Page 196 of Dark Souls

“Dad, please,” Lia whimpered, with tears in her eyes. “Just go to the royals and confess. They may show you mercy. It’s not too late.”

“Stay out of this, Lia,” he hissed, never taking his eyes off me.

“Don’t you think this involves her just a little, Mitchell?” I cocked my head to the side. “After all, my soulmate is down in that cave with hers. Hayes Cohen? RunningThe Undergroundmay not be against our laws, but abducting and torturing an innocent Romano soldier sure is.”

Mitchell lunged.

His outstretched claws swiped towards my throat. I ducked, the air hissing above as his swipe cut through it, and I countered his attack with a roundhouse kick that connected with his ribs. Mitchell snarled, stumbling back, but he recovered instantly, his eyes glowing crimson with rage.

“You may be a royal princess, but you’re still just a little girl with arrogance bigger than her bite. I train vampire soldiers to fight daily. I was beside your grandfather and led his army against Caspian. What makes you think you can take me on and walk away from this alive?”

“I may not have your combat experience. But I have something you are forgetting,” I shot back, my voice cold as I circled him. “I was trained by Arius, Ruby and Raiden Romano. The fastest, strongest and most vicious vampires alive. Maybe you need reminding of whose evil blood courses through my veins. Lucius Romano’s. You will never be my equal.”

Mitchell flung himself in the air again, fangs bared, but this time I met him halfway, sending rocks and dust into a cloud behind me. Our bodies collided with a savage force that cracked a rib in my side and shattered his collarbone. We fell together to the uneven ground, grappling in a blur of motion, trading vicious strikes to each other’s bodies and faces. My claw slashed across Mitchell’s chest, drawing dark, glistening blood. Mitchell roared, but instead of retreating, he caught my wrist and twisted it.

Before he could break my bone, I grabbed my silver dagger from my boot and sent it slicing along the length of his forearm, causing him to hiss and let go of me. He kicked me off of him, sending my body flying with his strength, but I skidded on the landing, crouched down with my hand in the mud. We both panted heavily, glaring at each other’s blood-smeared bodies. Before he could react, I pretended to dart left but then surged forwards, plunging my blade into his side. He howled in pain and staggered backwards when I ripped it out just as brutally. Even though his footing faltered, his eyes flashed with defiance.

In one swift movement, Mitchell launched his whole body at me, tackling me to the floor with his sheer size and weight. The impact was brutal. The harsh, crippling rocks beneath dug their pointed edges into my back as I cried out. He punched my face, sending it flying to the side, which gave me the perfect view of a large rock just within my reach. I laughed when he punched me again, sending blood flying from my mouth because it gave me time to pry my fingers around the heavy stone.

Using all of my strength, I flipped Mitchell over and pinned him beneath me, raising the rock above his head to strike. Lia screamed, burying her face in her hands and distracting me with a second of guilt, knowing she was about to watch me kill her father. Sensing my moment of distraction, one of his hands found its way around my throat, and he squeezed with a vice grip, attempting to crush my windpipe while the other gripped my wrist that was holding the rock.

With my one free hand, I plunged my blade into his ribcage, causing his grip on my throat to tighten the deeper I forced it.

For a moment, everything was still. Our gazes locked and time slowed as we both realised neither one of us knew who had the upper hand. My eyes roamed down to his neck and the silver chain that snaked around it. My vision started spotting as I gasped for air, causing the rock to fall from my hand. Leaving my blade wedged inside him, I gripped the chain and with all my might, I tugged it, attempting to rip it off his neck. When it wouldn’t budge, I twisted it, watching as it caught against his skin, causing it to grow redder and raw. I strangled him with the very thing he believed made him invincible.

His eyes widened as his airways closed.

“Stop! Please!” Lia’s pleas were somewhere behind us, distant and insignificant. Neither one of us was willing to surrender.

I held onto the last shred of strength I had, fighting against the lack of oxygen he was causing and the slow crushing of my neck. I had to hope that Leif’s ring would still be in effect, even though the sun was rising over the cliff. Somehow, I found the determination to twist the chain one more turn. His face turned red as he spluttered, and I felt the pressure on my neck loosen. He gasped, his veins protruding out of his skin like roots in a jungle as the light waned in his eyes. I paused. Something stopped me. It wasn’t Lia’s blubbering or a sudden attack of conscience. This wasn’t my kill to make. He had people to answer to for his crimes. Luka deserved to watch life drain from his eyes. Not me.

I suddenly let go, releasing him just before he took his last ragged breath. I grabbed the rock and knocked him unconscious. He slumped beneath me. I turned the chain, unable to locate the clasp and realised it was spelled to his neck.

“Fuck,” I hissed, ripping Leif’s phone out of my black leather trousers. I rose slowly, breathing hard as I tried to ring my grandpapi. I stamped my foot when I saw I had no signal, wincing because I forgot about all the injuries to my body. Storming towards Lia, I grabbed her shoulder and shook her. Her face was damp with tears as she stared at her dad’s motionless body.

“Is… is he dead?”

“No. Not yet. Do you have any reception?”

She blinked at me. “What?”

“Your phone. Do you have any cell service?”

She pulled it out with a quivering hand and shook her head.

“Fuck’s sake,” I growled, standing back to my feet and looking around for any ideas what to do next. I didn’t want to transport Mitchell back to the castle and leave Luka here with Parisa still out there somewhere. And I didn’t trust Lia to do it herself. “Come on. Help me move him.”

“Where?” she asked, dragging herself to her bare feet and following me to her unconscious father. I grabbed his arms and hauled him closer to the cave’s entrance.

Luka would wake soon. He had to.

What Have You Done?

Lialiftedhislegs,and together we dragged Mitchell over the rocks. I was torn between taking him to the palace or the castle, but I had no idea where my family might be let alone which room, and there was no time to search. The thought of leaving Luka alone, with Parisa still out there and able to move him at any moment, was a risk I couldn’t take. I wasn’t letting Luka—or that sigil—out of my sight.

Lia suddenly dropped him, falling to her knees and burying her face in her hands as she sobbed. I sighed, irritated and impatient, but knew this was probably a lot for her.

“I don’t think I can do this. I thought I could, but I don’t think I can. He’s still my dad.”