Claiming the RUNT

"Obi, look at me when I’m talking to you! Or do I need to break a limb to get your attention?"

"I... I can't hear you if you aren't facing me, Enforcer. Please, your grip—"

"Shut it, Ashford! I don't care about your excuses or your broken ears. Your old man’s empire is ash, and you’re just the leftover trash we haven't burned yet. Stand up! The Sire is tired of waiting."

"Where are you taking me? Is it the Hollow Pit again?"

"The Hollow Pit is too good for a runt like you. You’re going to the Duke’s Suite. Cassius Okoye wants to see exactly what Gideon Ashford left behind. Move!"

"Wait, I can't keep up! My legs—they aren't strong like yours. I've been sick since the siege began."

"Keep stumbling and I’ll drag you by your hair through the halls of the Ashfang Dominion. You think being a Duke’s son makes you special? In the Shadowfang Syndicate, you’re less than the dirt on Cassius’s boots. Now, move your useless ass!"

"Is he... is he going to kill me today?"

"Kill you? Death is a mercy. He’s going to make you wish you’d died with the rest of the Black Eagle. Now, get inside and get on your knees. Sire, I’ve brought the Ashford boy as ordered."

"Drop him there, Malakai. And leave us. I want to look into the eyes of the boy who lived in luxury while I bled in his father’s gutters."

"As you wish, Sire. Don't let his pathetic face fool you; he’s still got that Ashford blood."

"I know exactly what he has. Get out. Now, Obi... look at me. Don't turn your head away. You know who I am, don't you?"

"I... I remember you, Cassius. You were the one they kept in the basement. The one my father used for target practice."

"The 'slave' you mean. For ten years, I wore your family’s brand. I watched the Yellow Teeth get slaughtered while you sat in your Silver Chamber eating off gold plates. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be treated like an animal for a decade?"

"I had nothing to do with that! I was locked away too! Because I was 'broken,' because I couldn't hear the orders—"

"Stop lying! You lived under his protection. Now, that protection is gone. This Suite belongs to me. The city belongs to me. And you? You belong to the man your father tried to destroy. Take off that shirt and get on the bed."

"What? No... please, I don't understand. Why are you doing this to me?"

"Are you deaf or just stupid? I said get on the bed! I’m going to take everything from you, just like Gideon took everything from the Okoye bloodline. I’m going to make you feel every ounce of the humiliation I suffered."

"But I’m not him! I’m nothing! I can’t even fight back! Why don't you go find my father? Why take your revenge on a runt who can't even hear the world around him?"

"Because seeing you broken will hurt him more than any bullet I could put in his chest. Your father’s pride was his 'pure' lineage, even if you were a disappointment. Now, look at this scar on my face. Do you see it? Your brother gave me this while you watched from the balcony."

"I didn't... I couldn't stop them! I’m begging you, Cassius, have mercy."

"Mercy died in the Hollow Pit years ago. Now, look at me. I want you to see the man who is going to own your soul. Why you, you ask? Because you’re all that’s left. And I’m going to enjoy breaking the last Ashford piece by piece."