Chapter 49 Raffaele #2
Altair straightened, smoothing his robes with a calculated calm that failed to hide the tremor in his hands.
“Izo explained how his siren’s kiss had already taken hold of you, and it would only be a matter of time before your powers waned completely.
He said he’d take over your territory and combine both with the Crimson Dominion.
Two territories for the price of one. A far better deal than anything you could offer me. ”
“How dare you fucking betray me, Altair?” I spat. “We made a blood bond.”
He shrugged with an air of indifference. “I was concerned about the blood bond, but Izo assured me that once your powers waned completely, so would any bonds you’d made. The plan was to string you along until you could no longer fight us off.”
Izo’s laugh grated against my nerves, a hollow echo in the tense air. “Your father’s empire was built on blood magic, Raffaele. You knew that, didn’t you? Have you never wondered how he dismantled my father so swiftly?”
I tilted my head, my lips curling into a predatory smile. “Where do you think my father obtained that fucking blood magic, Izo?” I turned my gaze to Altair, whose composure cracked. “Are you na?ve enough to think that Altair played no role in the death of your father?”
Izo froze, confusion creasing his brow.
I knew I couldn’t kill the bastard myself with the blood bond we made, so I’d have to coax Izo into doing it for me.
The shift in the air was instantaneous. Izo’s fury ignited, and he turned on Altair with a roar. “You fed The Shadow’s family the very magic that destroyed mine?”
The crowd gasped as the alliance between them splintered before their eyes.
Altair backed up a step. “It’s not what you think—”
But Izo was already moving. With a speed that left no room for argument, he lunged at Altair, ripping the bloodstone pendant from around his neck. Altair’s protests turned to panicked gasps as Izo crushed the pendant beneath his heel, shards scattering across the arena floor.
“No!” Altair shouted, but he was cut off as Izo grabbed the discarded blue blade—the one Vivian had wielded—and drove it into Altair’s chest.
The arena erupted into chaos. Gasps and cries filled the air as Altair crumpled, blood pooling around him. Izo turned back toward me, his expression twisted with fury and triumph.
“Now,” he hissed, brandishing the blade, “let’s finish this.”
I stepped forward, my magic swirling around me, stronger than ever.
“You made a mistake betraying me, Izo,” I growled.
Izo unleashed the full force of his power, water rising like serpents around him, crashing toward me in waves. But my shadows met him head-on, slicing through his attacks with precision and fury. He was no match for me.
“You stole my wife,” I snarled, dodging a spike of water that narrowly missed my head.
“And I’ll take everything else you hold dear,” Izo spat back, summoning whirlpools at my feet.
I leapt forward, slamming my fist into his jaw.
The force sent Izo reeling, his balance faltering for the briefest moment before he retaliated.
A wall of water rose with a deafening roar, slamming into my chest and propelling me backward across the arena floor.
Pain lanced through my ribs as I skidded to a stop, but I didn’t stay down.
I surged to my feet, my shadows coiling around me like armor.
The crowd’s cries faded into the background, their bloodlust now mingled with fear and confusion as the arena became a battlefield of elemental fury.
Every strike and counterstrike between us carried the weight of years of hatred and grief.
My shadows lashed out, wrapping around Izo’s legs and yanking him down, his face twisting in rage.
He countered just as quickly, water exploding outward and sending me flying backward again.
“Guards,” Izo bellowed, his voice cracking with desperation. The call echoed across the arena, summoning the reinforcements he so clearly relied on.
I shot a glance toward the edges of the arena, where more Ashen guards began to converge, their iridescent armor shimmering as they rushed toward us.
“Luca!” I roared, my shadows surging as I pointed toward the perimeter.
Luca’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade. “On it!”
He extended his arms, his own shadows erupting outward, crawling up the dome of the arena. The translucent barrier, once a shimmering blue from Izo’s power, now darkened as Luca’s shadows intertwined with it, sealing the arena completely.
The guards slammed against the reinforced dome, their weapons useless as they clawed and hammered at the barrier. Shouts of confusion and anger rang out as they realized they couldn’t penetrate it.
“No one’s coming to save you now,” I snarled at Izo.
His silver eyes darted toward the trapped guards, then back to me. For the first time, I saw true fear in his expression, the smug confidence crumbling.
“You think this changes anything?” Izo spat, his tone sharp but wavering. He raised his hands, the water around him surging once more, coiling into serpentine shapes that lashed out with precision and force.
I dodged the first strike, countering with a wall of shadows that dissipated the water with a violent hiss.
“You’re out of tricks, Izo,” I growled, advancing on him. My shadows lashed out like whips, slicing through the air as I forced him to retreat step by step.
Izo gritted his teeth, sweat glistening on his brow as he struggled to hold his ground. “You think you’ve won? You’re still just your father’s shadow, clinging to his power, his legacy—”
“I am not my father,” I interrupted.
“You’re losing, Shadow,” he taunted, his voice laced with venom.
But I wasn’t losing. My power surged with every second, my connection to Vivian strengthening my resolve.
I could feel her heartbeat, steady and strong, grounding me even as I fought.
Izo’s movements grew more desperate, his attacks wild and uncoordinated.
I dodged another blast of water and closed the distance between us, my shadows pinning him to the ground.
“This ends now,” I said.
I raised my hand for the killing blow, shadows coiling around my fingers, ready to strike. But Izo’s desperate voice cut through the chaos, strained but cunning.
“You think killing me will solve your problems?” he rasped, blood dripping from his mouth.
“Fine. Do it. But know this—without me, you’ll never take the Crimson Dominion.
Altair’s people won’t bow to you. They’ll scatter, taking their secrets and power with them.
You’ll spend years fighting them, weakening your empire, and the other lords will pick you apart like vultures.
You will never get whatever you seek there. Not without me.”
I hesitated, my hand hovering in the air.
“You need me,” Izo continued, his tone sharpening. “I’ve spent decades earning their trust, building relationships. I can deliver the Crimson Dominion to you, intact and loyal. Kill me, and you’ll lose everything. Use me, and it’s all yours.”
The crowd’s murmurs grew louder, but I tuned them out, my focus entirely on Izo.
“Power or vengeance?” he said. “What’s it going to be?”
I stared at him, my shadows retreating slightly as I weighed his words.
He was right—I hated that he was fucking right.
But this wasn’t about pride. It was about survival, about securing a future for me, for Vivian, for the empire I’d fought so hard to protect. About finding a way to kill my father.
And the Crimson Dominion would provide me with blood magic, dark alchemy, arcane rituals.
All of that would be under my authority.
And perhaps I could use them to put an end to my father and permanently rid myself of his tyrannical reign.
Killing my father had always been at the forefront of my decision-making, but with Vivian now implicated, it had become infinitely more important.
Maybe Izo was right. But the bastard would regret this.
I’d get what I wanted, and then I would make his life a living hell.
“Why can’t I have both?” I asked coldly.
I extended my hand, shadows slithering out to bind him.
He grimaced and cried out in pain as they wrapped around his arm, burning a mark into his skin—a black tattoo spiraling up his arm, binding him to me.
The tattoo quickly inched up the length of his arm and wrapped around his throat. Izo let out a strangled gasp.
“You’re mine now,” I said, my voice low and dangerous.
“You’ll run your territory under my rule.
No defiance, no betrayal, or you’ll wish I killed you today.
Oh, and one more thing. You’ll no longer have the ability to use your siren song.
And if you choose to try, you will not enjoy the consequences.
No one else will suffer under your influence. ”
Izo nodded, his face pale with pain and submission.
“Good,” I said, turning away from him. “Call off your dogs. We’re leaving.”
He didn’t speak, and that silence was the first sign of his full understanding.
As I walked back toward Vivian, my mind was already turning over the future—how to use Izo, how to secure what was ours, and how to ensure this never happened again.