16. Mercy
16
MERCY
I t takes me less than three seconds to hit the bottom. I barely have time to think, my mind shutting off as my survival instincts kick in. The hole is too wide for me to even try using the stone walls to stop myself, and ultimately my back slams into a hard mass of bones, painfully stealing my breath away.
Although I’m fighting a far too human and irrational hysteria of being at the bottom of a pit of skeletons; the scream I let out while falling still echoes against the walls, and I’m embarrassed by my blatant show of weakness.
Especially in front of a Vainglory.
Egregious self-serving scrote.
I don’t bother to call out his name. I know he’s already left.
Because I would have done the same.
I bare my teeth, wincing as I suck in sharp, harried breaths while making a mental tally of my body’s current state. It’s pitch black down here, the only light source is the mouth of the pit high above, but I’m far too deep for it to travel to me.
A sharp pain coming from my left arm has me hissing loudly, and I blindly grope at my arm to find that a piece of bone has lodged itself into the muscle of my forearm. Forcefully pulling the bone out, the pain travels up into my neck, and I let out a desperate scream knowing that, this time, no one will hear my revolting frailty.
Flipping over to my stomach, I try to push myself up, my left arm giving out under my weight.
I continue to fight through the abhorrent hysteria, sucking down air through my nose and then out through my mouth but end up gagging on the putrid smell surrounding me.
Get yourself together, Mercy.
It’s just a pile of bones. I’ve seen much worse. I’ve done much worse.
I manage to get myself up on both feet, the bones shifting under my weight making it difficult to keep my footing. My eyesight has grown accustomed to the dark yet, I only see shadows, my hands in front of me barely visible as I try to reach the stone wall.
I bump into something a little more … fleshy and immediately know I’ve found Boris. Thinking his corpse might help me reach up a little higher, I plant my feet on his stomach and step onto his wide chest.
My hands fumble against the wall and by the feel of the uneven raised brick, I think that I might stand a chance of climbing out of here. But not before I get rid of my long manicured nails. I start with my thumb, clamping my teeth down on the nail. Chewing and then ripping it off, I spit the piece out and then move on to another finger until finally, I’ve done both hands.
Digging my fingers into the grooves between the stone bricks, I struggle to pull myself up, my left arm throbbing with excruciating pain, the warm drip of blood coating my skin. It takes a few tries but my bare feet manage to find a foothold beneath me, and I let out a shocked laugh, surprised that my plan is working.
Oh so slowly I begin to climb up, sweat prickling my skin as my harsh breathing fills the air.
I’ve only made it up a few feet before my grip slips and I fall backward into the pit of bones.
The rage that flares at my defeat nearly suffocates me.
I curse Wolfgang’s entire lineage while I scramble back to my feet, even more determined than before. This time, I make it a little further up before crashing back down.
I lose count of the times I try and subsequently fail.
I lose count of time itself as my attention is solely focused on climbing out of this rotten well.
I’m catching my breath before my umpteenth attempt when I hear Constantine’s voice float down to me.
“Mercy, darling, are you down there?”
“Tinny?” I say a little too desperately. Looking skyward, I can barely make out a shadow of what looks like a wave of a hand.
“Mercy!” she replies with her usual glee when she hears my voice.
“How did you find me?” I can’t help but ask.
“Wolfie sent me — said you’d probably die down there if I didn’t.” Another shadow appears beside hers. “I brought Gemini as reinforcement!”
“Are you okay, love?” Gemini asks.
I suppress the overwhelming sense of relief I feel hearing both of their voices while my fury at Wolfgang still scorches my insides. I know the only reason he even sent Constantine in the first place is out of pure selfishness—most likely fearing damnatio memoriae more than he fears me.
“Just get me out of here,” I bark loudly.
They both mutter something that I can’t make out, and I stew in my indignation while I wait. Seconds later, Constantine’s voice travels back down to me.
“We’re sending down a rope, tie it to your waist and we’ll help you climb out!”
I grope at the dark, eventually finding the rope. Tugging it further down, I loop it around my waist, yelling out that I’m ready after making sure the knot is secure.
It takes great effort, but they manage to heave me up the well as I hold onto the rope while shuffling my feet against the stones. When I arrive at the top, they hook me under my arms and drag me out and onto the cool marble floor. Trying to hold on to the waning amount of dignity I have left, I quickly clamber to my feet.
Gemini gives me a slow once-over, my breathing loud in the silence. “You look positively ghastly,” he finally states, “and what did you do to your nails .”
Smoothing the matted hair out of my face with irritation, I narrow my eyes. “Whose fault is that?” I ask with a snarl. “I’m going to stake Wolfgang’s head on a pike .”
“You both are quite homicidal for two people who can’t kill each other,” Constantine states, pursing her lips in amusement.
I glare at both of them, their mirth making me ill. “There are worse things than death,” I answer before storming out the door.
A few hours later, I’m back at the Grounds, bandaged and showered. The wound on my left arm needed a few stitches, but it was nothing Jeremial hadn’t done before.
Padding into my lofty bedroom, I cinch my black chiffon robe around my waist, the billowy sleeves lined with ostrich feathers. I let out a small whistle and hear the clacks of my dogs’ claws before seeing all three strut in.
I gingerly crawl onto my satin sheets, the dogs jumping up after me. Sundae curls up beside me while Truffles and éclair settle down at my feet with small sighs.
Now that the adrenaline of the Lottery—paired with a forced trip down a sacrificial pit—has started to seep out of me, my body is heavy with exhaustion.
The fury that fueled my many attempts up the wall has simmered down to a quiet rage. I’m sure that Wolfgang expects me to retaliate quickly. If that’s what he believes, then it only proves how little he knows me.
Because revenge never expires.
Revenge never forgets.
Scratching Sundae behind the ear while she nuzzles into my thigh, I sigh deeply. Dread is slowly slithering its way up my throat at the thought of what comes next.
In the upcoming days, as the new … co -ruler of the city, I will have to move into Mount Pravitia, alongside Wolfgang.
Most of the lingering rage roiling inside of me is directed at myself.
How could I have been so idiotic ?
So bold to think I could outplay our gods at their own timeless game.
I could refuse to move and rule from the Grounds—let Wolfgang have Mount Pravitia.
But not only would I never want to let Wolfgang have anything, I would undoubtedly miss out on valuable information. I would rather slit my own throat than give a Vainglory the upper hand. Not to mention that moving into Mount Pravitia is a long-standing tradition—and I think I’ve tested the gods enough for an entire lifetime.
Although this particular defeat hurts worse than having every bone in my body pulverized, I must accept my fate: For the next nineteen years, Wolfgang and I are linked together, whether I want to accept it or not.