Page 19

Annalise

F elix’s estate has never felt so far away as I sprint to it with my child in my arms. My body is running on pure adrenaline at this moment, as I can’t feel my legs or my chest. My body feels weaker than it ever has, the pain turning numb as I try to get away from the battle ensuing behind me. I don’t dare look, the clash of blades and the inhuman growls that range keeping me on edge. I can only pray that Dimitri is skilled enough to take on Elias.

“We’re under attack! We’re under attack!” I scream as I approach the back of the estate. I know from experience beasts have acute hearing. They must be able to hear me at this distance. That is, if they haven’t already sensed Elias’s presence. Once I finally reach the steps, I quickly climb them turning to look out over the field just in time to see Elias holding Dimitri by his hair.

His eyes shift, finding me as flames spread around him, the beasts and humans of his army exiting the forest in droves with destruction on their minds.

“Run, Anna!” Dimitri screams.

Elias plunges his blade through Dimitri’s back, violently ripping it out of him as he collapses.

I release a strained shriek, holding Ciel firmly against me as the warning bells sound among the estate. Elias doesn’t give me a moment to digest Dimitri’s demise as his smile deepens, and he takes off across the field with his army in tow.

The heavy doors are opened as the guards available run down the steps to meet the enemy who has so suddenly appeared, and I find my footsteps faltering as I watch them collide. Elias is an unstoppable force as these beasts try and double team him, but he is possessed, running through them like they are nothing more than pesky obstacles, his eyes constantly falling to me and Ciel.

He wants us dead.

I quickly turn away from the battle, running through the estate to where I know Felix and Calista were last. As I run, I note that more servants have also taken up arms, determination on their faces as they move to defend their home. But it isn’t enough, as I hear his promise of death echo from the walls as Elias finally drives his way inside.

“Annalise! I will have your son!” Chills ripple across my arms, my heart beating faster as Elias’s cries echo constantly over the massive hall. I don’t know what his purpose was when he first attacked Felix’s estate, but his plan has changed upon seeing me. He’s going to kill us both.

Tears of panic form in my eyes as I continue to run, the blades on display catching my attention. I quickly pull one from the wall, wrenching it from the empty armored suit as I round the corner in time to see more soldiers running down the steps. My dread grows further as I take in the number of steps to even get up the stairs to where Calista and Felix are.

I gently set Ciel down, using the sword to cut the skirt of my dress as high as I can. I then quickly tear apart the fabric, bending to Ciel’s height when I think I have enough.

“Come,” I say, offering him a soft smile.

He obliges, climbing into my arms as I quickly wrap the tears of my dress around him, tying him firmly to my front. I then move to pick up my blade, ignoring the pain rippling through my body as I quickly make my way up the steps.

I’m halfway up the steps when Ciel’s panicked scream alerts me. I turn just in time to see Elias’s claws come inches from where my throat once was. I stumble up the steps, falling away from his second attack, his nails catching the bricks instead of my face.

The seal on my ribs heats up, painfully scorching my body as I try to catch my footing on the steps. But with my weakened state and Ciel’s weight tied to me, I don’t know if it’s possible for me to last against Elias.

I hold my blade up in defense as Elias stands upright, his eyes narrowing as he takes me in. He shifts his attention to Ciel as he speaks.

“It all makes sense now— you , make sense now. You were protecting this… bastard of the king,“ Elias laughs wickedly as he studies Ciel.

“I underestimated you, Anna. I couldn’t understand why someone like you, someone so capable, would want to return after seeing what the king did to you. Even now, I can’t understand it. I would have spared this one had you joined me,” he says.

“Like you spared the last one?” I say, referring to his words outside. I can’t hold him off, nor can I defeat him in my current condition. I know I have to keep him talking until someone finds me: Felix, Joan, anyone. I have to at least protect Ciel from Elias’s wrath.

A look of surprise forms on Elias’s features before he laughs, taking a step closer.

“I did you a favor. Though you wouldn’t recognize that. Everything I’ve offered, you’ve rejected. And now, everyone’s blood will be on your hands. Everyone .“ Elias scoffs, his eyes shifting up and down slowly. “Have you remembered it yet? The blood? The way you sank to the floor, screaming for a life that was nothing more than blood at your feet, running your fingers through the puddle like a madwoman trying to bring it back.”

My heart beats faster, making it difficult to focus as my breathing shifts. I push down everything. All my emotions and the memories threatening me as Elias does what he does best.

“You were so close to killing me. So close to your revenge, but couldn’t quite cross the finish line before I took the memories that made you who you were. Before I took your body and made it mine… before you moaned in the arms of the beast who took life from your womb. Even if you’ve mothered his child, do you think Cyrus will want you now? After you’ve failed to protect them both? After you’ve let me have you in the same way he has?” My eyes widen, his words doing the opposite of what I had hoped.

They distract me.

The seal’s heat intensifies as I scream, holding my weapon up to attack, but in a blur, Elias is wrenched from my line of vision and thrown into the stone column. The column trembles slightly before collapsing on top of him, and when I look up, Felix is standing over me with a terrifying look in his eyes as he studies the debris left.

He takes a deep breath, composing himself before shifting his attention to me. He holds his hand out to me, gently helping me up, but his hand remains on the small of my back as he quickly ushers me down the steps and away from where he and Calista were.

“Calista and Joan have evacuated along with those who cannot fight. You must make your way to the training grounds, where there are soldiers waiting for you and the prince,” he says as we reach the bottom of the steps.

I don’t have a response for him. I know I should at least thank him, but I can’t. My eyes shift to the rubble that still has not moved as I think of how Felix saved our lives. I don’t know if I could have fought back if not for his arrival. And now, my body feels like it has a thousand sharp needles poking at each surface of my flesh to make me uncomfortable.

“Where’s Dimitri? Was he not with you?” he asks, pulling me out of my thoughts. I look at Felix, panic in my expression as Dimitri flashes across my mind—the sword protruding from his chest with his blood on it. The emotions surrounding him threaten to overtake me, and it makes me nauseous to have to force them down as I look up the hall I came from, the sound of clashing weapons echoing off the walls.

“Elias…” I trail off as my voice catches, and Felix’s gaze darkens.

The brick shuffles as Elias tries to climb out, pulling our attention, and Felix ushers me in the opposite direction. If he feels anything about the news of Dimitri, he does a marvelous job hiding it as he is back in warrior mode, ready to defend his home.

“Go. I will meet up with all of you as soon as I can. Whatever you do, whatever you hear, don’t stop running.” Felix doesn’t wait for me to respond as he approaches the crumbled pile of stone.

I turn away from him, clenching Ciel closer to me as I take off toward the training grounds. The flames have spread rapidly through the estate, catching all the fabrics and paintings along the walls showing no signs of slowing. It’s only a matter of time before this is all ruins.

I tense as my memories collide with one another. My village, the villages Elias burned down, all of the blood from the life stolen from me...

“Mama?” I tense, looking down at Ciel. He’s watching me with wide eyes, his brow furrowed slightly as he takes in my distressed state. But I smile, pushing his strands from his face.

“It’s okay… everything is going to be okay,” I say.

I hate how pathetic I sound, but I don’t know the answer. I don’t know how to reassure him. I don’t know if everything is okay and if we will be rescued once we make it to the training grounds. I don’t know how many beasts and humans Elias brought with him. I am as helpless as I was when I awoke in Elias’s lands.

Once I reach the training grounds, I am almost out of breath. My body is shutting down on its own, the seal waning against my flesh as if it never existed. And Ciel can sense it as he whimpers in my arms, his concern for me growing by the second.

“It’s okay, we’re almost…there,” I trail off as I take in the training grounds. It’s empty and eerily quiet. I slow my footsteps, pulling Ciel from the makeshift sling carrier as I look around, my eyes falling on the bloody corpses. I release a soft gasp when I notice them, whipping my gaze in the direction of the estate. It’s up in flames, and I am trapped.

“It’s just as he said. They would focus everything on protecting you. I thought for sure he would have killed you before you made it this far, but he did warn me not to underestimate you.” I flinch, turning my attention to see Maksim stepping out of the dark shadows. His gaze shifts to Ciel, and he laughs in disbelief.

“Now I am truly confused as to how you made it this far,” he says. I tense as the estate creaks, more wood crashing under the strain of the heat behind us. I move Ciel behind me once again, keeping myself between this beast and him. I flinch as more pain washes over me, and Maksim notices.

“Has your body finally had enough? The injuries you’ve sustained have rendered you useless, even with the mark of a beast upon your flesh. I can hear the erratic beat of your heart as your body rejects all of the healing done to you. It will give me great pleasure, stomping it out.” Maksim attacks, closing the distance between us in an instant.

I try to call on the seal, but I can’t. It remains dormant on my ribs as my body wanes in consciousness. All I can do is shove Ciel as far as I can as Maksim snatches me around the throat, lifting me off the ground. My feet kick and dangle uselessly as he holds me, my hands gripping his in a pitiful attempt to survive.

I release a choked whimper as he squeezes.

“My orders were to kill you on sight. But I wasn’t told you and the king have child. I am sure Elias will enjoy peeling the flesh from the boy’s bones in front of his father as he watches his kingdom burn—ahck!”

I fall in a heap as Maksim is violently ripped away from me. My body won’t move as I lay in the dirt, listening to the inhuman gurgles of death in the air. I feel Ciel’s hands on me, screaming as he shakes me, but I cannot move. I cannot speak. My body is shutting down on its own.

I watch as Maksim struggles with his assailant, my ability to make them out clearly eluding me. I am partially grateful for it at this moment, as the sounds of Maksims death are gruesome. But as the heat from the blazing estate burns behind me, it casts a glow over us, illuminating my savior. Unfortunately, I cannot make him out as my body no longer has the energy to remain.

“Dada!”

Ciel’s excited cheers accompany me into my dreamless slumber as the pain finally subsides, and my body grows numb from it all.