Chapter 63: Keep Your Fingers (unedited)
"I’m sorry, My King. I was so badly wounded during my fight with Nikolai that it took me some amount of time to let myself recuperate," Zoran reasoned while he was bent knees. "I would die if I ever abruptly cut off my meditation to answer your call."
"You! How could you let that opportunity slip by... And that damn Seer! I knew I couldn’t trust that bjtch!" Devon ground out. "I will deal with her later. You, make sure you get a hold of Vulcan or I will hunt down your woman no matter how hard you try to hide her from me! After all, you don’t seem to care about your life now, Zoran..."
Zoran didn’t respond but his body still trembled at the thought of the life of the woman he loved being in danger. He would do everything to protect her. His spell enchanting their cave was powerful enough that he was confident Devon wouldn’t be able to track their location.
Things were still salvageable. Devon might have a hold of his life, but his thoughts were still his. The monster would only be able to manage to give him physical pain to make him obey his commands.
"I humbly apologize for this mishap, My King," he firmly apologized with gritted teeth. "Next time, I will make sure to deliver you the golden dragon so you can absorb its power. This time, I will succeed."
"You better, Zoran, because I’m running out of patience already," Devon threatened. "Don’t test it, because you won’t like what happens next. I will kill the woman you saved."
With that one last threat, the dark mist in front of Zoran disappeared. Feeling it left his presence, he finally let himself cry as the pain inflicted by the serpent symbol on his back began coursing through him.
The seconds ticked by, and he was panting hard by the time he raised his head. Sweat poured down his body as he gathered his strength to stand up. Devon was punishing him, and he was sure the monster would once again make him face that lightning-like pain all over his body.
Resigning himself to his fate, Zoran took his seat as he prepared himself for the numerous strikes of lightning coming for his body. A brief second passed, and his punishment began once more. His eyes welled up as tears ran down his cheeks.