Chapter 19 #3
“That does it. Cirian Findlay, I will stand for your slander of the Reviled no longer. We will settle this in the most human way of all.”
“Surely these fine people don’t want to watch us fuck, Bastien. That would be uncouth.”
“I mean a fight to the death,” Bastien corrected me, doing well to keep his reaction to my absurdity at a twitch of the mouth.
“Vengeance, I would ask that before we continue our discussion, you allow me the chance to extract my own retribution against the man who has caused me nothing but suffering.”
My chest twinged at that, but I reminded myself that this was nothing more than a ruse. A distraction that would allow us a chance at escape, of that I was certain.
Vengeance didn’t respond right away, the ichor from its face receding back into the familiar shape of Wilhelm, and her golden eyes on display once more.
“You are bound to this man,” Vengeance said slowly, their voice receding back into Wilhelm’s dulcet tones. “Yet you say you wish to kill him?”
“The line between love and hate is fine and fragile. Welcome to humanity.”
Vengeance smiled at that, a throaty laugh bubbling up. “Pour out your retribution, Bastien. I wish to see it flow.”
Bastien nodded, turning back to face me. The tether between remained as visible as ever, and as he squared up a few feet away, I mirrored his stance.
“What now?” I asked down the line.
“Make it look real. I have a plan.”
Wilhelm motioned for the guard to encircle us, lining the edges of the room and blocking any easy access to the exit. Once their heavy steps had fallen silent, Bastien sprang into action.
Having sparred with Bastien on several occasions, it was not exactly an easy task to pretend I found his combat skills anything other than adorable.
He swung blindly at me, and I ducked out of the way with ease, shuffling around him and giving him a shove to throw him off balance.
He crashed into the countertop, sending a cluster of phials rolling across the surface.
As he recovered, I caught a quick glimpse of him pocketing one of the ingredients before he turned on me again.
That was his plan. He was going to cook something up with the time that we’d allotted ourselves. I had to hand it to him—it was a bold idea. Whether or not it would work depended entirely on our ability to sell it.
So, I needed to sell it.
Rushing him in a blur of motion, I held my arm out straight at my side, colliding with his gut and lifting him off the ground before slamming him back onto the countertop. Glass rattled as ingredients went flying in different directions.
“Too convincing,” he whinged in my head.
“Sorry, love. You can hit me next if you’d like.”
He returned the blow with an uppercut to my jaw that barely connected, but I reeled like I’d been struck by a prizefighter, stumbling back and clutching my jaw.
Bastien heaved himself off the countertop, running at me headfirst and tackling me to the ground.
We rolled over one another, hands grabbing for purchase, feet digging into tender flesh, till finally we rolled under the counter, obscuring us from half of the onlookers.
Grunting and dodging each other’s haymakers, Bastien quickly combined a handful of ingredients into a glass bottle, shaking it vigorously as he chanted under his breath.
The contents began to expand, turning a bright orange.
He handed it to me, eyes of gold locked onto me with a determination I knew would see us through.
“You’re the better actor. We’ve got about thirty seconds. Aim for the wall.”
He rolled out into the open then, clambering to his feet. I tucked the bottle into my pocket, pulling myself free of the cover.
It was time to give them a show.
“You never loved me,” I said to Bastien, pulling up my sleeves to the elbow. “Admit it. Every kiss was a lie planted across my lips.”
Bastien softened at that, his golden eyes melting to pools of honey as he stepped closer, his arms falling to his side.
Vengeance watched us with muddled curiosity, arms folded across their chest.
“That’s the worst part of all this, Cirian,” Bastien replied, droplets of moisture forming at the edges of his thick lashes. “I loved you too deeply. And now there’s no way to carve it out. I’ll have to carry it with me the rest of my days.”
The words evaporated from my tongue, stolen by this beautiful man before me.
I wondered if there was any truth in what he said, or if this was all another layer of ruse.
What if I replied in kind? Would he be able to see that there wasn’t an ounce of falsehood in my eyes when I told him I loved him?
The bottle in my pocket began to vibrate.
Without time for another word, I revealed the shaking glass vessel, the outside hot to the touch.
Glancing over Bastien’s shoulder, I hurled it as hard as I could at the wall behind him.
Vengeance shouted something to the guards, but it was drowned out as an explosion rocked the room, the blast force knocking me off my feet in a flash of light.
Debris rained down from the ceiling as I tried to regain my bearings.
Something seized the back of my shirt, hoisting me to my feet.
Bastien yelled something I could hear over the ringing in my ears, a flash of emerald light colliding with two disoriented guards, knocking them out of the way.
The wall where the bottle had struck was gone, and an opening into the library’s central atrium was revealed through shattered stone.