Chapter 40
Chapter
Forty
Percival fought to open his eyes. He tried to move his arms. His legs. But his limbs felt weighed down. His head felt like it had been filled with sludge.
Finally, he managed to blink his eyes open. His vision took a moment to clear and stabilise. He stared down at his arms. They’d been tied to the chair.
What?
He struggled. The rope bit into his wrists but also his chest and legs. He’d been bound to the chair. Squinting around, he realised he was still in his office. Then he saw his uncle beside him, tied up to a chair as well. And he was unconscious.
What happened?
“Cousin, you’re awake.” Cyprian strode into the room with Luna, the banshee servant. “That was quick. I thought we might end up finishing you off before you’d regained consciousness. Lucky, we tied you up.” Cyprian laughed. “So how did you enjoy your tea?”
The banshee smiled.
Percival’s lungs clenched. “You!” The word slurred from his lips. “What have you—” Then the words died on his lips.
Because the ice sorcerer, the one who’d attacked Percival, stepped into the room. Two other ice sorcerers followed her in.
Percival’s throat dried. He’d thought the ice sorcerer who’d attacked him was dead.
The pale skin of her face had been scratched up. Dark scars ran across her lips, nose, cheeks, and especially around her eyes. One eye had scarred over completely.
Patchy red burn scars covered her neck, chin, and lower face. They also covered her hands and wrists. He could not tell where else she’d been burnt, as the robes covered most of her skin.
Her lip curled. “Hello, Lord Percival Everflame,” she said, voice raspy and hoarse. “I’m glad to see you again.”
Percival looked between his cousin and the sorcerers as the pieces slid into place. “You.”
“Yes. I was behind it all along.” Cyprian sat in a chair opposite Percival, leaning towards him. He smiled and gestured to the ice sorceress. “I approached Sorceress Elayna and suggested she might want to get her hands on you and your ashes.”
Percival’s skin crawled. He knew there hadn’t been any familial affection between them. But plotting to kill him was more than he could have imagined. “Why?”
Cyprian turned his gaze on his father, still unconscious. “Because of him.” He scowled. “He was going to put you in charge! I couldn’t have that. So I needed you gone.”
Then Cyprian looked back at him. “Sorceress Elayna is very cross with you, Percival. She lost her left eye because of you. The healer couldn’t save it. And the burning she suffered was quite severe. It covers most of her body. She is lucky to be alive.”
Cyprian glanced at Sorceress Elayna. “After her fight with you, she crawled away, barely alive and her skin a mess of burns.”
Sorceress Elayna’s face twitched.
That was why she hadn’t killed Percival permanently that night. She’d been too injured.
“She wants her revenge,” Cyprian said. “She and the ice sorcerers planned to come after you at some point. But then you turned up tonight! And can you believe it, we’d been planning to kill my father tonight.” Cyprian laughed. “So really your timing was perfect!”
Sorceress Elayna steepled her fingers together.
Percival swallowed. He leaned back in his chair as if he could get away from her and the fury in her one working eye.
“So I had my brand-new servant deliver drugged tea to you, which would incapacitate you temporarily.” Cyprian gestured to Luna. “I’d already been planning to drug father. Luckily, I had more than enough for both of you.”
His cousin smiled. “And by the way, Ines, your old servant, she’s dead. I paid her to lure you to the attack. But then she panicked when you turned up again. I worried she’d blab. So I disposed of her. Well, Luna disposed of her for me.”
Luna bowed.
“I hired Luna to assist me in these more…complicated matters. Her skills are not really fitting that of a servant. But I have found her work to be more than satisfactory.” Cyprian smiled at her.
“Thank you, my lord.” Luna bowed again.
Cyprian stood. “And as you can see, Sorceress Elayna brought two colleagues, ice sorcerers, with her as backup this time. To ensure there were no more…mishaps.” He gestured to the floor. “They made these sigils for you and my father so you can’t shift or escape.”
As he said the words, the two other sorcerers’ hands moved. They whispered. Their hands glowed, and so did the sigils as they were activated.
“You won’t survive this time, cousin,” Cyprian said.
Percival looked at the sorcerers. His throat clenched. He didn’t want to give up. But he was outnumbered, drugged, and bound by the sigil. How could he survive this time?
He tried to reach the heat at his core. He tried to shift. But of course, he couldn’t. He fought against the rope. It wouldn’t give.
He closed his eyes, wishing he could see Leo one more time. He wanted to apologise for the words he’d said. He wanted to tell Leo he loved him more than anything.
Now it looked like he would die with Leo thinking Percival still hated him.
“What have you done, you foolish boy?” Uncle Ignatius slurred.
Percival turned towards his uncle. Uncle Ignatius breathed heavily, hunched forward as much as he could whilst bound.
“What are you doing, Cyprian?” Uncle Ignatius glared at his son.
“I’m killing you, Father.” Cyprian’s eyes flashed. “Like you deserve!”
His uncle reeled back as if struck.
Cyprian strode to his father, staring down at him.
“You made all my lives miserable. Every single one. But I’m done with you now.
You’ll be dead! Permanently! And I’ll be free.
Free of you! Finally!” His voice rose and echoed around the office.
“Then I will be in charge of this factory! And I will never have to listen to you or your insults ever again!”
Surprisingly, Percival felt a pang of pity for Cyprian. How many lives had he been beneath his father’s cruel thumb? How many lives had he been beaten down and verbally abused by his father?
But the pity passed quickly enough. After all, Cyprian had killed Percival once already. And planned to do so again.
His uncle gaped up at Cyprian. Obviously, he’d never expected his son to rebel. Cyprian straightened, lips pressed together. He took a deep breath and turned his back on his father. He strode away, facing the wall.
“Let’s get this over with!” he snapped at Sorceress Elayna, breathing heavily. “I want my father gone from this world!”
Once more, Percival tried to shift, tried to reach for the power of the phoenix. But he couldn’t.
Sorceress Elayna smiled at Cyprian. “Of course, Lord Cyprian.” Then she paused and walked towards him. His back remained to her. “But why should we settle for two phoenixes’ ashes when we could have three?”
“What?” Cyprian began to turn.
But before he could, her hands glowed a brilliant blue. She shot her arms forward. The light struck him in the back. Snow and cold exploded in the room. Percival shivered.
Luna flew towards the door. Without releasing his hold on the sigil, one of the other sorcerers shot a bolt of ice at her. She screeched as it struck her and she fell to the ground.
Cyprian gasped on the floor, staring up at Sorceress Elayna. Her hands glowed bright once again. Then the ball of blue hit him in the chest. Cyprian screamed.
“Stop that!” Ignatius yelled.
Percival struggled in his bonds. He kept trying to shift. Kept trying to pull on the fire within. But he could do nothing! Nothing!
Then a flutter of black wings entered the room.