Eighteen
Adelasia
The air in the room has gone icy cold. So has my blood.
A monster standing even taller than Kaius lingers down the hall from where Saddiq and I cower. Unnaturally long limbs add to its unsettling appearance, and it stands in a cloud of its own foul, festering stink of rotting flesh. Claws hang from its fingertips down to the ground, scraping lightly as it slowly pads down the stone hall. It’s not coming directly for me though, it’s staring straight ahead.
I quietly and slowly move my legs and the bottom of my dress away from its path as it inspects the space just inches from me.
My heart sinks even further into the floor when another one crawls toward us, its spine contorted awkwardly on the ceiling. The creatures chitter gutturally to each other.
They’re communicating, but they’re paying no attention to me or Saddiq.
Saddiq takes a loose stone from his cell and tosses it away from us through the iron bars. The creatures lunge for the stone and begin ripping at the empty space with their deadly claws.
Of course. He was a demon hunter. He’s trying to show me that the creatures are blind. They can’t see us, but they can hear us, and Saddiq tossing that stone might have saved my life. He has some semblance of protection in his cell, but I am fully exposed in this narrow corridor.
As the creatures flail their deadly limbs around the space looking for something that is not there, one of them snuffs out the only lit torch on the wall, leaving us in complete darkness.
I squeeze Saddiq’s hand, and though I don’t want to, I know that I have to leave him if I want to live. I let him go and crawl along the dirty ground, shaking and silently crying.
I hear the monster’s claws scraping against stone and screeching. Saddiq must have thrown another rock to help me.
I can’t see anything, and my heart is pounding so hard in my ears that I fear I wouldn’t be able to hear those creatures even if they were right next to me.
Thankfully, I’ve visited Saddiq enough times that I can remember the general direction I need to go to lead me out of the dungeon. My fingertips brush along the doorway of the tunnel, and I sit up on my knees and feel for the handle. It creaks as I open it, and I whimper when I hear the creatures screech at the sound. They’re coming. I have to run. I stand and push through the doorway, closing it behind me as they crash against the metal. I use every bit of my strength to shut the door, but they are too strong.
I can hear Saddiq yelling, trying to get their attention, but I’m screaming now too.
Screaming for Kaius.
The longer I’m trapped against this door, the more frantic I’m becoming. To my right, a torch sits, barely still alight. I pull it off the wall and shove it into the face of one of the creatures. It screeches in pain and falls backward, allowing me just enough of a break in its strength to close and lock the door.
I can hear them beating at the wood, trying to get to me, and though I’m once again in the dark, I let out the shakiest breath of relief at the sense of safety I have with the barrier between me and those things.
I take a big step to the side to brace my back against the wall for stability. My legs are wobbly and I’m lightheaded from screaming for so long. I let my head fall back against the wall as I refill my lungs.
Then I hear another monster chittering.
This time, directly above my head.
My heart is in my feet at this point, and the other two monsters in the dungeons are now beating against the heavy door again. The one above my head lets out a guttural moan as it waits for the others to break out.
I have no choice. I have to run. I try to swallow, but I can’t. I try to breathe, but I can’t. My body is shaking as my survival instincts attempt to form an escape plan.
The creatures finally break through the door and all I can do is run.
I don’t know how or why, but there is something within me guiding my path. An intuition of sorts, and I can only hope it’s bringing me to Kaius.
I finally exit the tunnels and head straight for the main corridor of the palace. I can hear more of those things chasing me. My heart races dangerously fast at the possibility of them catching me. Panic engulfs my senses–making it hard to breathe or see or think.
All I want is Kaius.
The throne room. I can see the heavy door now. A small semblance of hope rushes through me, but I feel a tug on the skirt of my dress and stumble to the floor. One of the creatures has dug its claws into the small train of my skirt. Its razor-sharp claws rip the fabric to shreds, allowing an easy but very close escape.
I burst through the throne room door. Fearful tears rush down my face and my eyes meet Kaius’. I stumble to the ground in front of him. My mind is racing with confusion to see him chained and gagged with shadows, wrestling against his restraints to break free.
Dravon is sitting on Kaius’ throne, and behind me, there are nine figures in deep gray robes that cover them from head to toe. Those monsters that were chasing me through the palace are kept outside of the throne room by some kind of magic ward. They can’t break through this one no matter how hard they claw at it and slam into it with their bodies.
One of the robed figures steps towards me, and I scoot away from them from my place on the floor. The figure tilts its head slightly, and then a grumbly feminine voice emerges from under the veil.
“My dear, you have nothing to fear from me,”
she whispers.
“Who are you?” I demand.
“My name is Amatisi. I am Matriarch of the Coven of the Ten Priestesses.”
She gestures behind her to the other figures. “These are my sisters. Zecate. Gaia. Octavia. Marcella. Nephele. Selene. Viseria. Nyx. We hail from the Blackwood, and have come to collect on a thousand-year-old debt owed to us by Kaius Voroninov, King of Bloodlust, Betrayal and the Damned.”
Suddenly, an invisible force moves me to my feet, causing me to gasp. Amatisi grabs me gently by the jaw, tilting my head from side to side while my limbs are held down against my will. She lets me go, but I’m still frozen in place as she circles me, toying with my hair–pinching and poking at my body as my dancing masters used to.
“What is your name, love?”
I don’t answer her, my mind still in survival mode. I’m not sure I even remember my name.
She hits me as Dravon did when I didn’t give him the answer he wanted. I taste blood on my tongue and spit it to the side.
“Adelasia,”
I whisper, and then she sets me on my feet.
“Pleasure,”
Amatisi retorts with venom. “Well, sweet Adelasia, I have a story to tell you about my sister Yekaterina.”
I lift my chin slightly. “Kaius already told me about her–about what she did to him and his mother before he killed her. About how you cursed him for it.”
“Ah! Well then, I suppose it should come as no surprise to you that we’re here, then. How brave you are for facing the prospect of your death by warming your murderer’s bed.”
I give Kaius a hateful glare. “I would never warm his bed,”
I say to her, while keeping my eyes on him. He can’t answer me, gagged by some dark magic. His eyes fill with despair, though I can’t help but see it as some insincere trick.
Amatisi begins laughing. A tear slips down my cheek as I look at the man I’ve learned to trust over these weeks. A man that I allowed myself to be vulnerable with. A man I’ve kissed and come to care about.
Kaius watches the tear fall down my cheek. The furrow of his brow reveals the same devastation I feel.
My hand trembles as I reach around the back of my neck, my fingers trailing the top of the raised scar that ends there.
All this time, I really have been a prisoner, and I’ve finally come to the day of my execution.
With the weight of the truth on my shoulders, Amatisi approaches me from behind and shoves me to the ground. My knees hit the floor with a loud crack, and Amatisi uses her sharp fingernails to rip the back of my dress to shreds, revealing the damning scar along my spine. I sob as I hold one arm up around my chest to keep myself modest and place the other against the cold floor to hold myself upright. Amatisi runs her finger along my spine, and bile rises in my throat at the sensation.
A teardrop lands on my forearm, and I watch it trail down to the floor, leaving a wet streak on its way down, glimmering slightly against the magic marking on my wrist.
I notice it seems to be…alive. It moves as if more magic is flowing through my veins than ever before.
With the utmost subtlety, I look at Kaius from under my wet lashes. I meet his gaze, then look to my wrist before looking back to him. He nods back with a simple tilt of his head.
He’s given me his magic. He’s trying to help me.
Still looking at the ground, I ask aloud, “Does he have to be the one to do it?”
Amatisi lifts my chin, using her thumb to wipe away one of my tears. “My dear sister has been lost for a thousand years. How poetic it is that you have her beauty.”
Amatisi opens her palm, and a dagger conjures into her hand. I recognize it well. Silver blade, ruby pommel. It’s the dagger Kaius carries with him everywhere.
She runs the blade roughly along my cheek. It stings, but when I touch my skin, expecting the warmth of my blood, there’s nothing. My eyes meet her veiled head, confusion etched in the furrow of my brow.
“The blade remains blunt until wielded by the cursebreaker.”
“Enough of these theatrics!”
Dravon shouts, grabbing me by the hair and pulling me to my feet. The tip of his blade digs into the side of my throat.
Kaius remains bound and helpless, but Amatisi holds up her arms in surrender at the threat on my life.
I may be just a human, but her sister’s soul resides within mine, and that makes me valuable.
Losing me scares her.
I whimper softly when Dravon increases the pressure of his blade on my neck. I feel blood begin to trickle down my throat and soak into the collar of my shredded dress.
“You said I would rule over the vampires!”
“When Kaius is mortal again, you fool! Release the sacrifice, or witness my fury.”
Dravon growls against my ear. “Give me your word.”
Amatisi immediately relaxes her shoulders and holds out her hand to him. An offer to make a vow. Dravon pushes me away. I crawl to Kaius, shielding myself behind his frame. Whatever magic was holding him hostage dissipates, and he forces me to stand with him, still using his body to protect me as he digs the stake out of his stomach.
I watch as Dravon takes Amatisi’s hand. The moment he does, the skin of his fingers turns a sickly gray color. It begins to trail up his arm, melting away his clothing.
Dravon stumbles backward, clutching his arm to his chest. “What have you done to me?! Witch!”
Dravon begins wailing in pain, falling to the ground as his body convulses and contorts unnaturally. His hair falls off, his teeth grow sharper, his eyes recede into his skull until they’re depthless black voids.
When he stops fighting, he rises to his feet as a Griefclaw.
Amatisi hisses and waves her hand towards the door. Dravon–or the creature that has taken over Dravon’s body–races towards its siblings at the door and waits outside of it as the others are.
“He’s too impulsive to lead, and he could not be controlled.”
Kaius scoffs. “Is that what your coven is truly after? Control? You’ve corrupted your purpose.”
“You corrupted our purpose!”
Amatisi shouts, her demonic voice booming. “You stole away my sister.”
“Yekaterina was the worst of you.”
“And yet you fell in love with her like a fool! Do not blame your wayward heart on her. You knew exactly who she was.”
“You’re right. I was a fool. And I’ve been punished for a thousand years because of it!”
Amatisi shoves the silver dagger into Kaius’ grip. “Then break the curse. Your freedom awaits.”
His throat bobs with uneasy slowness as he turns to look at me. His eyes, vulnerable and sorrowful, gaze into my soul as he steps closer. With his back to Amatisi, she cannot see what I can–his fear. The slight furrow in his brow gives away his intentions. The magical marking on my wrist burns and tingles. He is silently begging me to save myself in whatever form I can. He doesn’t want this to be the end for me, even if it was meant to be.
Amatisi rubs my shoulders, attempting to comfort me while she holds me still from behind, making sure I don’t run when Kaius strikes.
A choked gasp leaves my throat as his fingers tighten around the dagger in his hand and his arms tense–ready to end me and take what he’s always wanted.
Before I fully close my eyes and brace for the inevitable, I notice the gem around Kaius’ neck radiating a dark energy. It knows my life is ending, and it reaches for its master trapped within my soul.
“Eternity forgive me,”
Kaius whispers as he leans forward and tenderly kisses my forehead. Amatisi snickers behind me, and I whimper when Kaius raises the dagger. I tighten my eyes shut and hold my breath.
I cry out when I feel a pressure in my chest, but it’s unlike anything I was expecting. It’s not painful at all.
Perhaps it's the knowledge that death will arrive anyway that makes me curious, but I peek and look down, only to find that Kaius’ forearm and hand have gone straight through my chest. Not as he did when he ripped out the hearts of his servants, but as if I’m made of some sort of otherworldly presence. A mist. An illusion.
The marking on my wrist glimmers triumphantly. I don’t know how I’ve managed to save myself, but Kaius doesn’t dwell on it the way I do. I feel his arm tense, and when he pulls it free from my body, Amatisi’s Bloodstone necklace is in his fist. In an instant, the blood rushes to his eyes, forcing them to go black. Some sort of ward wraps around me like a cocoon of safety, and Kaius lets out a roar of fury as he uses both of the Bloodstones in his possession to conjure a red orb of magic.
Amatisi raises her hands to fend off Kaius’ spells, but she’s no match for the power of two Bloodstones. Kaius rips the second stone from his neck, holding one in each fist. Then, he slams his hands into the marble floor, causing it to crack under his fury. In a flurry of black ashes, Amatisi, the other Priestesses, and the Griefclaws vanish, leaving behind only gray smoke where they once stood.
The ward surrounding me fades. Kaius’ eyes return to their normal crimson hue, and he gives me a hollow look–a troubling one–before his eyes roll back into his head and he collapses to the floor.
I lunge for him to try and catch him, barely managing to cup the back of his head.
He feels even colder than usual.
His face and neck are covered in blackish veins that pulsate with an eerie, unsettling red glow. The magic of two Bloodstones must be far out of his capability to wield safely.
I open his tunic to find the markings tracing down, following every vein within him. The damage is deep and far beyond anything I could possibly help with.
I gently rest his head on my lap and try to use what little magic he granted to me to help him heal faster, but it only seems to make the aura emanating from him more volatile.
In a desperate attempt to defy the Priestesses and protect me, he might have suffered irreparable damage, leaving him drained, vulnerable, and weak. I look around desperately. The Priestesses are gone, but I know Amatisi could return at any moment, and she won’t hesitate to finish what they started. I can’t let that happen.
“Kaius?”
I whisper. No response.
It’s unnerving, the way the immortals are unnaturally still. He does not have to breathe as I do, but to see him appear truly lifeless and inhuman for the first time is an uncomfortable revelation.
There is nothing I can do for him. He made his choice, and while I can thank him for sparing me, I have an opportunity here to reclaim my life. To return home.
I cannot let the pain in my heart outweigh my good sense.
So I gently rest Kaius’ head on the marble floor, and take control of my fate once again.