There was a moment of stunned silence. Keiko's mouth flopped open. Ajax became very still. Noah looked like he wanted to melt into the background. The only sound I could hear was my own breathing.

Then Keiko finally said, "Tell me that you're lying to me. Please." Her voice didn't sound the same it had before.

Ryder shook his head slowly. I felt my body drifting closer to the floor, my core no longer able to support my chest. I sprawled out on my side. In the back of my mind, I wished that I was well. I wished that I was strong enough to leap to my feet and grab the knife from Ajax while he was distracted. I would turn the tides then, make them all fear me and finish what I had started. But I couldn't.

Ryder glanced over at the heap that was my body. Still nothing. Not even a glimmer of the man I knew. I was giving up on the idea that this was fake. Real or a figment of my imagination, I had to work through it one way or another. I think the realization came far too late though. How was I supposed to fight through anything at all in this state?

"Fucking Christ," Ajax snarled.

"I know," Ryder said. "I'm not particularly thrilled about it either."

"You know that we can't just let her go. She's done far too much damage and she's a key to more."

"To be honest, I don't think I want her to be released."

Keiko let out a groan, rubbing her face with her hands. "How does this happen? Why does the moon goddess hate us so much?" she demanded. "What are we even supposed to do to get through this at this point? We can't do anything to her because you'll kill us. If we let her go, she'll keep on murdering and will have far too much information."

Silence fell once more. And with no words to provide distraction, I was suddenly very aware of the sharp pains raining down on my body. The pounding in my head was not nearly as dull as I thought. my stomach felt like it was twisting over itself, knotted and pulled tight. All of my muscles, depleted of water seemed to be cramping to their smallest size, a protest. I groaned, curling my weak legs towards my chest.

"Honestly, a slit throat at this point would be the most humane way to deal with it," Ajax reasoned.

"No," Ryder stated.

"Well, then what do you suggest because I don't feel like we have a bounty of options at this point."

I could hear my heartbeat in my head for the four pulses of silence that passed.

"Hades," Ryder said.

The response was instant. "No."

"Absolutely not," Keiko gasped.

"It's the only sound option," Ryder continued, like he hadn't heard either of them. "Listen, we all know that we can't just let her go. There's been too many lives lost. The damage that has been done is unforgivable and the community would be in a fit of rage if they knew that we just let her go. Hell, I won't let you release her at this point. But I know what will happen if someone puts their hands on her. If Hades is able to see anything at all, then maybe he can decide if she can be released."

"And if not?" Keiko prompted softly.

"Then at least when I try to defend her, we all know that Hades will walk out of there alive."

"It's barbaric," Keiko whispered.

"But it will work and neither you nor I will be held accountable for what Hades decides," Ajax reasoned. "This is ultimately, a situation where both sides cannot win."

"You two can't seriously be considering this," Keiko protested.

"We are offering her a quick and just death. And we are keeping ourselves safe from the frightening side of the mate bond," the king continued. "Do you have any other ideas?"

She deflated. "No."

"Then we are going to put them together in a holding cell off the property, get some food and water into them, and call Hades to do what he does best. If we come up with a better solution in that time, then we can implement it. but we can't keep her teetering on the edge of death."

"But what about Ryder, it's his mate."

"And it's his idea. This is a tricky situation, Keiko. We can only do the best we can."

For a moment, when my dizzy little head looked at Ajax, I didn't see this intimidating man or brawn and confidence. I saw a face that didn't have a single wrinkle yet, flaming hair that had yet to even have a strand of grey. And I saw a young man who looked very much like he never wanted to be king at all. 

~~~Question of the Day~~~

What game show do you think you could win?