Chapter 332: A Mothers Revenge

Isra rode quickly. Her body was filthy, and she was tired, but she neglected all that for Edward. Charging through the Commonwealth, she arrived back in the Empire in less than a week, and in just over it, she arrived back at the Palace. Her breathing was heavy, and under her eyes were black bags, showing how little she slept.

Walking through the gates, she looked at the Palace and ran towards it. Throwing open the doors, she charged up the steps to Edwards’ room. The servants looked her way in confusion, wondering when Isra had returned. Isra didn’t care about the looks she was getting and stopped just outside Edward’s room.

Her hand shook as it hovered over the door handle, and from inside she could hear quiet murmuring. Taking a deep breath, she gently opened the door. Abu quickly turned and stood up, but seeing Isra immediately sat back down. On the other side of the room, Gaia’s sister was quietly reading to Edward as the boy sat motionless in the middle of the room.

"Edward," Isra called out softly, getting down on her knees. The young boy reacted ever so slightly to the familiar voice and slowly turned his head. "Sweetheart," Isra called out once more and inched closer.

Edward looked at her for a while. His eyes slowly lit up and got wet with silent tears. He didn’t make any noise looking at Isra, but reaching out his hands, Isra quickly grabbed him and carefully picked him up, not wanting to hurt him. "It’s okay. It’s all fine now. Mommy’s home." Isra stroked his hair and rested his head on her shoulder.

Turning to face Abu, her eyes radiated a deeply cold, murderous intent. Each tear that landed on his back made it worse, and Abu could tell what Isra wanted.’The dungeon.’Abu mouthed, and Isra nodded, closing his eyes and solely focusing on Edward again. "

"My brave boy." Isra whispered full of love and warmth, "Don’t worry ever again. No one will hurt you, now I’m home. You’re safe." Edward reacted to her words, clutching onto the top she was wearing with his small hands. Leaning down, she softly kissed his head and took a seat, letting Edward finally relax after so long.

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Isra looked through the door at the bed. Edward lay peacefully, his breathing soft, making Abu smile. "He hasn’t slept so well in a while."

"He didn’t deserve this." Her voice was cold as she turned away from her son, "Watch over him." Abu nodded and went back into the room, taking a seat and resting his eyes. Turning away from the room, her eyes radiated a deep chill as she got closer to the dungeon. Just outside, she saw Esmond leaning against the wall.

"Your Majesty." Esmond bowed but got no reply. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the key and unlocked the door for her. "I have left them untouched and alive for you."

"Thank you, Esmond." Taking a step into the dungeon, she turned to face Esmond once more before closing the door between the two and plunging herself into darkness.

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The slamming dungeon door awoke Kam and the other from their light rest. Looking at the candle, he saw half of it burnt away and gathered that he had been asleep for at most an hour. "Please." his voice was dry as he called out to the approaching footsteps. "Let me out." His mind was still strong, none of them having been touched. "PLEASE!"

Kam tried to break free like he had done so many times before, but failed, the chains wrapped around him only tightening. From the darkness, he first saw a pair of feet step into the dim candlelight. Slowly, more of the body revealed itself until before him stood a beautiful woman with a cold expression that looked out of place on her.

The three noticed who it was in an instant. They were all servants in the palace. If they couldn’t recognise one of its owners, then they were idiots. "NO! NO! I DIDN’T WANT TO!" The maid broke first, seeing Isra. If she had come, it meant their fates had all but been sealed. "IT WAS KAM! PLEASE!"

"You bitch." Kam snapped at her, trying to break free, "Empress. They forced me. You have to be..."

"Bullshit." The third said with a panic-stricken voice. "It was your idea. Said your uncle asked you to." The man turned to face Israel. "They had my son, Empress. I never wanted to."

"Silence," Isra said, one word and the three shut up, lowering their heads. Walking forward, she stood in front of the other man first and grabbed his chin. Despite how hard she gripped, the man didn’t dare make a noise. "You should have let your son die before you hurt mine." Isra tightened her grip even more, "Know your place." Isra threw his head and walked over to the maid next.

Doing the same, she grabbed her chin and leaned closer. "Was it money or did you enjoy hurting my son. Make you feel powerful." Her voice was full of venom as each word came out like an almost silent whisper. Dropping her, she stood in front of Kam and grabbed him, "And then the one who led the charge."

"It wasn..." Before Kam could finish, Isra stood up and backhanded him. The sound echoed, and Kam couldn’t believe how badly it hurt. Walking over to the candle, Isra picked it up and went deeper into the darkness. The three could see nothing but her cold face the was dimly lit by the candle light.

They watched as she reached onto a tray and picked up a series of knives and other tools, holding them up to he face. Each one could tell they were about to die and tried to break free, failing each time. They could only watch as Isra happily smiled as if she had found the tools she wanted and brought the tray over.

Putting it down, she looked at the three with hateful eyes. "I had to watch my son cry for hours. He was so tired after it, but he was scared to fall asleep without me. I had to sing to him. I haven’t had to do that since he was a baby." Isra picked up a small, rusted, blunt knife. "Do you know what the worst part is?" Isra stood in front of the maid and grabbed her hair, pulling it back.

Placing the knife on it, she tapped, making the maid shiver. "He couldn’t even make a sound." Isra looked the woman deep in her eyes. Sawing with the knife, the man screamed as the rusted blade struggled to cut into her skin. For a minute, the knife struggled to cut through, but once it did, Isra deliberately slowed down, forcing the woman to look into her eyes.

Her screams were full of agony as she tried to reach up for her neck, unable to lift her arms that were tied to the chair. Her body spasmed, trying whatever she could to break free. Isra went slowly, enjoying every moment as she watched the maid desperately try to cling to her life.

Suddenly stopping, Isra backed up. Blood slowly fell from her neck, but it was enough as she backed up and allowed her to painfully bleed to death. Walking over to the next servant, she did the same. Her knife was slow and intended to only cause excruciating agony to whoever it cut. Kam watched in horror. He didn’t want to be next, but he knew he would be. He tried to break free but failed and could only watch Isra’s sinister grin as she played with their lives.

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Isra pulled the knife away from the second servant and watched as he and the maid slowly bled, unable to even scream any more. Looking at Kam, she softly smiled and stood in front of him, "Don’t worry." Patting his head like a child, she spoke with a tone devoid of any warmth. "You won’t suffer like them. After all, it was all your idea."

She watched as the momentary hope in his eyes crumbled. "HELP! HELP! PLEASE SOL! KHORS! ANYONE!" Kam desperately cried out to the gods for help, but was met with nothing other than Isra’s pitiful gaze.

"No one is coming. No one can save you. And you will find no peace for your remaining life or in death." Isra dropped the rusted knife and went over to the tray. Picking up a rag, she kicked Kam in the chest and made him fall on his back, dropping the rag over his face. She walked off and found a bucket left in one of the cells.

Isra picked up the bucket, the rancid smell of piss engulfing her nose. But she ignored it, holding it over Kam’s face. Pouring it, Kam tried to fight free, but failed. He couldn’t breathe, and just as he thought that he might die, it stopped. Isra pulled away the cloth with a pair of tongs and looked him in the eyes.

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The candle had long gone out, and Isra stood over Kam. His entire body had hundreds of cuts all over. Teeth had been removed and part of his skin flayed. His eyes were empty holes, and his genitals were burnt black. Isra looked at him, the rage in her heart finally gone.

Walking over to the tray, she picked up a small cloth and wiped her hands and face before leaving the dungeon. Esmond stood waiting and looked at Isra, who walked out. Her body was covered in blood, and the smell that came off her was pungent.

"You must wash, Your Majesty. The Prince can’t see you like this." Isra looked down at herself and nodded. Walking through the halls, much like when she arrived, the servants looked at her. But instead of confusion, it was horror. They watched as Isra casually strolled, covered in blood. Isra, regarded as beautiful by everyone, could only be described as a nightmare come to life. Some servants could already think of the horror stories they could tell their children using the sight they had just seen.