The Stains of the Crown

Chapter Twenty Three

Trigger warnings: Torture, Death, Big fight, wounds, mental abuse.

Five days. It takes five days for the fighting to start. Five days of Mazus beating me to the brink of death, then acting sweet. He brings me yellow roses, then turns them red with my blood. Rinse and repeat.

But the morning of the fifth day, things feel different. There's a spark in the air, like I knew it would be over soon. I try to focus on that as he drags red-hot metal across my forearm. I couldn't scream, couldn't say anything. My throat had become raw from screaming. But tears, I seem to have an endless supply of.

"You and your mates made a plan to kill me, didn't you?" I shake my head, but that doesn't stop his rage. He swings the metal bar at my head, clipping me in the ear. I wheeze out a scream, hot tears mixing with the hot blood streaming down my face. This wasn't the first time he'd beaten me today. This morning, he'd brought his knife out. He'd left so many cuts I was surprised blood loss hadn't killed me.

"Mazus, we have a problem," Caero says. I'd been watching her while Mazus tormented me. I'd seen the flashes of pain on her face each time he'd hurt me. I guess she couldn't handle it anymore. "Elian says they're only a few miles away now." He gets a sick grin on his face.

"Get the missiles ready." My heart sinks. Why'd she change the plan? Why hadn't she just let him continue? Let me be the diversion, like we'd planned?

"Yes, your majesty," she bows. I catch a glint in her eyes, suddenly realizing she was sticking to the plan. Of course, she was. Mazus had killed her mate. She still needed her revenge. But the missiles had to be offline for any of this to work. Now, she had an excuse to be messing with them.

Mazus grabs me by my throat, lifting me. I gasp for breath. If I didn't fight, I wouldn't survive long enough to be rescued. If I did fight, he might kill me. Fear floods my body as I force myself to kick out. I catch him in the gut, watching him bend over as he sputters for air. He drops me to the ground roughly, but I force myself to block out the pain, running out the cell door. I go to lock him in, but he kicks my ankle out from under me, sending me careening forward. I groan as my head hits the ground. My vision blurs for a second. But then he's on top of me, his eyes turning completely white as his hands pin my wrists. I whimper as he freezes my skin, but no sound comes out.

I wasn't going to survive this. I was too tired, too broken, too hurt. I could feel blood on my skin, but there's no pain. Shock, I think. I'm going into shock.

"I didn't want it to end like this," he growls, his hot breath dusting my skin. "But I'm going to enjoy slaughtering your mates," he grins, his eyes flashing that terrifying, crazed look.

Echo, you have to fight him. I know you're tired. I know you're scared. But please, don't let him get to our mates, Lux pleads.

There's nothing I can do. I'm dying. I'm going to die. But that's okay, right? I lived a good life. I found love. People aren't just bad. I think I spent too much of my life thinking everyone was bad.

Echo, she says, her voice beginning to fade as cold fills my body, you can fight him now. You have your powers. You have a future to fight for. Your mates need you. Please, fight!

My vision blurs again as he slams my head against the floor. This was it, he was going to kill me. I could accept that. But if he somehow escaped this war? I couldn't let him hurt anyone else. I feel adrenaline flood my body, all of my senses heightening. I grab his wrists, feeling heat shoot through my veins. The smell of his flesh burning makes me want to gag, but he pulls away, screaming as his skin blisters.

"No, you were dosed! You shouldn't have powers!" I stand up, glaring him down.

"You've hurt all the wrong people," I say, stepping closer, enjoying the flash of fear in his eyes.