Chapter 182: Surge
"Yes?" Zoe replied. "Go on..."
"We have a situation in the dungeons," he announced.
Ava sat upright immediately, placing her teacup down. "What kind of situation?" she asked.
"It’s... King...my apologies....Herod," the guard corrected himself quickly. "He is dead."
Zoe stood up slowly from the surge of instincts. Her fists clenched unconsciously at her sides, already moving.
Ava, still graceful even in a hurry, followed her down the winding halls and into the stone corridors of the lower level.
Zoe didn’t know what emotion was expected of her as she descended into the darkness. Grief? Rage? Closure? But as she walked, all she felt was... nothing.
No sadness.
No joy.
Just... stillness.
Her mind wandered to the memories of people who had died at his command. Not just rebels, not just rivals but innocents. Whole families. Mothers, fathers, children. Those who suffered in silence, who had no voice, no shield. She remembered the fear that used to grip her as a child whenever Herod entered a room. She remembered the torture.