too strong. 

"Wait, please, just let me explain…"

They dragged him down the hallway. His bare feet scraped against the stone, leaving smears of blood where Elara's blood had gotten on them. He could hear the servants whispering behind him. Could feel their stares like knives in his back.

"Please!"

 Kane shouted over his shoulder. 

"I didn't do it! You have to believe me! She came at me first! I was defending myself!"

But no one was listening. No one cared.

The guards hauled him to the stairs. Down. Down and down and down. The air grew colder with each step. Damper. The smell changed from palace stone to something older. Mustier. The scent of earth and water and something else. Something like rot.

The dungeons.

Kane had never been down here before. Had never had reason to. The halls were narrow and dark, lit only by torches set in brackets every ten feet. The flames threw dancing shadows on the walls. Water dripped somewhere in the distance, a steady rhythm that echoed in the silence.

The guards said nothing. Just kept marching him forward, their grips never loosening. Their armor clinked softly with each step.

They passed cells on either side. Most were empty. But in a few Kane could see shapes huddled in the darkness. Prisoners. Real criminals. Murderers and thieves and traitors.

And now he was one of them.

Finally they reached a cell at the very end of the hall. 

The furthest from the stairs. The darkest corner of the dungeon. One of the guards pulled out a heavy iron key and unlocked the door. It swung open with a rusty screech that made Kane's teeth ache.

Then they threw him inside.

Kane hit the ground hard. His shoulder cracked against the stone. Pain shot down his arm, sharp and bright. He rolled onto his back just in time to see the cell door slam shut.

The lock clicked. Final. The sound of his life ending.

Kane scrambled to his feet and rushed to the bars. His hands wrapped around the cold iron.

 "Wait! Please! I'm innocent! I didn't…"

"Shut up." 

One of the guards spat.

Kane recognized him now. Marcus. The same guard he'd greeted just hours ago on his way to dinner. The one who'd smiled and told him about his sick daughter.

But Marcus wasn't smiling now. His weathered face was twisted with disgust.

"We should have killed you alongside your mother." 

Marcus said. His voice was full of venom. Pure 

hatred.

 "Twenty-two years ago. When they burned that demon bitch in the square."

Kane's hands froze on the bars.

 "What?"

"You were just a baby then." 

Marcus continued. He took a step closer to the cell, close enough that Kane could see the hatred burning in his eyes.

 "Crying in your crib. Innocent, they said. Just a child. But some of us knew. We knew you had demon blood. We knew you'd grow up to be just like her."

Another guard stepped forward. Younger than Marcus, with a scar running from his eye to his jaw. Thomas. Kane had watched him get knighted just 

last year.

"They should have thrown you on the pyre with her." 

Thomas said.

 "Would have saved us all this trouble. Saved Elara's life."

"But no."

 Marcus said, his voice rising.

 "The old council said we had to spare you. 'He's just a child,' they said. 'He can't be held responsible for his mother's sins. He deserves a chance to prove himself.'" 

He laughed, bitter and harsh.

 "Look where that mercy got us. Another dead girl. More demon murders."

Kane felt something crack inside his chest. Like a dam breaking. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes, hot and shameful.

"I didn't kill her." 

He whispered. His voice came out broken. Small.

 "I swear on my father's grave, I didn't kill her."

"Your father."

 Marcus sneered.

 "Your father was a fool. A weak, lovesick fool who let a demon seduce him. Who brought shame upon the crown. Who died because of his own stupidity."

"Don't talk about him like that!" Kane's voice cracked. "He was a good king! He was…"

"He was pathetic." 

Marcus said.

 "And so are you."

The guards turned and walked away. Their footsteps echoed down the hall, growing fainter and fainter. The torchlight faded.

Then silence.

Complete. Total. Crushing silence.

Kane sank to the floor of his cell. The stone was cold and damp beneath him. He could feel moisture seeping through his clothes. Somewhere water was dripping, a steady rhythm that seemed to count down the seconds of his life.

He pulled his knees up to his chest. Wrapped his arms around them. His whole body was shaking now,not from cold, but from shock. From the weight of what had just happened.

The tears came. Hot and fast an

d unstoppable. They ran down his face, dripping off his chin onto the stone floor.

He'd lost everything. Everything. In the span of a single hour his entire life had been destroyed.

His future. His crown. His freedom.

Valerie…