Chains of Moonlight Chapter Eight

Veremund didn’t delay.

He walked down the steps to the dungeon by dawn that same night. Emmerich confirmed that the valkyrie had not yet fully adjusted to the schedule of the Moon Elves. He wanted to catch her when she was awake.

As they walked down the steps, Emmerich would mutter under his breath here and there while rolling his eyes. Finally, he asked Veremund, “What exactly is your plan here?”

Veremund returned it with a cool glance. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to talk to her.”

Emmerich softly snorted. “She is not going to talk to you.”

But Emmerich still gave his orders and the guards outside the dungeon stepped to the side to let them through. Before they set foot inside Veremund turned to him and said, “Maybe you should stay out of sight. I’m sure she likes me far more than you right now.”

Emmerich shook his head. “You only saw her when she was half dead from the battle, you haven’t seen her now. Besides, I’m not going to let you keep any more valuable information from me.”

Veremund shrugged and said, “If you insist.”

Dawn was breaking through the small barred windows at the top of the cells on one side at ground level. Of course only one cell was occupied, and even if it wasn’t, she was still easy to spot with her broad cream and tawny speckled wings filling up half the space.

Veremund took a moment to observe her before she saw him. She laid on her front her wings, covering most of her from sight. There was a large gash on one wing, marked by the feathers still clinging to her even though the bottoms had been cut off. He couldn’t see her face beneath the gnarled, matted mess of her hair.

He leaned over and whispered, “Are you certain you haven’t already killed her?”

Emmerich scoffed. “I’m not that careless.”

As Veremund moved closer, she began to stir. Her weight shifted, and she lifted her head from where it rested on her arms. He’d been right to be concerned. Quite frankly, he didn’t know what exactly was holding her together. One eye was practically swollen shut and blackened beyond belief. Her lips were split in three different places and dried blood and dirt obscured whatever other scars or injuries there were on her. Had they not even deigned to throw some water at her to at least try to clean some of the mess?

Her hazy eyes focused on him. Her wings fluttered, but she winced even as she used them to help propel herself up from the ground. She grabbed hold of the bars as he came to a stop in front of her eyes skimming across her again. Her armor had been taken from her, so she’d been left only in the thin, immodest dress that cinched at her waist, hanging up only by the fabric around her neck exposing her back and the skirt only fell to above her knees.

He imagined it had been completely purposeful, not on Emmerich’s part, but on the part of his men. While they might degrade the valkyries as no better than common birds, mediocre and nothing special, except in the art of their savagery, she was female with a female figure, even if not an ideal one by elven standards.

He was the fool for assuming that once she was in a cell they’d give her something more appropriate to wear. He should have taken his cloak and thrown it into the cell with her when he’d put her in there.

In Veremund’s opinion, they were the savage ones for not for clothing her properly. That had nothing to do with her honor, but their own, and they were bankrupt of it, clearly.

But that wasn’t why he was there. She didn’t seem to be perturbed, so he forced his gaze back to her face and said in her language, “Hello again, little valkyrie.”

She gripped the bars tightly. The rustling of her wings gave away the fury just his voice brought.

He grinned at her. “Miss me?”

She stayed silent.

He took a long deliberate look, eyes slowly trailing over the various injuries marking her limbs before he asked, “Does it hurt?”

She didn’t respond.

He grabbed hold of the bars and leaned in, ensuring his breath rustled the knotted strands of hair clinging to her cheek. “It doesn’t have to. You know that. All this pain stops if you just answer our questions. Just one word. I promise. Say something. Say anything, and I’ll make it all go away.”

Instead, she jutted her chin out, letting go of the bars of the cell. She took a half step back, grabbed the leather band around her wrist, and tugged it loose before she reached up and put it between her teeth.

All he could do was stare at her in bewilderment as she dug her teeth into the leather and curled her wing around her. She grasped the top of her wing, not the very tip, but what looked to be either the second to last or third to last bone. Then she locked eyes with him. And not breaking his gaze for even a second, she wrenched her own wing and a sharp crack filled the air, as it did a muffled, agonized scream fell out past the leather she was biting down on. Her eyes were watery and welling up, even as her face flushed red. Her scream turned to labored, panting breaths as she dropped her wing, the bone broken by her own hands.

Well, that answered his question then. But if she thought that display would make him fold she was dead wrong. He could see the tear tracks on her face as her broken wing drooped back behind her.

“Is that what you want, little valkyrie? You’d rather break yourself piece by piece even though we’re already doing it for you. That princess of yours, she can’t really be worth all this loyalty.” He gestured to her broken, injured wing, voice softening. “She left you behind.”

Finally, her lips parted and in a dry, rasping voice, she said, “I pity you, Prince Veremund.”

Did she?

He resisted the urge to look over his shoulder and see Emmerich’s expression as the valkyrie’s voice broke across the air. He’d bask in his victory later. Right now, he focused entirely on her. “Now why is that?”

“Because if you knew what it was like to love your friend more dearly than a sister or your family more than your own wings, you wouldn’t be standing here questioning why I will go to the grave with my secrets in my head and my lips bloodied shut.”

One of the injuries on her lip split open again, punctuating the statement.

His hand snaked through the bars, grabbing her by the back of the neck and jerking her up until she had to turn her face, cheek pressed into the bars. He grabbed the bar with his other hand, craning his head slightly so he could still look her in the eyes as he hissed, “You think you know anything about me?”

She laughed, blood smearing on the bars and her skin. “You wouldn’t be angry if it wasn’t true. You wouldn’t even know where to begin loving anything more than yourself and your comfort and your power.”

“Laugh all you want, broken bird.” He made sure her eyes followed his as they drifted to her back. “We’ll see if you keep laughing when I cut your wings right off your back.”

She managed to brace her hands against the bars again, pushing back to give her just enough space to turn her head to face him. “Really? Is that the best you can come up with?” She laughed again. “The other one’s already tried that threat. We both know you’re not going to get your hands dirty.”

Oh, she’d see there was no depth he would not sink to. He would keep the vow he’d made.

And she would just be another unfortunate casualty.

He tightened his grip, nails digging into the base of her skull and her filthy hair. “My little valkyrie, you should have started talking when I gave you the chance. When I’m done with you, the agony you feel right now will be but an ember to what I have in store. By the time I’m done, your secrets will be spilling out of your mouth. You’ll be lying on the floor begging for mercy, wishing I had killed you and taken your wings as a trophy instead of forcing you to live through what will come next.”

The other cut on her lip split open as she looked up at him, “Do your worst.”

He let go of her head and stepped back, brushing his now filthy hand on his trousers as he smiled at her. “Sleep well. I’m sure your princess isn’t nearly as tough as you are.”

He caught the briefest flicker of fear in her eyes before he turned on his heel and strode out of the dungeons. Emmerich was right behind him, speaking in their tongue in a whisper as the guards shut the door behind them. “How did you do that? Why did she start talking? What was she saying? I didn’t catch all of it. Did she tell you what the princess is doing in Iubar?”

Veremund was beginning to suspect a large part of her silence was because she knew Emmerich could only barely understand her even if she did speak. He said, “It’s of no matter.”

“She didn’t tell you then. Alright, so what time shall I schedule?”

Veremund shot Emmerich a glare and said, “You’re not killing her yet.”

Emmerich choked as they went up the stairs. “You couldn’t get her to talk.”

Veremund raised an eyebrow. “Who said I was done with her? No.” He gave Emmerich a vicious grin. “You should brush up on your valkyrian. She told me to do my worst, and I will gladly obey. I’m going to destroy her.”

* * *

Thanks for reading Chapter Eight of Chains of Moonlight! Read Chapter Nine here!

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