Chapter 52
LII.
I charge up the stairs, but he darts behind the chair and my sword hacks at thin air. I huff in frustration and steady myself.
“What’s the matter, Ferus?” I ask. My sword trembles, and I grip it with both hands so he can’t see my fear. “Why are you hiding from me? Surely a little princess and her angel sword are nothing to be afraid of?”
He leaps from behind the throne, and his blade scrapes my bare arm.
I hiss as the metal sears my skin and blood oozes from the wound.
He laughs triumphantly, and I take that moment to strike out, slashing at his chest. He dodges me, so my blade only scratches him, but it’s enough to tear through his vest to his skin and make him cry out.
A drop of orange liquid blooms in the cut.
The sight of his blood boosts my confidence. Ferus backs down the stairs and I follow, wielding my weapon at him with my uninjured arm. He swipes at me, but I duck and his blade whistles over my head.
We circle each other, our eyes locked.
I stab the air between us, but he’s too quick and avoids my blow. He eases forward, backing me into the wall.
My knees tremble, the memory of him trapping me against his door filling my thoughts. He grins as though he can read my mind, and he licks his lips. I scowl back at him, heat rising to my chest. I’ll never let him get the best of me again.
When he brings his sword down, I dive and then spin and kick his arm. His weapon sails across the room and settles at the base of the throne.
My heart picks up speed as I skirt around him and dash up the stairs. I kick his sword under the chair, and he swears.
The sound sends chills down my spine and although I’ve disarmed him, Ferus is still a threat. I wipe sweat off my brow with the back of my hand and turn to Diripo. My stomach lurches as his blood pools around his head like the goriest of halos.
He’s a souldier. He’ll have handcuffs. I just have to get them.
Feeling along his waist, I hold my breath to stop myself from gagging. The handcuffs aren’t on his waist.
Something snaps around my wrist, pinching the nerves. I drop my sword, the feather weight suddenly too heavy as I fall to my knees.
No. This can’t be happening.
“Looking for these?” Ferus drags me up by the cuff locked onto my wrist. “I grabbed them from him in case.” He kneels beside me as the room spins. “If I remember correctly, these render you powerless, don’t they, Princess? Look at you, too weak to even hold up your own sword.”
He cackles, then shoves me down the stairs.
My body bounces to the floor, bruising with each step. My arm cracks as I land, and I scream in pain. My mind reels as I pull at the cuff, trying to slide my wrist out of it. But he’s put it on tight, and I’m too weak.
No, he can’t win. I refuse. I’ve gone through too much for this to be the ending.
Ferus searches for his weapon beneath the throne, but I’ve kicked it too far for him to reach. He rips off his vest, wraps it around the hilt of my sword, and rushes down to me.
I try to roll away, but the pain is all consuming. It worsens with every movement. Tears threaten my vision, but I blink them away. I’ll be as damned as everyone else down here if I let Ferus see me cry.
He kneels beside me and strokes my hair, his touch making my stomach recoil. “Oh, poor Princess, that sounds like it hurt. If you want, I can cut your hand off at the wrist and the cuff will go with it. Your hand will grow back. Eventually.”
I pull out of his grasp as the taste of my own blood fills my mouth. Pressure pushes against my temples with a vice grip, and I narrow my eyes at him. “Of course you’d cheat to beat me. You’d never win in a fair fight, and you know it. You’re a coward.”
He growls like a wounded animal and stomps on my foot.
Everything goes black as my bones shatter beneath his heel.
I howl and blink rapidly against the darkness.
Pain blazes from my foot and up my calf like fire.
I moan against clenched teeth and close my eyes so he can’t see the tears pooling in them.
If I wasn’t wearing this damn cuff, I’d set the entire room ablaze. Fury and pain fight for dominance in my chest, contorting my breath in my windpipe.
“I never said I was brave,” Ferus jeers. “I said I was smart. Now, what would you prefer? The entire wrist or just the finger? I’m partial to the finger, myself.”
“I have a finger for you.” I hold up the one I’m referring to, then spit blood in his face.
“So vulgar for the daughter of an angel. It’s almost endearing.” He wipes his cheek with the back of his hand. “You know, my offer still stands, Princess. Marry me and we’ll rule this place together. Of course I’ll call all the shots, but you’ll have the honor of sharing my bed.”
I gag bile into my mouth.
Ew. Absolutely not.
“I’d rather die than marry you,” I say through bared teeth.
“That can be arranged.” Ferus watches his reflection in the glass walls and uses the corner of his shirt to wipe the rest of my blood off his face before flashing himself a wide grin. “You know, I improved more than my sword, princess. Maybe these will change your mind.”
Still facing the mirror, he rips his shirt open and lets it fall.
I prepare to tell him I don’t need to see more of his ugly-ass self to know I don’t want to marry him, but all I can manage is a horrified gasp.
Ferus’s skin glows in the lights of the throne room, highlighting the red on his back. The red of my father’s wings. Once pasted to the wall of his bedroom, now tacked onto the spine of a monster.
“What have you done?” I choke out as I take in the way the wings are crudely sewn to his back with crisscrossing black thread. His flesh is raised under each mark, as though even his own body knows the atrocity of this act and is trying to reject every stitch.
“Like them?” Ferus fluffs out the feathers, a breeze drifting across my face.
“Figured once the big guy left, he wouldn’t need them.
I can’t believe the boss never thought to do this himself.
He was so bloody sentimental about these things, nailing them to the wall and staring at them pathetically.
I forced a souldier to attach them for me.
He wasn’t exactly great with the needlework, but they do the job.
And I think it adds to the effect, don’t you? ”
He moves close enough for me to see that some of the stitches are still bleeding and filled with pus. They reek of infection and something more sinister. Like death and fire and sulfur all mingling together.
I gag and roll myself over so I no longer have to look at the horror he’s made of the pieces my father both loved and loathed most about himself.
Diripo’s body comes into view, and my breath catches. All I need to do is press the button on his belt to release the cuff and get my strength back.
I’ll heal enough to fight.
It’s getting there that’s the problem.
While Ferus is distracted by his own reflection, I drag my body forward with my good arm, crawling like the muddy shadelings from Lot Eight.
I whimper as the bones of my broken foot grind behind me.
My dress is soaked with sweat and spotted with my blood.
Every movement feels like shards of glass are ripping me open from the inside, but I don’t stop.
Ferus chortles behind me. “Princess, if you want to die that badly, I’ll grant your wish. But first, I’d like to claim my throne.”
I’ve reached the second step when he grabs my broken arm.
I scream as agony slams through me and white lights flash before my eyes. Fighting dizziness, I try to pull out of his grip, but he’s too strong. He straightens my ring finger and flattens it against the step before bringing down my mom’s sword.
I close my eyes and brace for the pain, but the sword bounces off my flesh as though my skin was made of steel. My eyes burst open, and he’s staring at me with eyes just as wide. A laugh bubbles from my throat. My ribs shriek with the movement, but the horror on his face is worth it.
“Oh, right.” I cough blue blood onto the floor beside me and wipe my mouth on my bicep. “Didn’t I mention? That sword can’t hurt someone who’s part angel.”
Ferus heaves my blade across the room. “Useless piece of angel crap. Guess we do this the less fun way.” He rips the ring off my finger and drops my arm. Pain shoots up to my shoulder and I bite back a whimper. “Stay here, Princess. I’ll take care of you once I secure my place on the throne.”
I watch helplessly as he saunters up the stairs.
My head lowers to the floor, and I exhale a long breath.
I’ve used every ounce of energy to beat him, and it hasn’t been enough.
Maybe my father was right all along and I’m nothing but a disappointment.
If Ferus lets me live, I’ll go back to my mom and Nate and hope they forgive me for not being everything they believed me to be.
Ferus plants the ring into the empty space in the armrest. Nothing happens. He lets out a grunt and presses harder. Still nothing.
I raise my head and grin. Father left out one vital thing.
Ferus glares at me. “What did you do? Why isn’t it working?”
“I’m as surprised as you,” I murmur.
Except I’m not.
Father told me when he gave me the ring that I would need to coat it in my blood before placing it into the throne.
It was his way of being sure his bloodline took over.
I suppose he left out that key piece of information when he spoke to Ferus.
That must’ve been what he meant by me giving it with free will.
My father, the Prince of Deception, everyone.
I bite my tongue to suppress a laugh as Ferus grunts again and tries jamming the ring in various spots on the throne.
He’s got his back to me and is so intent on getting the ring to work that he doesn’t notice as I drag myself up the stairs. I’m covered in sweat, my dress sticking to my body as I slither like a velvet-clad serpent.
Every move is agony, but I clench my teeth against the pain until I’m beside Diripo’s body. Blinking away tears, I feel around his waist again, and a grin curves my lips. Ferus forgot to remove Diripo’s belt when he stole the cuffs. Big mistake on his part.
Ferus swears and kicks the throne as I press the green button to release the cuffs. The metal falls off my wrist with a satisfying ping, and I swallow deep breaths as the pain in my body eases. My muscles tingle as strength flows through my arms to my fingers.
“I’m impressed, Princess.”
I jump as Ferus strides toward me. I hadn’t seen him turn. “You may have freed yourself, but you don’t stand a chance without your sword.”
I stand on my good foot, swaying as warm blood drips from my mouth and pools at my neck. I wipe my lips with the back of my right hand. “That’s what you think.”
I reach into my ponytail and clasp the dagger I’d planted there. He tilts his head in amusement as I bring the blade down.
I miss his heart.
I’m not aiming for it.
I’m not even sure he has one.
He screams and staggers backward, clutching at his chest. His eyes widen as blood pools down his bare chest. “You bitch.”
“Queen Bitch. Now give me my ring.” I hold out my palm. “You lost, Ferus. This throne doesn’t want you, and neither do I.”
His eyes darken, voids of hatred and anger. He backs away, one foot slowly pressed behind the other. “That’s where you are wrong. If I can’t take your father’s place, then neither can you.”
I narrow my eyes, and a cold hand clamps around my insides at the calm on his face. The same calm Alex had when he talked of killing his father. “What are you talking about?”
“Goodbye, Princess.” He smiles wide, revealing his sharp teeth. “Or maybe it’s just Devica now.”
Before I can call after him, Ferus flaps his stolen wings and soars out of the throne room, my ring clutched in his palm, my dagger still planted in his chest.