Chapter Fourteen
………………………….
Henri
VICTOR SLICED.
“No! Fuck, STOP !”
I lost myself to fury.
The cuffs cut into my arms.
The chain rang.
The very couch almost broke apart.
The image of her kneeling, head wrenched back, and blood—
No.
“FUCK!”
I felt it.
The end.
The goodbye.
The loss.
Ily never looked away from me.
She didn’t say a word.
But I felt all of them.
Her love, her sacrifice, her pleas for me to stay sane.
I roared like a beast.
I kicked and bucked and motherfucking sobbed at the helplessness, the weakness, the powerlessness.
“Ily! Don’t. Victor, please —”
“Fuck this!” a man bellowed. “Now. Do it now!”
A scuffle in the distance.
A curse and a command.
And then…the loudest crack sliced the air.
A bang followed.
A volley of pop, pop, pop.
A man screamed.
A glass fell to the ground, shattering into crystal shards as two Masters went from standing to falling into corpses.
For a second, no one moved.
Men scowled and blinked and—
Another crack.
Another Master became nothing more than a carcass.
And then everyone and everything exploded.
Bullets ricocheted into painted panelling, sending fragments of tapestries and artwork flying.
Gunfire rained.
Masters bolted.
Victor froze and looked up. The blade in his foul hand dripped with Ily’s blood. “What the—” He reeled backward as a bullet smacked him in the shoulder. He cursed and stumbled backward. The dagger fell and bounced off the stage.
Ily fell sideways.
She clutched her throat, stemming the wound he’d caused.
“Ily,” I shouted. “Get down!”
More low-flying bullets whizzed past as guards opened fire on whoever fired first. The ballroom became chaos. Nothing but anarchy and mayhem.
BOOM!
The entire island shook.
An earthquake and ocean shake as part of Victor’s fortress blew up.
Holy shit…
Was that one of the bombs the jewels had planted?
So Victor hadn’t found them all?
Another teeth-shuddering explosion sounded a few rooms away.
Dust and plaster chips pummelled us from the ceiling. Windowpanes exploded outward. A few Masters fell to their knees in their haste to escape as the floor rolled beneath their feet.
Smoke billowed from the foyer, siphoning into the ballroom in one giant black cloud.
A loud snick and a mechanical groan and rain fell inside.
Sprinklers kicked in, drenching all of us as the detonations triggered the safety protocols of Victor’s castle.
Another BOOM.
Another blast and bang and thunder.
“ Merde !” Victor snarled, staggering to his feet and glowering at the musty-smelling water pouring all over his decadent home. Favouring his left shoulder where a bullet had torn through him, his eyes locked onto Ily.
She swayed and gasped, blood seeping through her fingers.
“Ily!” I fought my cuffs. I threw myself off the couch, trying to dislodge whatever hooked me down.
It didn’t work.
My arms remained shackled, but I strained my legs.
Using my feet, I reached for her.
I had to protect her. Cover her with my body. He could stab me instead. Kill me instead—
She cried out as Victor snatched her by the hair again. Wincing in pain, he reached into his waistband where his favourite pistol usually lived. I braced to face my end. For him to shoot my reason for existing. For my heart to stop with hers.
Only…he scowled and looked at the floor.
His gun winked from where it’d fallen down the two stairs. His burgundy suit shone a darker red as he bled. I wished he’d been struck in the heart. I wished he’d just die.
My shoulders threatened to dislocate again, keeping me bound as I fought. “Victor, don’t. You’ve lost. It’s over—”
“Over?” He laughed. “Fuck, you still believe in fairytales.” Dragging Ily toward the steps, he snickered. “I’ll see you soon, Henri. Ilyana and I are going for a little—”
Someone fired.
The bullet grazed him, leaving a burn mark on his temple.
He staggered backward, true fear flaring his manic eyes.
Goddammit, he seemed immune to death. Protected by a higher source, coating him in Teflon so bullets just bounced the fuck off.
For a second, it looked as if he’d still try to get his gun. But another thunderous cannonade tore through the castle, sending wineglasses wobbling off tables and chairs falling over like ghosts.
Abandoning his weapon, he broke into a run and jumped off the stage closest to the doors and the deck, dragging Ily with him.
She screamed as she landed on all fours on the floor.
“Get up. Now !” Victor snarled, hauling her by her hair.
Choking from the sprinklers, she slipped and skidded as Victor dragged her toward the gardens.
“ Don’t !” I fought and fucking fought.
I couldn’t stop him.
I couldn’t do a damn fucking thing to stop him from hauling her into the night.
They vanished.
Another rumble. Another stone-shaking blast.
The scent of burning turned the heavy decadence of dinner into acrid poison.
Masters and guards spread out past the ballroom, the sounds of gunshots echoed further away, muted thanks to the torrenting sprinklers.
Twisting onto my knees, I yanked the fucking chain with all the strength I had left. I turned into a beast. An unhinged beast ready to chew through metal to chase after my heart.
Only…
Hands landed on my whipped, rain-dripping shoulders. My bandages had unthreaded, drenched with blood and water, unspooling around my waist. “Easy, easy. Hang on.”
My vision faded in and out, in and out, as Stewart dragged me back onto the chaise and stretched my arms back into position.
I fought him.
I frankly feared him.
But then the shackles fell away.
My wrists came undone.
And I ran.