Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Alice
“Wake up, witch.”
An evil voice slithered through the fog clogging my brain.
My eyes fluttered open. Everything was a blur—shadows and shapes that refused to sharpen. Cruel blue eyes stared into mine through a sea of darkness. Someone was pinching my cheeks hard enough to bruise.
Cold air rushed over me, biting into my skin, making me feel like I would never feel warm again. Gooseflesh prickled down my arms. I inhaled dampness, mold, and something else that reeked of dark magic and decay.
He patted my cheek. Hard. “Wake up.”
Chains clanked next to me. “Leave her alone, you bastard.”
Darius. His voice was raw. Desperate.
I blinked, gasping as the world came into focus.
This wasn’t the cavern.
It was some place much, much worse.
Stone walls glistened with moisture. The stench of rot and suffering hung thick in the air. My arms were strapped high above my head, chains biting into my wrists, and I dangled like a puppet with cut strings.
Ari’s face was inches from mine, his superior smile begging to be knocked off. A tremor ran through me. Looking into those icy-blue eyes was like staring at Satan himself—if Satan wore a man bun and reeked of expensive cologne.
“Alice.” Darius’ voice came from somewhere to my left, tight with fear. “Alice, are you all right?”
I turned my head, searching for him. He was chained to the wall, his wrists bound above his head just like mine. Blood trickled from a cut on his temple. His silver eyes burned with fury—and something else. Terror. For me.
But I wasn't the one bleeding. I wasn't the one chained to a dungeon wall again. My fear sharpened, twisted, turned toward him. What had they done to him? What were they going to do?
I pulled against my restraints, the chains rattling. “How did we get here? I don’t remember anything.”
“You weren’t supposed to,” a female voice purred.
The click of heels echoed through the chamber. Slow. Deliberate. Each step designed to make you wait. To make you fear.
A woman emerged from the shadows. Dark hair coiled into an elaborate braid atop her head. A diamond tiara caught what little light existed in this hellhole, glittering like ice. Her gown was blood red, sweeping the filthy stone floor as if the dirt wouldn’t dare touch her.
But it was her face that stilled my blood. Beautiful. Porcelain perfect. And utterly without mercy.
I knew who she was.
She stopped in front of me and placed a hand on her chest, her crimson lips curving into a mocking smile. Her blue eyes—deadly as a viper’s—raked over me with thinly veiled disgust.
“Let me introduce myself.” Her voice was silk wrapped around a blade. “I am Queen Alanna of the House of Cormac.” She spread her arms wide, as if presenting a gift. “Welcome to Cormac Castle.”
Joy had described her perfectly. The cruelty. The beauty. The monstrosity.
And now I was her prisoner.
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you want?”
She lifted my chin with long fingers. I jerked my head away, glaring.
“For you to use your power to serve me.”
“Never.” My hair flew into my face, but I didn’t care.
My magic was drained but not gone. If I could buy enough time, gather just a little more strength, maybe I could stop time long enough to—what? I didn't know. But I wasn't giving up.
Alanna tilted her head, studying me like I was a mildly interesting insect. “What fire she possesses.” She glanced over her shoulder at Darius. “I can see why you’re enamored with her.”
Darius pulled against his chains, the metal clanking. “Leave her alone, Alanna.” His voice was low. Dangerous. “I swear, if you hurt her—”
She laughed—a bitter, brittle sound. “You’ll what?”
“I’ll fucking kill you.”
The laughter died. Alanna turned to face him fully, her eyes narrowing to slits. Her beautiful face twisted into something ugly—pure, venomous hatred. “You dare to threaten your queen?”
I bit my lip to keep from screaming at her. Anything I said would only make it worse for him.
Darius pulled on his chains like a madman, the metal scraping against the stone. “You’re not my queen.”
“Says you.” Alanna’s voice was ice. “You should know what happens to people who defy me, Darius.”
“I don’t care what you do to me.”
“Oh, I’d never hurt you.” Her gaze slid to me, and a barbaric smile curved her lips. “But she’s another matter.”
My stomach dropped.
Alanna walked to the far wall, her heels clicking against the stone. She reached up and pulled something from a hook—a wooden rattan cane, long and thin and terrifyingly familiar.
Joy. They’d whipped Joy brutally. Left her back in ribbons.
The blood drained from my face. My legs shook so violently I could barely stand. I reached for my power—desperate, frantic—but pain rippled through me like fracturing ice, and I cried out.
“Untie her, Ari.”
Ari’s hands were on me before I could react. No. No. I thrashed against his grip, skin crawling where he touched me. I drew on my magic again, pushing through the agony, but more pain pulsed through my body, stealing my breath.
“Don’t bother.” Ari twisted my arm behind my back, his breath hot against my ear. “You’re wearing binding bracelets. You can’t break free.”
No. No, no, no.
“Alanna, don’t.” Darius’ voice cracked. The fury was gone, replaced by desperation. Fear. “Please. I’m begging you.”
Ari dragged me across the chamber, and I fought him every step—digging my heels in, twisting, clawing at his grip. It didn’t matter.
He hauled me toward what looked like a metal barrel, cold and rusted. He shoved me against it, bending me over the curved surface, and strapped me down. The restraints bit into my wrists, cutting off circulation.
All I could see was the floor. Stained. Rust colored. Except it wasn’t rust, was it? Oh god. My blood would soon mingle with the rest.
Tears welled in my eyes. I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want to give Alanna or Ari the satisfaction. But this was going to be bad.
“Strip her down,” Alanna ordered.
Ari jerked up my tunic and yanked down my tights. I shivered violently, exposed and humiliated.
Please let me pass out. Please let this be a nightmare. I’ll wake up in Darius’ arms and none of this will be real.
“You bitch,” Darius snarled. “I’ll kill you for this. I swear to god, I’ll kill you.”
I heard the cane whistle through the air.
The first blow crashed across my back.
Burning agony exploded through me, knocking the breath from my lungs. I couldn’t scream. Couldn’t think. My vision went white at the edges.
I gritted my teeth, trying to bite back the scream clawing up my throat. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. I wouldn’t.
The second blow landed. Fire ripped across my skin.
The third. My fingers curled against the barrel, nails scraping rust.
The fourth.
A scream tore out of me, raw and animal. Something cracked. Ribs. One, maybe two. Agony ripped through my entire body, fiery and relentless.
I coughed, and blood splattered onto the floor beneath me. My blood. Joining all the others who had suffered here before me. The thought should have broken me. Instead, something stubborn and furious dug its claws in. I wasn't done yet.
Pass out. Just pass out.
“Stop!” Darius’ voice broke. “Please, Alanna. I’ll do anything. Please.”
Every plea from Darius' mouth cut deeper than the pain. Stop. Please stop. Don't give her anything for me. I wouldn't beg. I refused to beg. But watching him do it was destroying me.
But Alanna didn’t stop.
The cane whistled again and crashed across my buttocks. Another scream ripped from my throat before I could stop it. Tears streamed down my face, mixing with the blood and grime on the floor.
Black dots swirled at the edges of my vision. The world tilted. Sounds grew distant—Darius shouting, chains rattling, Alanna’s cold laughter.
Please. Let me pass out. Let me escape this.
The cane fell again and again, each blow stealing another piece of me. My back. My thighs. My buttocks. Everywhere was fire and agony and the wet sound of skin splitting.
Death was coming. I could taste it—copper, bitter, alone.
My legs gave out completely. The only thing holding me up were the restraints cutting into my wrists. I coughed, and more blood splattered onto the floor—too much blood. Something was broken inside me. Something important.
“Alanna, stop.” Darius’ voice was barely recognizable. Raw. Destroyed. “Damn it, stop. You’re fucking killing her!”
Through the tangled strands of my hair, I could just make out Darius. My heart cracked. I'd just found him. We'd just found each other. And now I was going to die in front of him.
He’d stopped fighting the chains.
He was sagging against the wall, his wrists shredded and bleeding, his chest heaving. And his face…
He was crying.
Darius—my fierce, proud, unbreakable Darius—had tears streaming down his cheeks.
“Who is your queen?” Alanna’s voice was calm. Almost bored. As if she hadn’t just beaten me within an inch of my life.
Silence.
The cane whistled through the air again. I braced for impact.
“You are.”
The words were barely a whisper. Broken. Defeated.
The bitch. This was her idea of love?
“I didn’t hear you.” Alanna’s voice dripped with cruel satisfaction.
“You are.” Darius’ voice cracked. “You’re my queen. Just... stop. Please. I’m begging you. Stop.”
I sobbed—not from the pain, but from hearing him break.
From knowing he’d surrendered everything to save me.
No one had ever… I didn't want to finish the thought.
No one had ever loved me enough to destroy themselves for me.
And I didn't know whether that made me the luckiest person alive or the most wretched.
“There now,” Alanna purred. “That wasn’t so difficult, was it?”
She truly was an evil bitch.
“No, Darius.” Each word cost me. “Don’t give in.”
“Shut up.” Alanna hit me again, and lightning shot up my spine. Then she crouched down and dangled a black pocket watch in front of my face, its surface swirling with dark magic.
“Sistere.”
The word wrapped around me like a shroud. My eyelids grew impossibly heavy. The pain began to fade—not healing, just... disappearing. Like it was happening to someone else.
The world faded. Everything faded into blessed, black oblivion.
For now.