Page 35

Annalise

W hen I was a slave, and unfortunately, Cyrus’s favorite, I spent a lot of time by his side. Before, when I thought of those days, I thought of the constant fear I felt or the sickness that overwhelmed me being in the presence of such a cruel creature. I never thought for one second that I would be grateful for being near him at that time. But at this moment, I am. Somehow, my mind has retained every intimate form of torture Cyrus implemented during those days. And I have been able to recreate them with splendor in Elias’s company.

“Nghhh…Fuck!” I smile once again as Elias’s tortured cries echo off the cavern walls. I feel more connected to Cyrus than I ever have in the past. As I now know what he felt all those times when cries of anguish filled the air.

The hair on my arms stands on end, and chills of excitement continue to ripple over me as I pull the blade from what’s left of Elias’s back. Blood covers the cavern floor, but I can’t tear my eyes away from the mangled mess of tattered flesh that I see. It is still not enough. It is nothing like the mangled form he left me all those times, barely clinging to life.

I release a soft gasp as I notice another bloodied bone peaking through.

“Joan,” I call to her, gesturing to where I want her to strike.

I take a step back just as the whistle of the whip sailing through the air sounds, followed by the excessive crack of Elias’s bone being shattered. He flinches, his body spasming in pain as it tries to cope with this feeling as his cries fill the air.

“Nice job,” I say, offering Joan a smile.

She eyes me carefully, bowing slightly. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Though her precision and strength are nothing like Cyrus’s, Joan can shatter the bone, as she has proven, if the bone is exposed. I didn’t plan on pulling Joan into this torture, but the amount of power I used calling on Cyrus’s seal exhausted me to where I am now weak after hours of torture. But it helps fuel me, knowing I am only like this because of Elias. Because each time he broke me, he could never truly fix me, leaving me unable to reach my potential.

“Again—”

“Do you think... torturing me will be.... the end of it? Those… monsters showed up for a fucking reason! They won’t be far behind—”

“Again, Joan,” I say louder.

I smile as the crack of the whip sounds again, and Elias’s cries of anguish fill the air. For hours, Elias has tried to get out of his torture, claiming the beasts who attacked his camp will turn their attention to us. But it is him they were after. And it will be him they find a dead corpse drifting along the river once I finish.

I shift my attention to where Audra sits, fanning the flames.

“Ready?” I ask.

She nods, taking a step back as I use the tip of my blade to pick out a flaming piece of wood. It’s a small chip, no bigger than a pinky. I balance it on the end of my dagger as Audra makes her way to Elias. His eyes are down, but she roughly grips his chin, forcing his head up as I approach.

His face was the first thing I mangled. It felt nice, clawing out his eye and carving out the side of his face, but it wasn’t enough, as it was still early in my torture, and he was still defiant. Now, however, he watches me with a barely recognizable face, his expression weary of the monster he created.

“Open,” I say mockingly as I recall all the times he told me those exact words. His breathing is slow as he ignores me, and I shift my attention to Audra, tilting my chin slightly as I speak.

“Break it,” I say.

Elias’s eyes widen as Audra grips his jaw, seconds from breaking it when he speaks.

“Okay, okay!” he shouts, his panic prominent. But it still isn’t enough.

So I laugh as Audra watches me expectantly.

“I said, break it ,” I say.

She squeezes with the strength of a beast until Elias is screeching in pain, and his jaw is hanging limp, his mouth forced open. Blood drips from his lips as he continues to scream, and I quickly force the scorching piece of wood into his mouth, forcing his jaw closed with my own hand. I hold my face inches from his, his one good eye wide with agony as he looks at me.

“Heal yourself,” I say, eyeing him.

I know he can’t. I just like saying it to remind him of what he’s lost at the moment. His screams continue behind my palm, and I smile.

“Or fucking swallow,” I say.

His pants become more and more panicked until his eyelids flutter slightly, his body sagging as he passes out. I glare at his limp form, my irritation growing as I release his mouth, the wood falling from it, covered in blood from his wounds.

“Pathetic,” I growl out, tossing my dagger to the ground.

Silence overcomes the cavern as I stare at Elias’s unconscious form. All this time, all the pain and suffering I felt came from this being. This weak beast who couldn’t hold a candle to Cyrus and his strength. A beast who preyed on me from the shadows, coveting what he couldn’t have: Power.

He sacrificed everything. His entire kingdom and his life all for a taste of what power is. True power. The kind of power someone like Cyrus is born with, and Elias never could come close to reaching. All of his plans were doused within minutes. And now, he sits here bound and broken by the woman he risked it all for. He wasn’t even a challenge. He was a nuisance. And as I stand here, unable to wake him from his pain-induced sleep, I feel empty once again, the temporary happiness I felt extinguished in the silence.

I am as hollow as he is.

I release a soft chuckle, lowering myself to the ground as I continue to look at him. Cyrus was right. I feel nothing but crippling disappointment at this moment. Nothing taken from me can be regained. And with Elias’s torture only comes a sliver of peace for the turmoil twisted up inside of me. This doesn’t sate me. I don’t think anything can.

My mind shifts to Ciel as the thought crosses my mind.

Because of Ciel, I was able to heal from the pain of my life by Cyrus’s side. He was the one good thing to come out of the horror I faced. He was the light of my life, guiding me from darkness to prove that I could survive. I could do it all on my own with him by my side. And thanks to Elias, Ciel will forever be affected by our time apart and our time together when I returned.

“Anna.” I look up as Joan calls my name, but she says it extremely low, her body tense as she focuses on the direction we entered the cavern. Audra slowly rises as well, her hand on her blade as she moves with lethal silence to stand next to me.

I quickly call on Cyrus’s seal, using just enough of its power to heighten my senses. I tense as the slow and deliberate approach of footsteps slowly becomes audible within my range. The sound is extremely low, like a predator who doesn’t want to startle its prey. I shift my attention to Audra who shakes her head to silently confirm my fears.

It isn’t Ausifah or Neve who we left to stand guard at the entrance.

“I must have been found out already.” We all tense at the sound of the foreign voice. I keep my eyes on the darkened cavern, but the longer I use the seal, the weaker I feel. And my eyes won’t pick up the creature approaching in the darkness.

So, I release Cyrus’s seal, relying on Joan and Audra to protect me if need be.

“You are impressive for creatures who have been so heavily diluted by evolution. But I assume that is why you are with the hybrid,” the voice continues.

I force myself to remain calm since I know beasts can smell fear. They are drawn to it and ready to snuff it out, as I learned by being at Cyrus’s side for so long. I tense, however, as the dark shadows of the cavern begin to dance, the black lengthening into a living entity as it licks at the surrounding air, waiting for its next victim.

Joan quickly closes the distance between us, pushing me behind her just as Audra steps up, both of them with their swords drawn as the beast finally reveals himself from the shadows.

Smoke pours from his feet wickedly as he steps into the dim firelight. The warmth illuminates his sharp features with fierceness reserved for these kinds of creatures. His hair is stark white and shoulder length, wildly splayed around his features, unlike Cyrus, who keeps his hair tied at all times. His eyes are viciously sharp, signifying the walking threat that has come upon us within this cavern. Disdain marks his features as he looks at all of us, his attention finally falling on me.

He audibly scoffs, his disgust prominent.

“I have no quarrel with you, beasts. I’ve only come to cleanse this side of the world before it becomes even more infested,” he says.

Joan and Audra don’t respond, so I do.

“If it’s Elias you want—”

“You don’t speak in my presence, hybrid. Break this rule again, and I will sever your head from your shoulders before you can utter a single sentence,” he snaps.

Silence drifts over the cavern, and we are all at a loss for words. When spying on Elias’s camp, we saw the foreigners attack. His hostility towards me doesn’t make sense. If anything, I assumed he was tracking Elias. But now that he’s here, his attention is entirely focused on me.

Joan slightly moves, placing her hand on my arm to give it a light squeeze of comfort. This beast is obviously one of the foreigners.

“You say you have no quarrel with us. Where are the beasts who stood guard at the entrance?” she asks.

He studies Joan for what feels like an eternity before the shadows surrounding him shift and extend closer to the firelight. A large shape covers the ground, and as it slowly retreats, the forms of Ausifah and Neve reveal themselves.

I note that Audra visibly tenses next to me, ready to aid her sister, but doesn’t, remaining firmly planted in front of me. And as I look at the beast who blocks our exit, I see why. He’s watching me, waiting for them to give him an opening.

Joan speaks again, pulling his attention.

“We are only exacting vengeance deserved of this beast. He has committed—”

“The king, you mean?” he asks, angling his head.

He chuckles, taking a step closer to us, his attention finally shifting away from me to Elias’s limp body. “The king who abandoned his camp. After gathering so many beasts and hybrids to fight for his cause.” He almost sounds disappointed.

“A lower being who coveted more than he should have. I would have already ended his life simply for having the nerve to call himself a king while being so weak. Yet here you are, playing with it,” he adds as he studies Elias.

“Why have you followed us here?” Joan asks, pulling his attention once more. The intensity with which he watches Joan makes me uncomfortable. His eyes follow her every movement, even the tiny shift of her chest as she breathes.

He once again looks at me.

“To kill this stray hybrid, of course,” he says.

Joan and Audra close the gap between us, blocking me from this beast’s view. Both of them are slightly crouched, their weapons raised as they ready themselves for battle, and I find myself silently calling on Cyrus’s seal once again, praying that I can hold out long enough not to be a burden to them.

“You do realize we won’t allow that,” Joan says firmly.

Her voice doesn’t waver as she speaks, and the beast smiles for the first time tonight. It’s chilling, even as it reveals dimples on his cheeks. I tense as the cavern grows colder, immediately noting that the black smoke he emits is growing.

“Ugh, Ah! Ahhh!” We all tense as the blood-curdling screams of Elias fill the cavern as he awakens. But none of us have the time to react beyond that.

A thick line of the beast’s shadow forms instantly shoots across the room, penetrating what’s left of Elias’s chest. His screams die out immediately as black spikes protrude from every piece of his flesh—blood and whatever remains of him, splattering from the attack.

I quickly call on Cyrus’s seal’s full strength, everyone instantly on high alert as this beast kills Elias, not only in an instant but in a way I didn’t know possible for beasts. The beast notices, his attention entirely on me now.

“And now I shall do all of you the kindness of ridding you of this distortion of nature.”