Chapter 23 Marcellious #2
The vase exploded against the wall, shards flying like tiny daggers.
Some landed in my hair, but I didn’t dare move.
Tristan flinched, his body curling inward, but he forced himself to speak.
“Yes, Dad. Alexander lives.” His voice wavered, but bitterness edged in as he pressed on.
“He grabbed me in a 21st-century bar, beat the shit out of me based on what some old hag told him—” He shot me a resentful glare.
“—then forced me to time travel with him. We ended up here, at some count’s home. Count Montego.”
Balthazar stilled.
For a brief moment, his expression was unreadable.
Then—
Rage detonated.
“That’s impossible!” he bellowed.
His fist closed around a marble sculpture from the mantel—
And he hurled it with such force that when it collided with the wall, the entire structure cracked and collapsed, leaving a gaping hole.
Dust billowed, the air thick with destruction.
Balthazar’s chest rose and fell, his power thrumming through the room like an approaching earthquake.
“WHERE’S MY MAID?” His voice boomed, reverberating through the house. “BARTOLOMEA, GET IN HERE!”
A small woman scurried out from the back of the house, wringing her hands. She curtsied deeply, her head so low she nearly folded in half.
“H-how may I s-serve you, my lord?” she stammered.
Balthazar’s eyes flashed as he pointed toward the wreckage. “Clean up that mess!” Then, his lip curled as his gaze flicked to Tristan. “And clean up him. He’s a disgrace. I can hardly stand to look at him.”
“At once, my lord,” the maid whispered, ducking her head even lower before fluttering away like a frightened bird.
She returned within seconds, her hands shaking as she dabbed at Tristan’s bloodied face, her breath shallow, rapid.
I could see it—
She was terrified of him.
Everyone was.
And for good reason.
Balthazar’s laughter erupted, wild and deranged, as he threw his arms wide.
“No one stands a chance against me,” he declared, his voice thick with arrogance, madness dripping from every word.
“I am the most powerful man in the world.”
Then, his eyes darkened, his expression contorting into something unnatural.
“I will get the Sun Dagger back and bring Alina back to life.”
My stomach turned.
Balthazar’s hands lifted skyward, his laughter climbing into something chilling, unnatural, inhuman.
“She will be my queen!” he howled.
“We will rule the world together!”
I watched him, jaw clenched, stomach churning with disgust.
He was completely fucking insane.
A total lunatic.
To think he could bring someone back from the dead?
Porcelain fragments clattered into the wooden bucket as the maid silently cleaned the wreckage. She worked swiftly and efficiently as she scrubbed the floor, her breath barely more than a whisper.
When she finished, she rose to her feet and bowed low, keeping her gaze fixed on the ground.
“Will that be all, my lord?” she asked softly.
The room stilled.
Balthazar’s head snapped toward her like a predator locking onto prey.
“What did you say?” he hissed.
Her eyes widened, fear pooling in their depths.
“I—I only meant… will that be all?” she stuttered, her voice quaking.
She shouldn’t have said it.
I knew it.
She knew it.
But it was too late.
In a blur of motion, Balthazar appeared before her, his hand flashing out—
And snapping her neck.
The sickening crack echoed through the chamber.
She collapsed instantly, her body crumpling like a discarded marionette.
A silvery mist—her soul?—spiraled from the crown of her head, curling into the air like a wisp of smoke and sorrow.
Balthazar tipped his head back, inhaling deeply—
And the silver stream shot straight up his nose.
He let out a satisfied “Ahh.”
I stared, horrified, revolted.
My stomach clenched, bile rising in my throat.
That was her.
He had just devoured her soul.
Balthazar clasped his hands behind his back, pacing with a casual arrogance that made my skin crawl.
“That Malik,” he muttered, disdainfully, “he’s the one plotting and scheming. He has Emily, Olivia, and Roman—and he thinks he’s winning.”
He let out a low chuckle, dark and vicious.
“Well, guess what?” Balthazar sneered.
“He hasn’t won.” His eyes flashed with something unholy. “He’ll never win.”
His fists clenched at his sides, his power crackling in the air like static before a storm.
“I shall reign victorious!”
Silence hung thick and suffocating.
Tristan’s shivering form caught my attention.
His shoulders hunched, his arms wrapped around himself, like a child trying to ward off the cold.
He swallowed hard, then mustered the courage to ask, “W-what do we do now?”
I shot him a disgusted glance.
“Why do you think I have the answer?” I hissed.
I didn’t know Tristan, but he reeked of weakness. He was a spoiled child, unworthy of the blood running through his veins.
Balthazar’s presence shifted.
A heartbeat later, he was standing before us.
I jerked back, blinking—
A moment ago, he had been across the room.
Now, he was right in front of me.
My blood turned to ice.
Balthazar’s face twisted into a wicked sneer, his eyes shimmering with cruelty.
“What are you whispering about?” he asked.
“Are you plotting?” His smile widened into something inhuman, his canines glinting in the dim light.
Then, in a blur, his hand fisted my lapels—
And hauled me into the air like I weighed nothing at all.
I hung there, my body suspended like a ragdoll, my breath tight in my throat.
Terror coiled around my ribs, but I forced myself to stay alert.
Balthazar’s grip tightened, his fingers like an iron vice around my collar.
“You’ve disappointed me, my boy.” His voice was a low, menacing growl, vibrating through my bones. “You should have gone to the masquerade and found the Sun Dagger.”
He shook me violently, and my head snapped forward and back, my vision blurring from the force.
“But instead,” he sneered, “you stayed home like a wailing, whimpering bitch.” With a scoff, he shoved me away, finally releasing me.
The words cut deep, but I kept my expression blank, refusing to give him the satisfaction.
Balthazar began to pace, a caged predator radiating fury with every taut, deliberate step.
“I don’t know if the dagger is still trapped in the rubble.”
Rubble?
What the fuck happened tonight?
Before I could dwell on it, he released me, and I collapsed backward, landing in a heap on the cold stone floor.
I coughed, dragging air into my bruised lungs, but I knew better than to stay down too long.
Balthazar loomed over me, his shadow stretching across the room.
“I hope you’re loyal,” he murmured, his voice thick with warning. “Otherwise, you’ll see the worst of me.”
I swallowed hard.
“Here’s what you’re going to do for me.”
I forced myself upright, tugging down my crumpled shirt to smooth my disheveled appearance.
“Anything, my lord.” My voice came out controlled. “Name it, and I’ll do it.” I bowed my head, the perfect picture of obedience. “I am eternally loyal to you, Master.”
Balthazar’s lips curled, his sharp teeth flashing in the dim firelight.
“Good. Good.”
He paced, muttering under his breath, his hands twitching like he was pulling invisible strings.
Then, in a loud, commanding voice, he declared, “You will bring me Roman and Malik.”
The air in the room shifted, darkening, thickening as if the walls recoiled at his words.
“Find them,” he ordered. “I shall kill them, and you shall watch.”
Fuck that idea.
“Of course, my lord,” I said, masking my revulsion. “I live to serve.”
Balthazar’s gaze flicked to Tristan, who had been sinking into the couch like a frightened child.
“Why can’t you find them yourself, Dad?” Tristan’s voice trembled, barely above a whisper. “You can find anyone.”
Balthazar whirled on him, his power crackling in the air.
“Shut the fuck up!” His roar shook the walls, making Tristan flinch.
But Tristan—either too stupid or too desperate—pressed on.
“But Roman’s at this Count Montego fellow’s home,” he blurted. “You can find him there.”
Balthazar’s eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring like a bull.
“The count will know nothing about Malik,” he spat. “Malik hides from everyone.”
He waved his hand dismissively as if Malik’s very existence was irritating.
I sighed, exhausted from this insufferable tirade.
“He might,” I said carefully, testing the waters. “You can send Tristan to find them—bring them here. Then we can all catch up.”
Before I could react, Balthazar was on me.
One moment, he stood across the room—
The next, he had me by the throat again, slamming me into the wall with bone-rattling force.
I choked, my head snapping against the stone.
“I will not tolerate your ill regard toward my son,” he snarled, his breath hot against my face.
His hands tightened, my feet barely scraping the floor.
I saw black spots, my lungs screaming for air.
Then, his voice dropped, chillingly soft, terrifyingly lethal.
“Go. Get them.” His crimson eyes gleamed, filled with something vile, insatiable.
“Bring them to me.”
His grip tightened once more, my bones grinding beneath his strength.
“Do you understand me?”
I couldn’t help the violent tremor that racked my body.
I was going to die if I defied him.
I forced myself to nod, my throat burning from lack of air.
“Yes, Master.” My voice shook, barely a whisper.
“I apologize,” I rasped.
“I will find them at once.”
Balthazar released me, and I slid down the wall, my boots hitting the floor with a thud.
For a brief second, I just stayed there, gulping in ragged breaths, my lungs burning, my ribs aching.
Then—
I scrambled to my feet and bolted for the door.
I burst into the night, my heart pounding, my thoughts a whirlwind of panic.
I had to get away from Balthazar—
I just had to.
But I knew the truth.
He would hunt me down.
He would find me.
And he would kill me.
The thought haunted my mind, but I pushed it aside, sprinting toward the stables. I grabbed the nearest horse, swung into the saddle, and kicked hard.