Odi took a deep breath, her body trembling slightly as she stood before King Darius. Her bruises ached, but she willed herself to focus. This was her chance. Perhaps the only chance she would ever get to speak for herself.
"I do only what my master asks of me," she began, her voice steady despite the weight of her words. "I have never had a life of my own. Every choice I make has been decided for me. Every action dictated by Oliver." She glanced briefly at Oliver, whose smirk remained, but there was a flicker of unease in his beady eyes.
She swallowed hard and turned back to Darius. "If it is within your power, Your Majesty, I would be forever grateful if you grant me and Ben our freedom from him."
The room fell silent for a moment. The request hung in the air like a challenge, daring anyone to object. Ben's grip on her arm tightened, as though he feared she would be punished for her boldness.
But it was Oliver who reacted first. His face twisted in disbelief before shifting into a sneer. He let out a laugh, sharp and humorless, before stepping forward.
"She can't just ask for what she wants," Oliver spat, his voice laced with venom. "That's not how this works! What I want is what matters. And what I want, Your Majesty, is what is rightfully mine." He pointed a trembling finger at Odi and then at Ben. "No one, not even a King, should dare to take my property from me."
Darius's fingers curled into fists against the arms of his throne. Heath tensed beside him, his piercing gaze fixed on Oliver with growing irritation.
Oliver, oblivious to the storm he was brewing, continued his tirade. "You, Your Majesty, think you can just use your power to strip me of what belongs to me? To take what I have trained, what I have built?" His voice rose with each word, a desperate attempt to assert dominance. "Odi and Ben are mine! Mine! I raised them, I clothed them, I fed them! And if she wants freedom, she earns it through me, not by crawling to a King…"
"Enough."
The single word came from Heath, but it carried the force of a spell. Before Oliver could utter another word, his lips clamped shut as though an invisible force had sewn them together. His eyes widened in horror as he grasped at his own throat, clawing in vain at an unseen force. Then, a moment later, his ears filled with a deafening silence. No sound reached him, not his own muffled screams, not the gasps of those around him. Nothing.
A look of pure panic crossed Oliver's face as he staggered backward, shaking his head violently. His arms flailed wildly as he stumbled, his balance betraying him in the sudden loss of sensory control. His muffled shrieks turned into guttural moans, and then he was running, or rather, thrashing aimlessly through the grand hall like a trapped animal.
The display was almost pathetic. He stumbled into a pillar, knocking over a decorative brazier. He tripped over his own feet, falling hard onto the marble floor. He scrambled up again, only to spin in circles as if trying to flee a phantom that only he could see.
The guards were already moving toward him, their hands tightening around the hilts of their swords, prepared to drag the wretched man away. But before they could reach him, Darius lifted a hand, halting them in their tracks.
"That's enough." His voice was calm, but there was an underlying edge of authority. His gaze flickered to Heath. "Release him."
Heath didn't move. His dark eyes remained locked on Oliver, his expression one of pure disdain. "He disrespected you, Your Majesty," Heath said, his voice controlled but firm. "Men like him don't deserve mercy. If you leave him this way, he'll learn what true power means."
"I said, release him." Darius's tone left no room for argument.
For a moment, Heath hesitated. The air around him crackled with residual magic, as if it took every ounce of his control to restrain himself. But at last, he let out a slow breath and flicked his wrist.
Oliver gasped as sound rushed back into his ears. His lips trembled as he touched his mouth, feeling the freedom of movement again. He stumbled forward, panting as though he had just escaped the depths of hell. His face was slick with sweat, his body shaking from the ordeal. His wild eyes darted around the room, still struggling to process what had happened.
Heath smirked. "Care to continue, Oliver?" he taunted, his voice mocking.
But Oliver said nothing. He didn't even dare to look at Heath. Instead, he turned his gaze to Darius, his expression unreadable, though his anger simmered just beneath the surface.
Darius rose from his throne, stepping down toward Odi and Ben. "Freedom is not something that should be bought or sold," he said, his voice quieter now but no less powerful. He met Odi's gaze directly. "It is something that should be earned or given, not withheld like a bargaining chip."
He turned back to Oliver. "You claim them as your property, yet you treat them as tools to serve your needs." His tone hardened. "I will not allow such a thing to continue in my kingdom."
Oliver's jaw clenched, but he remained silent, still shaken by Heath's display of power.
Darius then looked at Odi once more. "You asked for freedom. I will see to it that you have your freedom from Oliver"
Odi could hardly believe what she was hearing. For so long, the idea of true freedom had felt like an unattainable dream, always dangling just beyond her reach. And now, the King himself was granting it to her.
Ben, still standing protectively beside her, exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His relief was palpable, but there was also a glimmer of caution in his eyes. He, too, knew that things were rarely this simple.
Darius returned to his throne and faced Oliver once more. "If you seek compensation, you will have it," he said. "But Odi and Ben will no longer answer to you."
Oliver bristled, his pride wounded beyond measure. But before he could utter a word, Heath's glare reminded him just how fragile his position was at that moment.