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I’m going to burn this place to the mother fucking ground.
20
Alice
Silently, I move with hurried footsteps, spiraling down the long stairwell, checking every landing for a guard. I need a fucking sword or a knife, and I know I’ll have to take one from someone, but that’s easier said than done.
I’ve never seen a more vacant castle, but Asmo did say most of the king’s guards would be outside controlling the crowds. I’m just not sure what I can trust and what was only said to get me here.
I’m not stupid. I don’t think he ever had the intention of us getting out, and him doing this for me is total bullshit. If he was, he wouldn’t have killed Finn. He would’ve at least honored that part of the deal and helped him escape.
This time, I’ll be better. I won’t put all my eggs in one basket and I’ll prepare for the worst.
My hands hold on to the chain connecting my shackles, keeping them quiet. They’re not the same as the one Asmo wears. It’s far less permanent and pretty, and made purely to keep prisoners in line and nothing more. There’s no lock to pick, but I’m certain there’s a way to get it off, and I’m going to find it.
I’m not going to trust Asmo to get them off for me, and wait like some damsel in distress for a knight in shining scarred armor. New flash, I’ll be my own fucking knight. Then, he’ll be welcome to lend a hand should he hold up his promise and help me. If not, I’ll be sure to keep a trophy for my shelf once he’s gone.
I meant what I said about starting that. Whether he believes it is a whole different story.
Voices carry up from the floor below, guards more than likely, and I slow my pace, sticking close to the wall to avoid being seen. One is in armor, made of silver with a blood red wolf crest carved into his chest plate. The High King’s insignia. His hellhound sidekicks must be overjoyed. The other is in casual wear, but the sword hanging off the belt slung around his middle is calling my name.
“I need to do my rounds, but I’ll come back when I’m finished,” the non-armored man says, heading toward the stairwell I’m currently residing in.
With the finesse that would make Luri jealous, I backpedal up the steps, stopping on the next landing. The moment his shadow casts across the steps, I launch myself over the railing and come down hard on top of his shoulders. His body drops to the floor with a sickening boom and blood sprays across the stone steps of the stairwell.
Well… I didn’t think I wasthatheavy. Kai never crumbled like that, but then again, he never had his face smashed into a step before. He at least would’ve been man enough to heal.
Gripping the hilt of the man’s sword, I yank it from the sheath and stand to my full height. The armored man in the hall stands square, staring at me with his sword half drawn. Facing the largest battle I’ve fought to date, you’d think I’d be nervous. I should be terrified, but something blooms deep inside me, blistering out through my middle with warmth. A thrill sparks the moment the man pulls his sword, the tip wavering toward me.
“Don’t just stand there,” I tease, flipping the sword in my hand like a baton. Finn must’ve rubbed off on me during his numerous singing spells while he taught me to fight. At the time, it taunted the hell out of me, and it’s likely the reason he did it–to make me so mad that I mess up. With him gone, I might as well honor him with a song of my own.
Choosing to pull a card from his deck, I sing to the imaginary instrumental of ‘You and Me’ by Lifehouse, replacing the words with my own. The armored man won’t know the song, but he’ll catch the drift just as easily.
“It’s just you and me…” I point my sword at him, then switch hands and take another step forward, “and your dead fucking best friend with his face on the stairs, I don’t think he’s there anymore.”
The man charges forward, and I lift my sword just in time to block him from crashing into my body. “Was it my signing?” I ask, shoving him backward. “Or did you not like the song?”
He grunts and strikes again, only this time I dunk beneath the blade and drive mine up through his stomach and into his chest, standing to put my face in his as crimson spills between his lips. “Sadly, I guess we’ll never know.” Yanking the sword free, I knock the man back and he slams to the floor with an echoing thud. With a quick glance, I look over his person, finding no ring of keys or anything that could be considered capable of helping me get these shackles off. So, I steal the dagger from his hip. “On to the next contestant,” I say, holding it up like a trophy.
Whistling, I continue down the stairwell to the next floor, hoping the noise will drag out anyone lurking in the shadows. This game just became fun.
After clearing three floors of the armed guards, I land on the next. Something slithers across the stone and torches lighting the hall cast long shadows, flickering in their holsters. There are no windows on this level, not like the one above that was covered in arched glass that overlooked the black sea. It was the moment I saw in my vision–of the guards wearing Hell Hold’s armor. The very armor they stole from our dead on that battlefield. I’ve never felt more pleased to rid scum from the Earth.
I drop the sword from where it’s propped against my shoulder, humming now but changing the tune to something more sinister. The hair on my arms raises at the sound of it, hinting at the death I’ll bring in my wake.
Something about it makes a smile bless my lips as I walk farther from the stairwell and into the dimly lit stretch of hallway, waiting for whatever is hidden in here to finally come out to play.
Light reflects off the metal of the sword in my hand, casting obtuse shapes along the walls. The guttural snarl that ripples through the air makes my heart pound, but not out of fear. Joy… Excitement. The call of blood ready to be spilled.
I’m starting to think Luri is right. Especially when I’m on a warpath for revenge. The king and his men took everything from me. My epic love. My best friend. My sanity. My power. My cat. He even plans to kill the man I love, then take my own body and force me to have his children. He’ll get no such reward, and I’ll fucking die on that hill if I have to.
I’m no one’s hero… but I’ll certainly enjoy playing the high king’s villain as I take everything he loves… everything he’s built… cherished and held dear… I’ll burn it before him, then slit his throat.
As if sensing my challenge, the creature slips out of one of the dark rooms along the hall, his teeth bared, pure white, and razor sharp. Grotesque claws scratch against the ground as he moves, and muscles bunch and stretch beneath his pitch black coat. Piercing green eyes lock on me and I adjust my grip.
A hellhound… How lovely.
There’s a hunger in its gaze that I recognize. The desire to kill, to maim and maul, until every shred of its tattered soul finds peace. Only then will the rage balling my organs into fists calm. The creature barrels forward, but I’m ready. I sidestep, and it skids past me, scathing like a rabid beast as it finds grip and changes course, determined to get to me as fast as it can.
