Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Ladon
It didn’t take long to find the hidden staircase that led to the balcony rooms. It was less hidden and more so lackluster, nestled in the corner of the room and withdrawn from the action.
Luck was finally on our side because it was surprisingly not guarded, and we snuck up the stairs without being seen.
At the top of the landing, a narrow hall stretched to what I could only assume was the other side of the Underground. If I had counted correctly, Reyna was behind the third door.
I turned around and held a finger to my mouth. Then I moved stealthily down the hall, coming to a stop in front of a black metal door with rusted hinges. It looked weak enough that I could probably kick it down, but just in case I couldn’t, I pulled Emilie closer.
“Can you unlock it?”
She frowned, looking at the door. “I’ve never tried.”
I gave her a nod of encouragement anyway. Of all the powers we possessed, Emilie was best suited for the job. If there had been some loose soil or a spill around, perhaps Jade or I could’ve crafted a key, but Emilie could manipulate the air itself and twist the lock where we could not.
She held up her hand, and although I couldn’t see what was happening, I pictured her magic sliding into the keyhole and applying the perfect amount of pressure to turn the lock.
With a small clicking noise, I knew she’d done it. She turned back to me and flashed a smile.
My princess—wickedly stunning.
Slowly, I turned the doorknob and peeked inside.
I spotted Reyna and Luther instantly, their attention still lowered to the pit below.
Their two companions—a redheaded woman and a man with a black bun—were also too focused to notice the door opening.
I scanned the room, happy to note that it was only the four of them.
I moved inside as quietly as possible, and Emilie, Jade, and Cyrus followed. Emilie’s hand was already on her dagger, ready to lodge it into Reyna’s head as soon as I gave a sign. If we each took on a single individual, it would be over before it even started.
I gave everyone a silent signal to arm themselves, raising my hand to start a countdown. I held up three fingers and used the other hand to pull out my sword. After finding everyone ready to attack, I dropped down to two. Then one.
Right before I dropped the last finger, the door opened, and a tray crashed to the ground. My head whipped around to find a server with wide eyes and drinks splattered around their feet. They held their hands up in surrender, but they weren’t of any consequence.
Our true targets were suddenly very aware of our presence.
There was a moment when everything seemed to stand still. I faced forward again to find Reyna on her feet, eyes blazing with hatred and alarm. Her eyes met mine, and I narrowed them, a pit forming in my stomach.
I was overwhelmed with anger and the need to seek revenge.
All the time I’d spent attempting to move on with my life felt like a waste because, in this moment, I couldn’t remember life outside of Murvort.
I could only see black stone walls, could only feel foreign fingerprints on my skin, could only taste bile and hunger for freedom.
Just like that, I was diminished to the tortured soul Reyna had created. I existed only to fulfill one goal—to kill the monster in front of me.
Reyna stared at me, and her eyes flicked down my body and back to my face. She smirked, and I knew she was picturing everything she’d done to me. Every way she’d taken advantage of me. I was picturing it too. My rage reached an uncontrollable level. She licked her lips, and I saw red.
Then chaos broke out.
With a furious roar, I swung my blade at her head. A crack of lightning hit the tip of my sword and sizzled down to the handle. I gasped at the heat underneath my hand, but I didn’t drop it. I relished the pain as it burned my flesh and raised the blade to swing again.
I repeatedly lashed and lurched, but I only managed to make a small mark across her upper arm. She was faster than I remembered.
She taunted me. “Ladon, my darling. I can see you’re upset. Why don’t we find somewhere private to talk about it? I’ve missed you so much.”
A dagger flew through the air, landing deep in her shoulder, and she screamed. Blood began to soak through her gray top, but she knew better than to pull it out.
When she looked up, Emilie was ready with a second dagger in her hand.
“You little bitch,” Reyna spat. She held out a hand, and the room crackled. Emilie dropped to her knees and covered her head with her hands, the lightning zapping her skin in random spurts.
“Enough,” I shouted, swinging my sword again. But a body came out of nowhere and I was tackled from the side. Luther slammed us both to the ground. My breath escaped me, and seconds later, he was hurling his fists at my face. My sword was pinned beneath me, and I struggled to throw him off.
A blast of flames created a halo around him, and he roared in pain. In that moment of distraction, I shoved him to the side and rolled away. As I regained my breath, I watched the shirt on his back burn to ashes, and the fire extinguished just as fast as it’d come to life.
Something cold dripped on my head, and I looked up to see a broken pipe. The droplets of water flew through the air and expanded into a miniature hurricane, whipping around the room and searching for the perfect target. It settled on Jade and rushed toward her like a howling storm.
I searched for Reyna, but she wasn’t controlling it. She was, however, watching her redheaded friend with an eager expression. This was all just entertainment for her. She didn’t care about anyone’s life, including those who defended her.
“Jade,” I shouted, pointing at the water-wielding mage.
Jade let her eyes leave the hurricane for a fraction of a second, glimpsing the mastermind behind the unnatural phenomenon.
She threw out her arm and twisted her hand, siphoning water from the center of the funnel and turning it into a sheet of ice.
She raised it high above the water-wielder’s head, and it came crashing down, knocking the woman to the ground. A second sheet of ice formed, and Jade forced it through the woman's neck, severing her head completely.
It rolled toward Jade, and she kicked it aside with a snarl. I had to admit I was happy to have her on our team and not as an enemy.
The man with the bun shouted with anger and leaped toward Jade. He pushed his hands out like he was about to shove her, but he wasn’t within arm’s reach yet. Instead, a blast of air knocked Jade off her feet.
The man stood over her and grabbed her by the collar, shaking her like a madman. But then my brother was behind him, wrapping one arm around his throat and putting him in a chokehold.
I didn’t pay attention to what happened next. It was clear the two of them had it under control. My energy was best spent on Reyna.
Speaking of… I spun around to see where she had gotten off to, my eyes widening when I found her raining strikes of lightning down upon Emilie.
Emilie was doing her best to ward them off, and she was doing a remarkable job forcing each blow off target with the use of her air magic.
But it was exhausting more of her energy than Reyna’s.
I could tell by the way each strike came closer to hitting her.
I lunged forward, driving my fist into Reyna’s jaw, and it cracked with the impact—a sound that I absolutely delighted in. Even my sore knuckles couldn’t keep the smile off my face. She tumbled to the ground, and I didn’t hesitate to wrap my hands around her neck, squeezing until her eyes bulged.
When she tried to send her lightning my way, I just grinned ferociously.
“You have nothing,” I snarled. Her magic was filtering into my hands. I wanted to siphon the life from her, but I would settle for her powers. “Any last words?”
Her lips moved, but without oxygen, her speech was inaudible. Her face started to turn purple, and I laughed. I shook with deranged excitement to see the life fading from her eyes.
I felt like I held the world in my hands. Nothing could stop me.
Except…
A high-pitched cry rang out, and I recognized it immediately as Emilie’s. I looked to my left where Luther had a fist in Emilie’s hair, dragging her across the floor.
Jumping up, I crossed the room in a matter of seconds, reaching for my sword at the same time. He never saw me coming, and I drove it into his back with ease.
He released Emilie with a gasp, and I watched as she massaged her scalp. She scrambled to her feet, eyes widening as she realized what I’d done. I gave her a questioning look, asking if she was all right.
She gave one nod in response.
There was another crashing noise in the distance, and I turned to find Cyrus and Jade leaning over the balcony, the other man nowhere to be seen.
It didn’t take long to put the pieces together. Somehow in the fight, the man had toppled over, and the screams below were growing louder as people discovered a dead body.
“Shit.”
There was just one more life we needed to claim before the underground became a scene of mayhem. Looking back to where I’d last strangled Reyna, I saw nothing but an empty floor.
I looked around the room. Emilie was still watching me with appreciation. Cyrus was checking on a head wound Jade had suffered, wiping the blood away with his sleeve. And Luther was lying on the ground, blood seeping out into a puddle beneath him.
“Where’d she go?” I demanded, sinking to my knees beside him. “Where did she go?”
I shook him, and he coughed up blood. “You’re not allowed to die, you fucking piece of shit. Cyrus!” I shouted for my brother.
He appeared at my side without question.
“Keep him alive. Cauterize his wound. Whatever you have to do. Do not let him die.”
I rushed toward the balcony, looking at the madness below. I spotted the body of Reyna’s man easily. A circle had formed around him—no one wanted to be the first to touch his broken and mangled form.
At least half of the crowd was rushing toward the staircase, fearful that there was an assassin in the building. In a place like the Underground, everyone had enemies. Everyone had a reason to be scared that someone was after them, and they ran toward the exit, toward safety.
In the sea of people, I couldn’t see a damn thing. If Reyna was down there, she blended in seamlessly. I couldn’t spot her black hair or the gray outfit she’d been wearing. I didn’t even know if she was still inside or if she had been one of the first to escape.
“Damn it,” I yelled, slamming my palms against the railing.
I turned around, and Cyrus was working with Emilie to save Luther’s life. I wasn’t sure what could be done for him, but we needed to keep him alive long enough to tell us—or better yet, show us—where Reyna had run. Where was she hiding?
I took three deep breaths before returning to Luther. His face was scrunched in pain, but he was still alive. His eyes were still open, and he glared at me with pursed lips.
“Where have you been staying? Where can we find Reyna?”
Luther grunted and rolled his head to the side, uninterested in my demands.
I kicked his foot, and he groaned through gritted teeth.
Kneeling, I spoke softly. Calmly. “Luther, we can do this the easy way—where I ask you a question and you answer me without pause and without attitude. Or…”
I spotted one of Emilie’s daggers on the floor and picked it up, twirling it in my hand.
Luther straightened, but other than that, he did a great job pretending he wasn’t nervous.
“Hold him down,” I said in a low tone that left the room in unsettling silence. No one moved except Emilie, who grabbed the arm next to her and pinned it to the ground.
Luther tried to tug his arm out of her grasp, but he’d lost a lot of blood and wasn’t as strong as he otherwise would be.
I looked at my brother, who was on the opposite side of Emilie. “Hold him down,” I said again.
Cyrus blinked, looking as though he wanted to stop and question me but thought better of it. Carefully, he grabbed Luther’s other arm and held him still.
I scooted forward and sat on his legs. His shirt was barely hanging on between the fire and the hole they’d made to patch up his wound. They’d used some of the fabric as a wrapping, but I reached forward and ripped it back open.
He sucked in a sharp breath when I pointed Emilie’s dagger at his freshly scarred skin. Slowly, I pushed it forward until a dot of red appeared. I watched with fascination as it swelled and began to drip.
“I think there are a lot of ways I could make you suffer, Luther. But it doesn’t have to be that way.”
I pressed the dagger flush against his skin, snapping my wrist so a thin layer of flesh was severed from his chest. He bit back a roar, and I wondered how long it would take to break him.
“Fuck you,” he snapped.
I eyed him with disdain. “I’m glad you didn’t bleed out, Luther. You deserve to have a much more painful death after everything you’ve put us through. Everything you’ve done at Reyna’s side.”
I jabbed the dagger into his upper thigh and twisted.
And twisted.
And twisted.
I turned the dagger until tears streamed down his face.
My brother made a gagging noise, and I snapped at him, “If you can’t handle this, then let Jade take over.”
She was watching from the corner, completely unfazed.
Cyrus looked from me to Emilie to Jade. And then he stood and made space for Jade to step in. He never could handle the tough shit. While he was sitting safe on his throne, I was the one tasked with punishing our worst enemies. Maybe he was weak, or maybe I was desensitized.
I checked on Emilie, but she showed no signs of revulsion. She wanted to see him punished as badly as I did.
“Hold his shoulder,” I told Jade, and she switched her grip from his arm to his right shoulder.
I grabbed his wrist and, without warning, sliced through his pinky finger.
He was unable to contain his scream this time.
“You can stop this, you know. We only need a location.”
“I don’t know where she is,” he said.
I flayed the thin, delicate skin on his palm, and he cried.
“Do not lie to me.”
“I swear. I haven’t—”
Another scream was ripped from him as I removed a second finger.
“I can do this all evening, Luther.”
And I meant it. As long as he stayed conscious, I would continue to slice away at him, piece by piece, layer by layer. I’d peel back his skin until only bone remained. Whatever it took to get an answer out of him.
I would bleed him dry.