Medicine by Mouth
He twisted his head and clamped down on her wrist. Thalia clung on with vicious determination, driving her nails deep into the yielding flesh. Her face, already flushed crimson, drained to a sickly blue.
He thrashed and let out a strangled, choking cry. She paid no heed, pressing harder with her fingers as though she meant to grind his tongue to pulp. Then a sharp scream rang out from somewhere nearby. Urgent footsteps pounded closer, and someone seized her by the shoulder.
Thalia let out a furious roar.
“Let go! I’m going to rip his tongue out so he can never spew that disgusting filth again!”
“Good heavens! Someone stop her!”
A shrill voice echoed down the corridor. Thalia ignored it, gripping Lucas’s jaw and forcing her fingers deeper. She was about to drive her nails into the root of his tongue when a powerful arm locked around her waist and lifted her clean off the floor.
She kicked and snarled, twisting to look behind her. Barcas stood there, his eyes cold as winter frost.
“What in the world is going on?”
He glanced between her and Lucas, clearly struggling to make sense of the scene. Lucas, still sprawled on the floor with a dazed expression, suddenly scrambled to his feet.
“That woman just tried to rip my tongue out! Look!”
He jabbed an accusing finger at her and stuck out his injured tongue for inspection. Thalia’s voice rose to a shriek.
“Come here! I’ll tear it out by the roots!”
The boy yelped and stumbled backward.
“See? See that? She’s completely insane! She’s lost her mind! Why would you marry someone like her instead of the First Princess? You should apply for an annulment right now—!”
“Lucas Laedgo Seorkan.”
The low, weary voice settled over the corridor like a weight. Both Lucas and the still-raging Thalia froze.
Barcas drew a slow breath before continuing.
“What did you say to my wife?”
“I was just—”
Lucas faltered under that cold stare.
Barcas regarded him for a moment, then spoke with quiet finality.
“So there are things you cannot say in front of me.”
Lucas’s face went ashen. His eyes darted about before he muttered, half-defiant, half-injured.
“Still, no one goes that far…”
Barcas’s gaze, sharp enough to cut, shifted to Thalia. She stiffened, shoulders locking tight.
“Your Highness, would you explain what happened?”
Thalia glared up at him, every humiliating word Lucas had spat replaying in her mind. Her whole body trembled with rage. He wanted her to repeat it? She ground the words out between clenched teeth.
“I’d rather die.”
Barcas’s eyes narrowed. He exhaled, long and controlled, as though gathering the last of his patience.
“I cannot decide on a fitting punishment without knowing the reason.”
Lucas’s face twisted with indignation, as though he were the one being wronged. Thalia fixed him with a murderous stare and began to struggle in earnest.
“Put me down. I don’t need your help.”
“……”
“Did you not hear me?”
At last he set her on her feet. Thalia straightened her throbbing legs and swept a glance over the crowd that had gathered in the corridor. Flushed, curious faces peered at them. Disgust rose in her throat. She turned her back on them all and limped toward the bedroom, each step feeling like a mile. She shoved the door open, crossed the threshold, and flung herself onto the bed.
A short while later Barcas followed. Thalia kept her face buried in the pillow, refusing to acknowledge his presence. If she looked at him she might lunge the way she had at Lucas, demanding answers she did not truly want.
Is what your brother said true? Did you do that with Aila?
“Thalia Roem Seorkan.”
The mattress dipped beside her. A shadow fell across her. She tensed from nape to spine. A callused hand settled on her shoulder, then rolled her over. Through tear-blurred vision she found herself staring up at the finely honed blade of his face.
“Tell me exactly what happened,” he said, voice sharp.
“What more is there to say?” Thalia snapped. “You saw it yourself. I tried to rip your brother’s tongue out and you stopped me. What else do you need?”
“Why did you do it?”
“Because I wanted to.”
His patience finally snapped. His eyes turned to ice.
“How long do you intend to behave like a child?”
Thalia’s face contorted. Lucas Laedgo Seorkan had crossed the line first. Why was she the one being scolded?
She knocked his hand away and hissed, “I only repaid the insult I received. If you want to blame someone, blame your father for raising his son so poorly.”
Barcas pressed two fingers to his temple as though a headache had struck.
“Revenge is best handled through an intermediary. You do not charge in like a ten-year-old brat.”
“And who exactly would act as my intermediary? Would you cut your own brother’s throat for my sake?”
She gave a short, bitter laugh.
“I expect nothing from you. If someone attacks me, I will strike back with my own hands.”
Cold fury hardened in his gaze.
“So you plan to climb on top of another man and brawl like a dog again?”
“Why not?”
She met his stare with open hostility.
“If you do not want to see it, keep your brother out of my sight. If that whelp shows his face in front of me one more time, I will end him.”
A deep crease formed between Barcas’s brows. He looked at her as though she were an intractable problem he could not solve. Thalia fought the urge to rake her nails across his face, crawled to the far corner of the bed, and yanked the covers over her head.
Time passed. She felt him rise. The door clicked shut, and the room filled with cold silence.
Thalia peeked out. Once she was certain she was alone, the tears she had been holding back burst free. She bit her lip, trying to swallow the sobs, then buried her face in the pillow and let the muffled weeping pour out. At some point exhaustion claimed her. When she opened her eyes again the room was dim. A soft clinking sound made her turn her head sharply.
Barcas had returned without her noticing. He was arranging medicine bottles on the shelf. She stared at him blankly until his gaze met hers over his shoulder.
“You kept making pained sounds, so I fetched some painkillers. Take them and sleep.”
His voice was calm, as though the earlier fury had never existed. A strange, suffocating feeling rose in her chest. Thalia pulled the blanket up to the bridge of her nose.
“Forget it.”
A weary sigh escaped him. He raked a hand through his hair with a restless motion. Was he also holding back anger?
Thalia studied his face in the lamplight. Against the pale tones of his features, his lips stood out in sharp relief, pressed into a cold line. She was still watching them when Lucas’s mocking voice echoed in her mind.
Maybe our brother still cannot forget his former fiancée?
She bit down on her lower lip. The next words left her mouth before she could stop them.
“If you feed it to me with your mouth, I’ll take it.”
Barcas, in the act of setting the bottle down, went still. He turned to look at her, eyes slightly widened. Only then did she realize what she had just said.