The Fall of Vequera

Chapter twenty-four | Nikolai

TW MENTIONS OF: DOMESTIC ABUSE, PARENTAL ABUSE, HUMAN TRAFFICKING

LOCATION: ARCADIOS, VEQUERA & EMBERFELL

YEAR: 621 C.E

"I HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING?" AMREN WARILY SMILED AT HER HUSBAND AS SHE INTERRUPTED HIS READING.

He shut the book with a sigh of relief. Nikolai hated reading these stupid history texts Daefier Gregory had given him the morning prior. He was to read the book from front to back by the next morning and he would ask him questions about what he remembered like he was a child. His eyebrows rose as the smile on her lips burned. Over the last few months, the more they spoke the more he noticed her lisp when she spoke. "And what is that?" He pushed out with a slight pause. His fingers ran over the leather binding. Vequerian Histories. The front of the book read.

She stood above him with a slight smile as she said the next words. "I'm pregnant." She said with bright eyes but as soon as they met his cold ones, her body stiffened and glanced away from him.

Nikolai didn't want to deal with a child. The screaming and the crying annoyed him. Everything seem to annoy him for the past five months. His body never relaxed; he was seemed to be on edge at all times. Like his body didn't feel like it was truly his anymore. Like it was burning from the inside, but he didn't hate the feeling of it.

"Get rid of it." Was all he said as he opened the book back up. He tried not to pay much attention to the tears forming in her eyes at his words. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to figure out what to say to him.

"I-I don't want to. And your mother would be furious." She attempted to reason with the prince to no avail. He stared blankly at her.

"I wasn't asking." He replied with a darkness to his tone.

He dug his nail into the leather binding of the book as he held it. For months, his mother has been pestering him about everything and it was annoying him to say the least. He barely ever spoke to Dawson, but he could still find himself thinking about his sworn guard. Small moments of lust still passed him. "I can have someone get you something for it if that makes it any better." He thought he was being quite reasonable for the circumstances. Almost.

"What is wrong with you?" Amren screamed at her husband with tears in her eyes. Nikolai chuckled as he slammed the book shut with so much force that he thought he had broken his hand for a moment. He stood up abruptly, his eyes never leaving her. Amren jumped at the noise.

"Find someone to get rid of it or I will." He threatened her as his eyes lingered down to her stomach with a look of disgust.

Her eyes widened at the threat and backed away from him. "No. No. No. I'll tell your mother." Nikolai cocked his head to the side as his eyes hardened.

"Are you now?" He said lightly. His tongue ran across his lower lip.

That's when he struck her in the face and the force of his hand on her skin caused her to fall to the ground. She held her cheek as she stared up at him with teary eyes. He bent down to eye level and grabbed her by the chin. "Are you that lonely?" He said with a sinister tone. He pouted mockingly before he laughed in her face. Like he had just heard the most hilarious thing in the world. Her silent tears turned into dry sobs. She looked at him with fear in her eyes and that excited him. He wanted her to hurt more and more. The baby inside her would be dead and he would be fine with that. They would try again when the time came.

"You're pathetic, if you're putting your only worth into a child." He grumbled before he dropped her face to the ground with so much disgust in his eyes.