Chapter 42
Matteo
My family left me here to survive. Or die. I don't know which one because it feels like I’m slowly dying. The hallucinations started the evening after the meeting with the headmaster.
The family decided that I needed to get this crap out of my body faster. So here I am in the fire room.
I have no idea how high the heat is in here, but Leo said it was going to be the highest it can go, then the fucker added some flames in here to help me sweat the poison out even more.
Stone walls, furnace heat, no windows. One door that locks from the outside. The Messinas built it generations ago for punishment… or purification. Today, it feels like both. I’m soaked to the bone, shirtless, barefoot, every inch of me burning under the strain of fever and poison.
Blood slicks my tongue, sharp copper under a film of ash, like I’ve been chewing on the barrel of a gun.
Leo’s voice echoes in my head from hours ago: “You sweat it out, or it kills you. There’s no middle.”
So that’s what I’m doing. I sweat.
I pace. I scream. I throw my fists into the stone wall until blood replaces sweat on my knuckles.
The heat claws at my skin like punishment from the gods. It’s like sitting inside a furnace while my bones melt and blood thickens into tar. I rip my T-shirt off, hoping it will ease a little of the pain. It doesn’t, I can still feel the sweat dripping off me.
I have to say I think it’s working. I've not been vomiting today, but my energy is still low. Leo came in this morning and took a blood sample to see how much is left in my system.
It’s not just the cut that burns. It’s the memory of how scared she was for me. The way her hands shook trying to hold me together.
I close my eyes, and I see her face. Hear her laugh.
Feel again her fingers brushing against mine that first night on the cliff.
I see her on that edge; I see her being ripped from me again.
I feel it in my chest like an echo of a death that hasn’t happened yet.
Those were the hallucinations I was having, over and over again.
This poison’s taking over my mind, not just my body. It’s playing games with me, making me think she jumped, but she didn't. I saved her. I’m sure I saved her.
I need to get this shit out of my system; it’s making me start to double think everything.
“Better now?” a voice says from behind me, cold and calm.
I whip around.
A silhouette fills the doorway, heat clinging to him until it shapes into muscle and scars. Broad shoulders, skin inked like battle scripture. Every inch of him built for war.
Nico Alessi.
The Monster Beneath Your Bed. My grandmother’s nephew. Blood of the Hollow Coast.
People say he doesn't lose. Others say he doesn’t let you lose; he ends the fight before it’s even begun.
This is Santino's oldest brother. The brothers in this family have made a name for themselves. A fear which follows them too.
I wipe the sweat from my forehead, and from my eyes. “She didn't jump, did she?”
“No, she’s safe with your brothers. You’re alive,” he says, closing the door behind him with a steel thud. “Shame. I thought I’d get to bury you and save myself the trouble.”
I smirk. It hurts. “Don’t get sentimental on me.”
He tosses a bottle of water toward me. I miss it.
“My grandfather sent you?” I ask.
“No.” He cracks his neck. “I volunteered.” He watches me for a moment, then speaks again. “You think you’re ready to fight the Irish?” he asks, stepping into the middle of the fire room. “Because from what I hear, they’ve already taken pieces out of you. Poison. Blade. Psychological warfare.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“No. You’ll be dead. Unless we fix you.”
He crouches in front of me. His presence alone forces me to sit straighter.
“Well, I’m trying not to die,” I joke, which gets a chuckle from him.
He watches me as I lean on the wall trying not to fall, and he smiles. “I’ll train you,” he says, voice low and carved from stone. “If you live through this.”
I stare at him for a moment, wondering what new things he could teach me. Nico is a legend at this school, won the ring when he was here, which he still wears today on his thumb. I know his trials were different from mine, but the man won every single one, and no one got close to him.
Before I can say anything, he steps forward, and the first punch lands before I can blink. The sound of bone-on-bone ricochets off the walls.
I stagger, and he’s on me again. Fist to jaw. Elbow to ribs. Sweep to my knees. Fuck, he can move. I hit the floor hard enough to see stars.
“What the fuck—”
“You’re fighting like you want to be a martyr,” he says, circling me like a lion. “You want to die for that girl? Or you want to kill for her?” Now he's shouting at me.
I snarl. I still don't have the energy to fight. I’m still charging toward him, but he dodges me like I’m a child swinging blind in the dark.
I land one punch to his stomach, and he doesn't flinch, that’s how weak I am, because I know my punch can normally knock the air out of him.
Instead, he drives his forearm into my chest and slams me back into the wall.
Nico lives up to his name, the monster to fear.
“You’re going to war for a girl,” he growls. “Then fight like it.”
I lurch up, fury blooming like wildfire in my gut.
Aoife’s face flickers again behind my eyes. That fucking engagement contract. The words Termination Plan in gold ink. That poison. Her bloodline.
My fist connects with Nico’s chin.
He steps back and smiles. “That’s better.”
This man will continue this until I have nothing left in me, and still, he won’t stop, but if I’m going to learn anything new it’s from him.
“Again,” he says, as I choke down bile. “Because the Irish won’t stop. They’ll take her if they can’t break you.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I spit.
“Then show me I’m wrong,” he roars.
I do. Until my breath rattles like broken glass. Until I’m crawling across the floor, chest heaving, blind with sweat and fury.
When he finally lets me drop, he crouches next to me. His voice softens, just slightly.
“This is what it takes, Matteo. You want to live? You want to keep her?” He places his hand on my shoulder and even that feels like it weighs too much for me.
I nod, dizzy. Blood drips from my lip. My ribs ache. My arms tremble.
“Then be the rager they say you are.” He sits down, opening a few buttons of his shirt. “You’re a good fighter, even now you’re not one hundred percent, you still landed a punch on me,” he stops and laughs a little. “And that’s not easy.”
“I know, I’ve seen you fight.” I cough as the pain is there, and it’s not easy to talk. “Do you know the guy I’m fighting?”
“Never seen him, we’ve got someone watching him to see how he fights. From what I’ve heard he’s the size of fucking tank.” He looks around and again chuckles. “How’s the not smoking going in here?”
“Hard. Leo won’t even let me out to smoke. I’m ready to get out.” I lean my head back, hoping this is my last day in this hell. I miss my girl; I miss fucking fresh air.
“And when you’re out, I’ll meet you at training.” He stands up and pats my shoulder a few times, and I look when he starts laughing. “You’re already a fighter, let's show them why they should fear you.” With that, Nico leaves, and I sit there thinking about how I’m going to win this fight.
There is no way I can lose, not just for me, but for Aoife too.
Not sure how many times Leo has said the poison is gone.
But it’s not.
Not really.
It’s in my bones now, a reminder of the knife, the weakness. The one moment I let my guard down.
I wake up drenched in sweat, ribs aching, mouth dry, like I’ve swallowed gravel and sin. The fire room kept me alive, barely. I thought my skin would peel, sweat slicking my body until I didn’t know if I was melting or surviving.
And through it all, I saw her.
Aoife.
I know she tried to come to the room, but my brothers and Leo wouldn’t let her. So instead, she sat in the corridor with my family, getting updates whenever they would give them to her.
I’ve been training since the moment I came out. I need to win this; I need to train to the point I know I can’t lose.
She steps into the training room, her silhouette backlit by the small light on the wall. Bare feet. One of my old shirts draped over her thighs, and she leans on the wall with a small smile.
This will be the first time I’ve seen her since coming out of the fire room, and I look at the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.
I sit on the edge of the fight ring, back cracked and spine loose. “Hello, little lamb,” I croak.
She doesn’t answer, just crosses the room and brings herself between my legs, hands on my thighs, she leans her forehead on mine, and I take in her sexy scent.
Lemon. Honey. Sweet. My angel.
Her eyes scan my face like she’s trying to memorize the version of me that survived. “You're thinner.”
“You're softer,” I tease.
“You almost died.” Her voice breaks.
“I didn’t,” I say. “Because of you.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You stayed, your love kept me alive.” I kiss the side of her neck, holding her closer to me, keeping us in the silent moment for a while, not wanting to let her go.
The slamming of the training door opening to my right makes me pull away from her.
A shadow. Broad shoulders. Brown hair, and a stare to kill hits me.
Nico walks in like he’s checking if I’m alive or just something that needs burying. He nods once. No hello. No smile.
“You ready?”
I groan. “No.”
“Good,” he says, and drops his duffel bag on the floor. “I only train the ones who’ve lost something.” This man is so hard to read, nothing, his face is stone cold, his body is holding up tall, not letting anyone come close to him.
Aoife stands, brushing the hair from her face, takes a step closer to me when she gets a good look at Nico, and I press my lips together not wanting her to see I'm smiling at her fear of him.
“He…he’s training you?” Her voice is shaky, and it makes Nico chuckle to himself.
“He’s fighting for something bigger than a title,” Nico says, not looking at her. “He needs to learn how to break someone, not just beat them.”
I almost laugh, but it hurts too much. “You’re a ray of fucking sunshine.”
“Get up,” he snaps.
Aoife steps back as Nico tosses me hand wraps.
“I’m still healing, take it easy on me.”
“Don’t care,” Nico says.
So, I stand. Slowly. Shirtless, scarred, jaw tight, and get ready for a few hours of being in even more pain than I thought I was in.
We train in silence. Nico doesn’t hold back. Not for a second. Every punch lands like a threat. Every block stings like judgment.
“You want to fight for her?” he growls, slamming me into the wall. “Then fight like she’s already dead, and this is your one shot to show them they fucked with the wrong man,” Nico shouts, and the roar from him shakes something around me.
My ribs scream. My muscles lock. But I punch back. Swing hard, and when I finally drop to my knees, blood on my teeth, Nico crouches beside me.
“You don’t have to be the strongest man in the room,” he whispers. “You just have to be the last one standing.” He takes a step back, removing his hand wraps.
Aoife runs to me when Nico moves away from me, and presses ice to my jaw, wiping the sweat from my brow.
“I don’t like him,” she mutters.
“He’s the only one who understands what this fight is about.”
“For the ring?”
“No.” I look at her. “For you.”
“I will be back tonight, be ready. Get in a fucking ice bath, and you better make me bleed when we fight again.” He stops and turns to face me. “The energy you use is for the fight, don’t waste it fucking,” Nice shouts at me as he leaves, and I shake my head with a smile.
“Why the hell are you smiling?” Aoife asks, not happy about it.
“Because at the end of this, he’s going to make me untouchable.
” I lean in to give her a kiss. “Plus, he said no sex, I still have to eat.” She slaps my shoulder and I start laughing, pulling her in closer to me.
Even though it hurts, I don’t care, this is my moment with her, and no one is taking it from me.