Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
BIANCA
M y heart will forever bleed at the sight of what could have been.
I spot the young woman at the top of the steps before overhearing Brandon and Alejandra. I know they were talking about her because of the way she was bluntly staring at the future king with way too much familiarity in her gaze. I have witnessed plenty of girls shoot him and his brother’s heated glances, but hers was different. My assumption is proven correct.
I can’t help but feel my fist twitch while hearing those words from Brandon. His tone is sarcastic, but that doesn’t take away my urge to punch him in the throat for saying them. Instead, I choose to focus on how stunning the damn building is.
Brandon wasn’t kidding when he called this a colosseum. I’ve never seen one, but it looks like a giant open stadium with thousands of spectator seats. We climb a few floors until we reach a suite on the top level. When we walk in, we see Brandon's grandfather already seated inside .
The room is decked out in red drapes and elegant chairs. More extravagant than anything I’ve seen before. It is very unexpected compared to the rustic outside.
Alejandra and I take seats behind Brandon before the show begins. The lights dim as the drapes slowly open. Seven figures stand on the stage. The stage isn’t that big compared to the rest of the dirt circle on the center bottom. Thousands of rows of seats surround the dirt circle. The place seems packed with people from here. I expect to see a few people looking our way, but everyone seems too focused on the action down below to look anywhere else.
A short girl in a floor-length red dress steps forward from the line. My first thought is that she looks beautiful. Bright red hair glinting under the lights like flames frames her face. Her movements are delicate yet confident. With every step she takes, the diamonds decorating her gown shake like a chandelier around her. The stage lights reflect every sparkle on her pale skin.
“Who’s that?” I ask no one in particular.
“Janelle Duelo.” A guard next to me answers, the name falling from his lips with appreciation.
I am in awe until my stare settles into her eyes. The hardness there knows no fear. When she reaches the middle of the stage, the crowd grows even quieter than before. A single throat clearing carries across the entire room. The tension grows as she turns her back to us and lifts her face to the sky. The tumbling of drums begins from a slow and low rhythm to a loud, deafening beat. My heartbeat rises with the music. The anticipation of what is coming has my skin covered in goosebumps, making my body vibrate with energy.
I look around, intrigued at how focused everyone is on the main stage. My eyes linger on Jesse a bit longer. There’s something different about his gaze, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. He sits on a chair in the same suite, but to the side. His body language is so stiff, which is out of character for him. Both of his hands hang at his sides, clenched in hard fists.
Movement on the stage snaps my attention back to the show. In unison, the people in line begin to chant. Simultaneously, they all conjure small balls of fire in their hands. From this distance, any noise from them is nothing but a whisper.
The first person in line steps forward, sending their fireball ball flying toward the girl in the red dress. Her hand shoots up before it reaches her, stopping it mid-air. The ball of flames floats a foot away from her hair. A second person from the line walks forward and repeats the action. One by one, they send their fire flying to the girl. The bulging veins in her arms are the only sign that the entire scene has a strain on her.
Janelle stands there, lifting a flame three times her size with her bare hands. She holds it roughly a foot above her head. The flames seem wild and angry as they rush to escape the invisible containment. My eyes must be playing tricks on me because I swear I see animal faces in the flames. Without missing a beat of the drums, she raises it higher inch by inch. The ball rotates clockwise faster and faster until it resembles a tornado.
Janelle opens her arms wide, taking the shape of a cross. She doesn’t look away from the flames in the sky as she turns her body to the public. When the noise seems to reach its peak, it all dies at once.
As the beat drops, flames descend onto the stage as if gravity were switched back on. They sink swiftly, reminiscent of a lava waterfall. Every drop cascades over Janelle and drips over her skin like a goddess of fire.
“What the fuck?” I gasp.
I expect to hear a scream, perhaps some commotion. No one shows an ounce of emotion. I shake my head and glance back, not wanting to miss a single second of it.
Her skin doesn’t burn. It almost glows in the flames. Her dress dissolves under the heat, leaving behind a shiny silver bodysuit. She opens her arms wider and takes a deep breath. The flames dance around her. My eyes can’t believe what is happening. Not only do they not damage her, but it is almost as if they’re waiting for her. They surround her, vibrating with power, shielding her.
“No way,” Alejandra says.
I turn to look at her. Her stone-cold mask broke for a second. I stop myself from asking her what exactly she is so surprised by when I see it. The flames quickly take shape. The body of what could not be mistaken as anything but a snake. I didn’t see it earlier. The creature growls at the crowd angrily. It’s hot breath reaches even the high levels where we are. It moves, circulating Janelle as a giant defender, covering her on all sides.
My eyes meet Brandon's over his shoulder. His raised brow shows this also impressed him. A sour feeling takes root at the bottom of my stomach. It's more of a display of power than entertainment. The Duelo family is showing the King and Crown Prince what their biggest weapon can do.
The rest of the show includes more fireworks, amongst other abilities. Nothing close to the power Janelle showed the crowd. I’m not sure what the Duelo family is playing at, but my instincts tell me to be more on my guard than usual.
People pass food around the spectator seats while the royal families go to a private dining hall. There, we find the Duelo family among a few other companions.
Two men alongside Janelle stand as we approach the main table. Their black attire, from head to toe, resembles a uniform. They take a stand on the side of an older couple that can only be their parents. I can see the strong family resemblance from the shade of their red hair and freckles across their cheeks.
Janelle’s mother looks like no other royal woman I’ve seen before. Her skin is paper thin and fragile, borderline sickly. Her eyes remain downcast as her husband welcomes the King. The tight lines around her face look frozen.
I can’t help but compare her to her daughter. Did she once look like her?
Janelle stands straight with her head held high, radiating power and confidence. She has changed from her silver bodysuit to a similar black uniform to her brothers.
Soon after introductions, everyone splits into two tables to eat. I watch the Royal family and their three children take their place at a top table. Another unnamed man, who takes the seat at the edge, joins them. His eyes sneak peeks in our direction more than once through the meal.
S oon after, everyone says their goodbyes and exits the dining hall. We all spot Isabel walking down the hall alone on our way out. We wait for her to catch up with our group. Everyone traveling with King Oscuro leaves us in the empty hall. Jesse, Alejandra, Brandon, and I remain behind.
“Where is Lexi Blue?” I look behind Isabel, but she’s walking alone. It’s not normal for her to leave her sister anywhere untended.
“She is not done in the library.”
She gives everyone a polite smile, but her smile is tighter for Brandon. He must have asked Lexi to find something, and now her brain won’t let her rest until she finds it.
“I will go get her.” Brandon steps forward, but Isabel waves him off.
“No need. She actually found something.” Her eyes land on me momentarily before turning to Brandon. “If you wish to talk to check on her progress, you can go ahead. Two minds will think faster than one. I’m famished, so I’m going to get us food.”
We all watch her walk down the hall and disappear behind a door.
Brandon clears his throat, a glint of guilt in there. “I asked Lexi Blue how we could ask a demon general for a favor.” He scratches his head like he just now realized that was not the best idea.
“Why on earth would you need a demon general to grant you a favor?” I ask.
“You realized we must see what’s inside the cursed book after all?” Alejandra guesses.
They’ve been pondering the purpose of the cursed book for days. Very few written papers have given us a glimpse of what we find inside. The group has grown more frustrated as time passes, and they found nothing new.
Brandon’s eyes jump from me to her to his brother. “Yes, we also realized we can’t simply extract the souls from the book.”
This confession feels like a blow to my chest. An old wound bleeding again.
“We need five souls to open the book. There is no way around it.” Jesse’s words are careful of me.
They can’t extract Matias’ soul because they need it to open the book. A pull inside me tells me to run. Run as fast as I can and take that damn book. I’ll figure out how to return Matias’s soul and put it in his body. I’ll do it all by myself, if need be. Betrayal and hurt overflows my chest. I don’t know how long I’m looking at the floor processing this, but when my eyes meet Brandon’s, my heart stops. I see a plea to please trust in them.
“How is a demon general supposed to fix this?” I ask, vibrating with nerves.
“They collect souls. We need two.” He takes a step closer to me and whispers in my ear. “Breath. I made you a promise. I will not break it.”
“We wouldn’t let him break it,” Jesse says with humor. “How would that reflect on us?”
“We also wouldn’t sacrifice the soul of a young, na?ve boy,” Alejandra says, as if everyone has forgotten the most important reason.
Thank the Fates for her moral compass. I want to correct her that Matias is not a child, but I fear my voice will break.
“The real question is: why would a demon, more over a general, do us a favor?” Alejandra asks.
“Everyone has a price.” Jesse shrugs, like the answer is obvious. “We just need to find something it wants.”
We just need to find something it wants.
I let those words run through my mind as I turn in for the night. I have an early morning shift tomorrow.
I know from my time in Fierno that souls are incredibly valuable to demons. I worry about the cost of finding something they value. No matter what it is, I’ll get it. I will steal it if I have to. There is no limit to what I would do to regain my only family—even if it means selling my soul.