Page 217 of Dark Souls

He whistled while walking away and I rolled my eyes. Luka and I showered quickly and changed into clean clothes. A pair of ripped black jeans and a plain black tee in Luka’s size were waiting on my bed and I smiled, knowing they were from my mum. She would have made them quickly after seeing what Luka had dressed like.

Luka laid down on my bed and closed his eyes. “Come here,” he whispered, holding out his hand to me. I climbed on with him and nestled under his arm, snuggling in. “What are your plans for Belladonna? Do you want me there?”

I lifted my head, placing my chin on his chest to look at him. “Do you want to be there?”

I was hoping he wouldn’t, because I couldn’t fucking stand the way she looked at him. I hated that she thought they had this twisted, sick bond between them because of everything that had happened, but seeing how unaffected Luka had been by her in the throne room, made me want to protect him from having anything more to do with her. He needed to heal from his past and as long as she was still in his life, he never would.

He thought about it for a while before answering. “I’d only be there for you.”

“Then I don’t want you to be there. I can deal with her myself, and you can rest easy with the knowledge that I am going to make that woman suffer so horrifically for all she has put you and your family through.”

He kissed my forehead and placed one arm behind his head. “I know you will. That is why I am so okay with it.”

“Are you okay with me keeping her alive so I can make her suffer for years? Or would you rather I kill her soon?”

“You do what you need to do, love. As long as she suffers for what she’s done, I’m good. And my mind is at peace knowing you will be the one to do it, because I trust you will do it properly. I don’t even want to give her the satisfaction of ever seeing my face again.” He yawned loudly.

“Okay. Why don’t you get some sleep?”

“You should get some too, love. I bet you haven’t slept for days either.” He closed his eyes, pulling me into him tighter and in seconds, he was softly snoring. I smiled as I watched him sleep peacefully for the first time in gods know how long. Has he ever slept peacefully? I wasn’t sure. But I hoped he would start right now.

After a while, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sleep because the itch to deal with Belladonna was causing adrenaline to pump through my blood. I shifted off the bed, being careful not to wake Luka and left him a note in case he woke up and wondered where I was.

Opening my chest of drawers, I pulled out two of my sharpest blades and put them in my rucksack, along with a large notepad and pen. Throwing it over my shoulder, I made my way down to the dungeons.

Real Tears Darling

Makingmywaypastthe grim cells, I knocked on a secret door that led to an underground passageway beneath the castle that could only be accessed by my grandpapi. The door opened with his magic and I found him sitting on a chair at the furthest end, where the darkest, most vile cell was. As I approached, he lifted his head in my direction and smiled.

The powerful glow that was radiating off the bars of Belladonna’s prison was consuming, and I had to shield my eyes to look past it to find her. Seeing her curled in the foetal position on the rank floor, trembling and pale, sent a jolt of satisfaction through me.

I glanced at Grandpapi in question, wondering what he had done to her. He raised his hands up innocently.

“Wasn’t me. She felt everything Luka did to Mitchell. The physical pain had her pass out at one point. When she woke, she felt Mitchell die, and she curled up in a ball, hugging her stomach. She hasn’t moved since. Not even when Leif went in and extracted the summoning spell from her mind.”

I clicked my tongue, glaring down at her as she stared straight ahead at nothing.

“I can take it from here, Grandpapi.” I leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.

“I’m staying until she can’t use magic anymore. I don’t trust her, even in this state. I wouldn’t even put it past her to be faking her grief.”

That was a good point. I nodded and we both stepped towards the cell. I placed my hand on the lock, and it magically clicked open, allowing us to step inside before it shut again.

She still didn’t move. I stepped closer to her, crouching down and tilting my head to look at her vacant face. Even if she had felt the agonising pain of her soulmate’s death, there wasn’t a single tear streak on her cheeks.

“Keep her still, please.”

Grandpapi clicked his fingers and her body became rigid from the paralysis spell he had cast. I grabbed one of her arms and placed it on the ground. Her eyeballs moved, darting up to my face quickly. She was still in control of her senses, just not her limbs.

“What are you doing?” she asked in panic.

I held her hand in one of mine and lifted one of my knives to her wrist with the other. Her eyes widened.

“Wait! No! Wait, please!”

“Wow. Begging already?” I smirked as I deliberately cut into her flesh. “Mitchell lasted longer than you.”

She started to scream and pant through the pain as I took my time to cut all the way down to the bone. When I could see it, I gestured for my grandpapi to pass me an axe. With one powerful whack, the axe cut through the bone and her hand fell away from her wrist. She screamed, but her body didn’t move. I whistled a cheerful tune as I manoeuvred her body so I could place her other arm in the same position. I repeated it again.