CHAPTER 30. Have a royal wine.>>>>>

Rex stood there watching the man, unable to stop laughing as the man clawed at his neck, his eyes turning blue, thick mucus mixed with blood gushing from his nose while he slowly fell to the floor. The scene in front of him was both funny and interesting.

“Nia, what do you think he looks like?” Rex turned to Akira with a wide grin. “Come on, look at him. See how pathetic he looks!”

When Akira didn't look or reply, Rex rolled his eyes. “Always boring. I hate y'all lowlifes. You’re always boring every fucking time!”

“Take him out of here,” Rex commanded, and the man quickly obeyed, dragging the other out of his presence while Akira watched in shock. She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that they had just taken a life so easily over the remaining wine Rex had left in his goblet.

All of this felt unusually new to her. The entire hierarchy of power and how the royal family acted like mini-gods, treating others so indifferently, broke her heart. In the Eastern Pack where she came from, her father ate with the omegas to foster unity. Most of her brothers shared meals with the pack servants and enjoyed drinks together. What just happened here would never have occurred in her biological pack. Her father, Alpha Edward, would have never allowed any of his sons to force wolfbane down a warrior's throat.

After a minute, Rex turned to Akira, who was still sitting on the floor. “What the hell are you still seated for? The man is dead, so get back to work!”

Akira swallowed hard, forcing her gaze to meet his. “That was wrong,” she pointed out, and Rex scoffed.

“Wrong? And what the hell do you know about things being wrong?”

“Get back to scrubbing the floors and don’t speak unless I ask you to,” he snapped.

“Wrong?” He repeated with a loud scoff as he walked back to the table where his wine was. His gaze flicked to her, and a surge of anger filled his chest. He hated that she even had the audacity to criticize what he had done. That was one of his non-negotiables: do not speak about his actions or call him out on his cruel behavior.

Just then, a soft knock landed on the door, and both Rex and Akira narrowed their gazes at it. Akira propped herself up and went to get the door. Once she pushed it open, she saw one of the guards from outside Rex's room.

“What is it?” Rex asked in his usual rude tone.

“My lord, Madam Estelle asked that all the slave maids come to the senior slaves’ quarters right now,” the man announced, and a cold chill ran down Akira's spine.

She swallowed hard, her mind racing. Madam Estelle wanted to see them in the senior quarters? That could only mean one thing: she had seen the blood-stained sheets. Or perhaps someone else had seen it and reported it to her, prompting this urgent summons at a time when they all needed to be working.

“And who’s Madam Estelle?” Rex paused his drinking, narrowing his gaze at the man at the door. “Leave. Tell whoever asked that she’s busy with me; she has floors to scrub here.”

The man swallowed hard, stuttering. “M-my lord, it’s very important that she goes right now.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Rex fired back. “My room is not that important for her to scrub clean? Tell whoever needs that to wait until she’s done scrubbing the floors.”

The guard's throat bobbed as he swallowed again, his voice lowering. “My lord, it's something of utmost importance. I’m sorry, but I’m just not sure it can wait. She will be back to you once she gets there.”

Rex wasn’t buying it; he loved when his words stood. Leaning back in his chair, his jaw tightened, one hand curling lazily around the stem of his goblet.

“Utmost importance?” he repeated, mocking the guard. “So my room is not of utmost importance?”

“Who the fuck told you I take orders from an old low-born like her?” he snarled.

“No, of course not, my lord.” The man at the door flinched at the rising edge in Rex's tone. “Those are not my words, my lord; I’m just repeating what I was told.” His words stumbled over themselves as he tried to articulate his thoughts while avoiding Rex's wrath. The northern palace had no secrets; everyone knew how vicious and cruel Rex was. Everyone dreaded being his enemy.

The tension stretched, with Akira hoping that Rex wouldn’t let her go. She knew that keeping her here for a few more minutes to clean wouldn’t make everything disappear, but it might ease her mind. Right now, her heart raced in her chest, threatening to wreck her ribcage.

Thoughts of why Madam Estelle was looking for her filled her head.

“And if I say no?” Rex announced daringly. “What if I tell you to take your important message and shove it back down her ass when you get there? Then what?”

The guard froze, his knuckles whitening where he gripped the doorframe. A bead of sweat slid down his temple.

Something flickered in Rex’s gaze—annoyance, but also calculation. He slammed the goblet down on the table, the sharp sound making Akira flinch.

“Fine,” he said at last. “What’s the main reason the old hag wants to see Nia?”

“My lord, I think one of the slaves committed suicide this morning,” the guard announced, and Akira’s heart sank to her stomach at once.

She froze in shock before slowly raising her gaze to the guard. “Suicide?”

“Who committed suicide?” Her stomach knotted as she asked.

Rex paused, giving an unreasonable expression. “Suicide?” He scoffed. “Pathetic slaves!”

Rising from his seat, he said, “Let’s go see who killed themselves then. Nia, come on.”

Akira quickly followed Rex as he walked out. A couple of minutes later, they approached the quarters, and she narrowed her gaze at the crowd gathered there. Her heart raced as she wondered who among the slaves had committed suicide.