(This is a scene from my novel that kind of fits the prompt)

And now Nevox stands before me, his mere presence an infestation.

“What are you doing here?” I repeat, voice raw, rasping from exhaustion.

Nevox’s eyes glint. He leans against the bars, voice dropping to a low murmur, “I’m afraid that’s awfully classified.”

I want to scream. “Are you kidding me?! This is my castle! I command you to unlock this cell and crawl back to whatever festering pit you emerged from!”

Nevox throws his head back and laughs. It’s not a normal laugh—it’s jagged, manic, the kind of laugh that makes your blood curdle. The guards chuckle too, their laughter bouncing off the dungeon walls like a cacophony of devils.

“You have no power, Mietta,” Nevox hisses, voice dripping with malice. “You’re the one in the cell.” He sneers, glancing at the bars as though the mere sight of them disgusts him. “And as you can see, I’m the one standing free.”

“This isn’t about power,” I seethe, nails scraping against the metal, “Your bloodline is banished from the North. Honour it, instead of skulking back like a depraved coward.”

Nevox’s smile grows. Wider. More unnatural. He looks... delighted. His pupils dilate, and he presses a hand to his chest, mockingly, “Coward? Oh, Mietta. Your lack of wit disappoints me. Or," he leans in, breath ghosting across my face, “have you conveniently forgotten your own brother?”

My blood turns to lead.

“What have you done to Zale?” I rasp.

Nevox clicks his tongue and smooths down his doublet, “It’s not what I’ve done to him,” he says, voice dripping like honey laced with poison, “but what he’s come to understand. As crown prince, Zale lifted the banishment. My family may walk the North as we please.” He leans closer, voice a sinister whisper, “Oh, and he’s stripped you of your title. You are no longer a princess, Mietta. You are nothing.”

The words crash over me like waves, each syllable dragging me under.

“No,” I whisper. “He can’t. He wouldn’t.”

But he has.

“Oh, but he can,” Nevox taunts, his blue eyes gleaming like twin blades. “And he did.”

My chest burns with helpless rage. But it only feeds Nevox’s sadistic amusement. He drinks in my fury like it’s nectar.

“So what are you going to do, coward?” I hiss, voice low and venomous. “Kill me?”

Nevox laughs, a cold, echoing sound that sends chills through my bones. He flicks a speck of dust from his shoulder, “No,” he smirks. “That’s hardly entertaining. We’ll send you into the forest and let nature decide your fate.”

He spins on his heel, snapping his fingers. The guards lurch forward, unlocking my cell with a harsh creak. Their fingers clamp around my arms, bruising, unyielding.

Nevox strolls toward the iron door, whistling an eerie little tune. But before he leaves, he turns, smile sharp as a dagger.

“Oh, and Mietta,” he sneers, “if by some miracle you survive the forest, know this—you’re banished from the castle. Just thought I’d let you know, in case you come crawling back.”