\u201cMm\u2013hmm,\u201d Larissa confirmed with a smile. \u201cLucius tried to use the same tactic to humiliate me, so I just returned the favor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cImpressive,\u201d Haskell commented.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was nothing, really,\u201d she said, beaming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven watched as they ate and chatted, a pit of anxiety growing in his stomach. When they were finished, he looked at Haskell hopefully. \u201cBro\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haskell shot him a cool glance, cutting him off before he\u00a0<\/p>\n
continue. \u201cKeep kneeling.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven clamped his mouth shut, his fists tightening, but he didn\u2019t protest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa took out her needles and began Haskell\u2019s treatment, then released Snowy and Sage to massage his legs. Sage slithered over to the kneeling Draven, hissed, and flicked its tongue, clearly displeased with the sight of the traitor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven stared, bewildered. Was he really bein\u00a0<\/p>\n
bullied by a snake?\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the treatment was finished, Haskell pulled his pant leg down and finally turned his attention to Draven.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing his\u00a0<\/p>\n
gaze, Draven\u2019s eyes lit up. He was about to speak when Haskell asked, \u201cTell me, where is my real brother? Or perhaps a better question is, how is he?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words struck Draven like a bolt of lightning. He froze, his voice trembling. \u201cBro\u2026 what do you mean? I\u2019m your brother.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haskell\u2019s deep eyes were devoid of emotion. \u201cI\u2019ll give you one more chance. If you still refuse to answer truthfully, I\u2019ll consider having your tongue cut out first, and then I\u2019ll cripple both of your legs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words were spoken calmly, but they sent a chill down Draven\u2019s spine. His hands, resting on his thighs, began to shake uncontrollably. If he didn\u2019t tell the truth, he would lose his tongue. But if he did, would he even be allowed to live?\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knew Haskell wouldn\u2019t have asked the question if he wasn\u2019t absolutely certain. He already knew the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa let out a contemptuous laugh. \u201cStill hesitating? You don\u2019t actually think you have a choice, do you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is my real brother?\u201d Haskell asked again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven\u2019s fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white, his face a ghostly pale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a tense half\u2013minute of silence, Haskell spoke a single word. \u201cFrost.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:55 0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 440\u00a0<\/p>\n
A moment ago, they had been alone. But now, a rustling sound came from the nearby woods, and a figure seemed to materialize out of thin air at the edge of the gazebo. \u201cYoung Master,\u201d he said, his voice a low rumble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draven\u2019s face went white. It was one of Haskell\u2019s shadow guards, the secret bodyguards his mother had assigned to him. There were twenty\u2013four of them. They wore cloaks of light\u2013refracting material that rendered them virtually invisible, and each was as skilled as a mercenary. Not even their father, Thatch, knew of their existence. Draven only knew because Haskell had once trusted him enough to tell him. When he, his father, and Valeria had plotted against Haskell, their biggest obstacle had been finding \u203a get past these guards. He had used Haskell\u2019s trust in him as a \u201cbrother\u201d to lure them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCut out his tongue,\u201d Haskell ordered calmly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guard named Frost produced a military\u2013grade combat knife from his sleeve and started toward Draven.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the sight of the blade, Draven\u2019s resolve shattered. He slammed his forehead against the stone floor. \u201cBro\u2026 no, Mr. Palmer! I\u2019ll talk! I\u2019ll tell you everything! Just don\u2019t cut out my tongue!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:55\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
Wings of Broken Time by Alina Das 440 \u201cMm\u2013hmm,\u201d Larissa confirmed with a smile. \u201cLucius tried to use the same […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-throne-of-thorns-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30965\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}