Chapter 228

• [Primus]
• When the men dropped me off at the foot of my brother’s old fortress, they called the guards down with a high-pitched whistle so painful I wished I could cover my ears. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even move my hands. Whatever Aetremi had drugged me with on the boat gave me the misfortune of being mostly conscious but unable to move. I can feel it, but I cannot scream.
• I’ve seen the drug used on prisoners as a child when my father was convinced that forcing me to see horrific things would make me into the strong heir he needed. He’d use it as a way to torture a victim without having to deal with the inconvenience of expressed emotion or discomfort. All his methods did was make me realize how much I didn’t want to be anything like him.