"So you broke her."
No answer came from Aldrich. The silence itself was worse than any confession could have been. Because it carried no denial. No regret. Nothing human enough to argue against or appeal to.
The next movement happened so quickly the chains rattled before Aldrich fully realized what had occurred. Marcus struck him hard enough to slam his head sideways against the stone wall behind him. Blood appeared instantly at the corner of the former king's mouth, bright against pale lips. He spat some of it onto the floor and slowly looked back up again, and still there was no fear in his eyes. No plea for mercy. Only stubborn hatred hardened by years of unchecked power and the conviction that he had been right all along.
Marcus grabbed him by the throat with one hand, fingers closing around his windpipe.
"You sat there while they destroyed her."
