Arastella POV
The quiet lingering in the room shattered instantly. With a deafening explosion of splintered wood and metal, the heavy double doors burst open, torn completely off their hinges and flying across the bedchamber to crash violently against the stone wall. I gasped, covering my face with my arms as I instinctively rolled across the mattress to get out of the path of the flying debris.
Wood dust settled, revealing Castel striding into the room, surrounded by his stern council members and a visibly shaken Kiono. Castel's eyes flared with raw, unbridled fury.
"Where is she?" he demanded, his voice ringing like a death sentence.
I sat up on the edge of the bed, brushing a stray strand of hair from my face and glaring at him. "How about, 'I am sorry, that door could have hit me?"
The moment the words left my mouth, the terrifying rage in Castel's eyes instantly vanished, replaced by sheer panic. He rushed across the room, dropping down onto both knees right in front of me. His broad hands hovered nervously near my shoulders as his eyes frantically searched my face for any sign of injury.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice low and breathy. "I am sorry."
"I am fine," I snapped, pulling back slightly.
Castel exhaled softly, standing up to his full height. He turned his head, his gaze locking onto the gaping hole where the shattered window used to be. The wind howled softly through the jagged stone frame.
"I guess that is where she escaped from," Castel murmured, his tone shifting back to cold, calculating focus.
"You stand corrected," I said, sliding my legs off the bed and standing up to face him.
Castel turned back to me, tilting his head with genuine curiosity. "Why did you do it?"
"Why did I do what?"
"She was the only friend you had here," he said softly, stepping closer. "Why betray her?"
"She betrayed me first," I replied, my voice dropping into a cold, uncompromising register. "I have no friends here. You are all my enemies, and the day I leave, I will take your head with me."
Castel stared at me for a bit, and then a bright, genuine laugh broke past his lips. "You always know how to get my heart racing," he said, turning back toward the open window.
I cut my eyes toward Kiono. He was standing near the door way, pale as a corpse, sweat dripping down his temple as his breathing came in short, panicked hitches. He looked completely undone by Astelion's sudden disappearance.
"Did you warn her?" Castel asked quietly, his back still turned to the room.
The moment the question hung in the air, Kiono dropped heavily onto his knees. The surrounding council members immediately followed suit, bowing their heads low against the carpet in absolute terror.
"I did not, my King!" Kiono choked out, his voice trembling violently. "I knew of nothing!"
I let out a heavy sigh, tired of watching the innocent suffer while I held the weapon. "I warned her to leave," I admitted aloud. "After all, it's the least I could do for her. She used to protect me."
Castel slowly turned around, a wide, fascinated smile spreading across his face. "You confuse me, my dear."
"I am not your dear."
"Watch it now," Castel cautioned lightly, though his eye gleamed with amusement. "You let the enemy escape."
"And what?" I challenged, stepping right into his personal space and throwing my arms out wide to the sides. "Are you going to kill me now? Go ahead—I have been waiting. Come on, Castel, the big bad King! Kill me! Do it!"
I glared straight into his eyes, taunting him, waiting for his restraint to finally snap—waiting for him to grab my neck or rip the heart straight out of my chest so I could finally be free of this nightmare.
Castel didn't strike. Instead, he took a deep breath, and his face hardened.
"Everyone get out!" he roared.
The command tore through the air with such terrifying, pressurized force that I could feel the vibrations echoing deep inside my bones. The council members and Kiono didn't hesitate for a single second; they scrambled to their feet and practically trampled each other as they sprinted out into the corridor.
The second the last body cleared the threshold, the massive shattered pieces of the door resting on the floor and against the wall flew up into the air, driven by an invisible, powerful force. They slammed back onto their hinges, locking into place with a deafening thud, instantly sealing the room shut.
Silence descended, heavy and suffocating.
Castel turned to me, his jaw set. "I see you like to test my patience."
"I don't like anything about you," I spat.
He chuckled under his breath. "Sit."
With a simple wave of his hand, a heavy telekinetic force grabbed my body and forced me backward, dropping me firmly onto the edge of the plush bed.
"I am going to tell you a little story," Castel said, stepping slowly toward me. "And after that, if you still decide you want me to kill you... I will do it with no hesitation. But if you decide to live... you are going to stop acting like an ill-tempered brat and give me a chance."
I stared at him, my mind screaming in disbelief. This man can't be serious. He is an obsessed lunatic.
Yet, knowing I needed to hear whatever leverage he was about to offer to keep my people alive, I forced a tight smile onto my lips and gave him a slow nod.
Castel walked over and sat down on the mattress right next to me. The bed dipped under his weight. He leaned over slightly, looking down into my face as I looked up at him.
And for the first time since I had met the Mad King, I saw it—hidden deep behind his brilliant, mismatched eyes, beneath the terrifying aura and insufferable smirks—there was a faint, lingering hint of raw, agonizing pain. Something real, something broken... something I had never seen in him until now.