The bond was gone. Kalen had been killed. Matthew was dead. I was alone.
The look on Matthew’s face, his severed head in front of me, was one of pure pain and longing. As if I was the last thing that had crossed his mind before they had tortured him. As if he had known that with his death, I would give up. The hope for the future, of the life we would have shared together, slipped away as quickly as it had come to be.
Suddenly, I was so very, very alone in this world, and I felt every ounce of that loneliness sliding into my soul.
“Haven’t you given her a power suppressant today?” Orion screamed, attempting to push through the swirling vortex to get to me.
“Of course, I did! We do it every morning before the procedures. I don’t know what this is,” he screamed back as I threw both of them back into the wall. His eyes giving away the hint of fear that he was feeling.
But by the time I was done with them, they would be begging for mercy beneath me, though they would receive none. Not from me, and not from anyone in my command. I would ensure that the acts of betrayal they had committed against crown and kingdom would rain down from the skies and return to them tenfold.
My throat stung from the crude sound that had left my body, but now all I could see was red. Pure, unbridled anger. And it was aimed at the two people standing in front of me. I rose to my feet, yanking the chains out of the wall. They snapped at the base, throwing a chunk of stone towards Orion.
Unfortunately, he deflected at the last minute before too much damage had occurred, but the small gash on his arm gave me a glimmer of satisfaction.
“What’re you going to do, girl?” he sneered, baring his teeth at me. “Are you upset I killed your plaything? Let me tell you something, he begged for mercy like the little bitch he was. And now? Now he’s nothing. Just a headless corpse who will soon be food for the pigs. That’s all he’ll ever be. No one will remember his name. No one will know he exists. Same for his little friend, too. Both were pathetic excuses for soldiers. For men,” he spat.
Now that the person I loved was dead, I had nothing holding me back and nothing to lose. If I died here and now, it would only ruin whatever plans Orion had. I didn’t fear death. When you’ve seen as much of it as I have, it stopped having that effect on you. And with Matthew gone…
I wasn’t aware that the winds had died down until a pair of thick cuffs had been latched onto my wrists, my power immediately zapping out and draining from my body. It was as if Matthew’s death had sent a surge of adrenaline through me, burning out the power suppressant entirely. But now, it was gone. I’d been defeated.
His death had been exactly what Orion and Damien had wanted. They wanted me weak and malleable. In this condition, feeling not only the loss of Matthew but of the bond as well, I was so incredibly grief-stricken that the fight that was in me just before had burned out.
My knees gave way and hit the ground, my body sagging in exhaustion as the tears flowed freely down my face. I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything at all. It was over. I had no fight left.
My captors stared down at me, both with expressions of satisfaction on their faces. Although, for just a second, I thought I might have seen panic flash on Damien’s face before going back to the hardness he’d been wearing before.
He bent down, wiping the tears away from my eyes before gripping my chin between his fingers and tilting my head up to look at him. “Your tears are so beautiful, Eva. I just wish they were for me.” He tilted his head to the side slightly. “But don’t worry… I’ll make it better. You’ll forget about him in time, and you’ll realize that it’s always beenme.” I felt his body lean closer to me, but I didn’t have the strength to turn away as his lips softly caressed my cheeks.
I felt sick. Utterly and completely sick.
Orion grabbed his shoulder, pulling him backwards toward him. “Alright, enough of this shit. We’ve got deaths to celebrate!” With that, he grabbed the two heads, perching them on top of a wooden table so I would have no choice but to feel their empty stares on me as I curled up in the darkness. They left quickly, the raucous laughter signaling their departure.
I didn’t hold back the tears, screaming out as they fell. I heard the slight movement of a door and felt strong arms wrap around me. I looked up into the eyes of my comforter.
“Oh, Eva… I’m so fucking sorry.” Luka kissed the top of my head, holding my body tightly to his. I clung to his tunic, as if this small act of affection could stop the pain flowing through my body. “I swear to you, I’ll help you in any way that I can. I’m trying, Eva. I’m trying to get you out of here, but…” His voice trailed off, though I knew what he was going to say.
With the control that both Damien and Orion had, it would be damn near impossible to get away. The only other option was to fight, but I didn’t have the strength at the moment and neither did Luka. He was tortured right alongside me most days. Our pain was a version of entertainment for those twisted fucks.
“He’s gone. Kalen… Matthew…” My voice broke, bringing with it a new barrage of tears. “Matthew’s gone. I couldn’t feel the bond anymore, but I thought… I thought maybe…”
Luka hugged me tighter to his chest, rocking me slightly as I sobbed onto his tunic. “We’ll avenge him, Eva. I promise you that.”
And there, in the corner of a dark and dingy dungeon, I became so utterly and completely broken. Every ounce of fight I had left was gone, and without Matthew… I wanted to die.
Suddenly, it all made sense. I could see why mates chose the path of following their deceased mate to the heavens. And Matthew, he was the reason I had to live. He was the air in my lungs giving me life. Without him, there was nothing. I was nothing. And I had no reason to go on. The solution to my problem hung in the air, begging me to grab ahold of it.
Taking my life would solve more problems than it would create, and it would end the absolute fucking despair that was clawing at my chest, begging to be let out.
I lunged forward, pushing Luka out of the way to reach for a jagged rock that was sharp enough to draw blood, but dull enough that this was still going to hurt like a bitch. My hand closed around the base, but before I had a chance to plunge it into my skin, Luka knocked it out of reach. I watched as my only chance to end the agony skittered away.
“No!” I screamed, thrashing against my chains like a women possessed.
I felt hands grip the sides of my face, but I couldn’t see or think about anything other than that jagged rock that had the means to be both my salvation and my damnation.
“Eva! Fuck. Eva, look at me please,” Luka pleaded. I heard the determination in his voice. The determination to save me, but I was too far gone. I wouldn’t live in a world without Matthew, I refused. He was everything good that I knew. In such a short time, he’d shown me what life could be like together. The happiness two people could know, the future they could have. But that was gone.
Orion had inadvertently sealed my fate with Matthew’s death, and with it… He also sealed his. He’d won. And I couldn’t care less. What was winning and losing if you lost yourself and the one you love along with it?
