ততততত

𝐓 𝐎 𝐁 𝐈 𝐍

The sun doesn't reach these cruel spaces beneath the surface of the castle. Suffocating stone walls surround me, and it smells like rat shit. It probably is the horrid smell of rat shit, if I'm being honest. It doesn't surprise me that the Lagulonian castle dungeons are empty of prisoners. Lagulon doesn't strike me as a high-crime kingdom, with the exception of me.

They chained shackles around my wrists so I can't make it far. Iron bars line the door, preventing anyone from getting close without a proper key. Lately, it's been Leighton's men making their rounds—mostly Brock, but sometimes Gareth, although not for awhile now. When Gareth's blue eyes met mine, I caught the regret baked inside of him. He should feel guilty about what he's done. He's followed a monster straight into the belly of the beast, and now he's stabbed me in the leg, for fuck's sake.

Even now, moving my leg causes the muscles to seize, shooting pains through every nerve in my body. It paralyzes me so I can't move a damn inch. Gareth bandaged it up once I was contained, but the guy ain't a medic. Clearly. If I wasn't chained, I could do better. At least the bleeding has subsided, for now. I know it's only a matter of time before it becomes infected. The only thing that dims the pain of being down here is the thought of Imogen.

I sound like a hopeless romantic just dreaming of her in my times of peril. I tried to spare my moonbeam, but fate played a cruel trick and it brought me to this prison cell.

As long as she's safe, even when she's about to marry an ass of a man.

I pass out against the cold ground, reality dimming in and out until the luminance of a torch breaks the shadows around me. I reckon it must be the middle of the night. Through the iron bar, the silhouette of a man hovers before the entrance. I assume he's the usual guard making his rounds, or one of Leighton's goons making sure I'm still alive. Those are King Orion's orders, I guess, although that's only until I'm ready for execution.

Instead, the man lingers, and he lowers the torch in his hands so it glows against his features. I take in the weathered crevasses of his face, a man who's faced the battles of tragedy before in his lifetime. His grey eyes close as he releases a heavy sigh.

I cower on the ground, too weak to even attempt to bow in his honour.

King Orion unlocks the door to the cell, stepping inside before setting the torch on a sconce. The orange fire flickers against the damp walls, causing an eerie gleam on the chains that bind my wrists to the wall.

"I always knew you were in my kingdom," Orion's voice breaks in nothing more than a whisper. "I just could never find you."

He knew. All these years, and he knew that I was Berin's son, wandering the lands like a lost sheep looking for his shepherd. I just wanted my family back, but we were scattered and killed, and I was left alone. That was until I discovered a princess just as lost as I was.

I swallow, never letting my attention waver from the King of Lagulon as he approaches where I lay against the damp stone floor. He reaches into the inner pocket of his royal garb, pulling out another slew of fresh bandages.

"Is it true that you did this all for my daughter?" Orion questions.

He reaches for my injured leg, and I kick the King of Lagulon in the arm. He may be king, but there's so much he could've done to avoid this for Imogen.

"I did what no one else in this castle would." Or at least attempted.

And failed.

Orion's features twist in brief anger as he brushes off the dirt on his clothes. "If you would've let me find you sooner, I would've ensured you safety within my castle, but you kept outsmarting my men. Berin had my word, Tobin, and that meant that you did too."

"If I would've stayed here, I would never have fallen in love with your daughter."

The words I choose surely strike a nerve in the king, but he needs his damn eyes to be opened. He needs to know that what he's done to Imogen will leave her with more wounds than he can see. She might be a strong powerful entity that can counter Leighton's power, but she can never overthrow him alone. Not when she's bound to him for years and years and years...

Orion reaches for my leg again, only this time, I let the king unravel the old blood saturated bandage. I wince as he pulls the once-clean fabric away, revealing a brutal open wound mixed with the cut fabric of my trousers. Raw skin swells around the jagged crimson cut, exposing torn muscle and flesh. It'll leave another scar—one to match Imogen's if I make it out alive.

He pulls a small container of salve from his pocket, dipping his fingers into the mixture. "This might sting."

"Won't matter to me because I'll be dead in two days."

The cold salve spreads across my knife wound, and I release a strained hiss between my clenched teeth. The muscles in my body tighten at the contact of the king's fingers, only to have the pain diminish slightly as he winds the clean bandage around my leg.

"What you did was treasonous, Tobin," Orion begins. "In a time such as this, I cannot let the attempt to assassinate Leighton slide, at least not with his watchful eyes on me. Prolonging the hanging is the best I can do until then."

"Then why bother with bandaging me?" I mutter. "Look at me. I'm in fucking chains, sitting in my own goddamn filth! Why bother sparing me if you just plan on killing me?"

Gods, it feels like the end, and this how I make my plea to the King of Lagulon. Look at me. I just want him to see the pathetic fool that I am that got me into this shit. I tried to rescue Imogen from a mess he put her in, and it got me in chains.

Orion sighs. "So you love her, huh?"

"It's not just love," I say as a memory of Imogen's sweet giggle climbs into my vision. "She's everything. She's moonlight and daylight to me, and when I take one look at her I fucking breathe for her. There's this light inside of her that kept me coming back again and again, and every time I'd get shot with an arrow. Every damn time." With my good leg, I kick the king once more to get him away from me. It's insulting enough that he has to witness me in this condition. It's worse knowing that I just confessed my love for his daughter to him.

"You're right," Orion mutters. "She is everything."

"You can't let her marry Leighton," I beg. "The marriage will kill her."

"It won't."

It will, and I won't dare let Orion win this battle. Imogen's soul is at stake here, and if I can't protect her from Leighton, then this is my final chance.

"You'll have a front row seat to it all. You get to watch her fall apart every single fucking day, doesn't matter if she's in another kingdom. Every visit you pay to her, you'll see her lose another piece of herself until all that's left of her is just a shell. That daughter you love that steals underpants and shoots arrows? Gone."

"You don't know her," Orion mutters.

"I know Imogen," I retort, once again not letting my mind hold my heart back. "I know that you taught her how to shoot a bow and arrow ever since she could walk. I know that when she couldn't sleep at night as a kid, she ran to Ruslan instead of you. She hates being alone because everyone she put her trust in left her or died. I know she loves the ocean, but she can't leave the damn castle because you fear she'll fall into enemy hands. She loves to dance, sing, be free—"

"Quiet," Orion rises to his feet. The king towers over my weak body, a simple reminder that he is the one in charge, not me. "I understand that this marriage will be tough for her to endure. Don't you think I know that? I'm her damn father! I have to live with the burden of what I've done, but sacrificing my daughter to ensure the thousands upon thousands of Lagulonians can live in peace was the right choice."

"I am in love with your daughter, King Orion," my chest heaves with every word, because I am. It's deadly, and it's leading me straight to my grave, but she's what's keeping my heart beating and my mind steady. "Don't let her marry that motherfucking bastard of a man."

But each confession falls flat. Orion gives me nothing more than a blink of his eye before rerouting his attention to the torch hanging upon the stone wall. He removes it from the sconce, the orange light reflecting off the planes of his cheeks as he releases a weighted sigh. He's distraught over the marriage. Probably always has been, and my ridiculing isn't making his decision easier.

Instead of giving me more answers, he exits the cell and locks it up. Once again, I'm trapped within the confines of iron.

The black darkness swamps over me, a silent cry breaking through the empty hollow dungeon. Orion ain't going to stop the wedding, just like he ain't gonna spare me from execution.

Imogen will marry Leighton, and the next day, I will be dead.

Fuck him.

── •✧• ──

What happens when you put a hopelessly in love thief in chains whos going to be executed soon? Confessions. So many unfiltered thoughts.

You may or not have seen my announcement already, but I just want to let you all know that Only After Nightfall will conclude on May 19, 2023! I'm excited for you to see how nightfall ends, so mark your calendars! I'll be hanging around here and on Instagram to answer any lingering questions about Tobin & Imogen, as well as crying because this book is going to be complete lol.

Also, I greatly appreciate it if you take the time to vote, comment & share! If you're really ambitious, feel free to follow me on Instagram (@/ivynisles) for more OAN content!