Children of the Fallen: Bloodlines (BOOK #3)

Chapter 26: Game On

Morgan Sinclair

It's all too easy to sink back down into that place of numbness and just allow every evil monstrous part of me run the show. The way it did years ago, before I was forced to acknowledge the hollowness. In all honesty I think the hollowness only adds to it. The visible nothingness in my eyes. Void-like I've heard people describe them as.

Voids that I let match every aspect of my being. That autopilot, no emotions, no feelings felt both unbearably unpleasant and completely natural. The latter causing said unpleasant feelings that I chose to adamantly block out before they created problems. Yet I could hear and feel the echos of these voices and distant feelings from behind the well built fortifications in my brain completely ruining my preferred way of living.

Chloe was oozing with hatred but I saw a hint of fear in her eyes. Chloe has stared at me with a lot of different looks but never fear. And Victoria... I believe her when she says she's going to kill me. There was nothing kind or sympathetic in her eyes. She was homicidal, more than homicidal she said she would tear me apart and I think she would until I was nothing but a pile of flesh. I felt that rage coming off of her even as I was walking back upstairs.

I know it's here. It has to be. His palace in Greenland is too on the nose and my palace, if it was there he would've killed Victoria on the spot he was that angry in that moment. It's gotta be here but this place is fucking massive and I have no idea where to look. I'm listening in to everything all the time for even the slightest of hints. I'm giving myself a headache with the constant bombarding of voices in my ears.

"How did it go?" Lucien asks me in the hallway, appearing to my right.

He was listening in, he's always listening. "I'm just getting started. If you don't mind I'd like to take my time."

He grins- the viciousness in that grin is similar to the viciousness in mine. I hate that we're related and that we have any similarities at all, physical or otherwise. His eyes show the over 2,300 years of heartlessness he has under his belt, will mine be the same 2,300 years from now?

"By all means." He gives a nod of approval.

"Chloe's going to take some time breaking." I add.

"Not Victoria?"

"Pierces death destroyed her and watching Chloe suffer at my hands specifically will only worsen that. She's broken right now, she'll be shattered by sunrise."

"Good."

"Let me know when I should drive your dagger into her heart." There's my shot. Please hit.

An eyebrow of his barely raises in subtle surprise. "You want the honors?"

"Round 2. Except this time I won't be hesitating." I say with a severe tone.

His mouth slowly twitches into an approving smile. "Since she'll be shattered by sunrise, I'll give it to you then." That's it, the slip up. It's here. No possible way he could fly to mine or Greenland and come back before sunrise.

"Thank you, father." I bow my head. Disgusting, I never want to bow my head to anyone ever again.

He nods then walks off with swaggering pride that he's successfully created the perfect monster. I make my way through the palace towards this armory on the other side. I take out my phone beginning to text Graysons new fake number with the update that it's definitely here. As I do so I listen in closely to everyone and everything around me like I've been doing 24/7 since arriving here. "Make sure Aurelia is unconscious. His Majesty doesn't want to have to speak to her." An agitating but familiar voice cuts through the chorus of voices. Jacob.

Does that mean it's in Aurelia's cell? It has to be, why else would he be visiting her? If I could get it before he hands it to me at sunrise it'd make things a lot easier. No dodging the sun, Grayson won't have to worry too much about perfect timing, and I won't have to torture Chloe. I'm going to have to go on an insane apology tour after this I don't want to have to apologize for more than I need to.

I text Grayson to do it now as I walk to the armory pretending to look for things to torture Chloe with. I'll have a good while to find it, I think I'm right but if I'm wrong I'll grab Chloe and Victoria and get the fuck out of here anyway. I don't want to chance that Victoria actually dies. I pick up random things- an axe, a sword, some serrated knife. After a couple of minutes Jacob of all people enter the room. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see what you were doing. I was keeping an eye on you."

"My fathers orders?"

"No." He looks me up and down. He's supposed to be Lucien's #1, his go to, he's hated me since I took his place. Now he's suspicious of everything I do. Whenever I'm in the same vicinity of him, he tries to find things wrong or bad about me to go tattle with. Granted he's right about being suspicious I am planning to kill his master but he's fucking annoying about it.

"Then why are you- a noble, bothering me- a High Royal?"

"I am His Majesties-,"

"I think if I remove your eyes..." I step face to face with him. "It'll make spying on me a little hard to do, wouldn't you agree?"

He tries to hide it but I hear the slight swallow. I make him nervous, he normally keeps his distance for that reason but sometimes he gets a little brazen and I have to remind him of his place. "Walk away." I say and he does so with his jaw clenched tightly.

I spend the next half hour in the tiny armory then I bring the handful of weapons into one of the living rooms that's fairly center in the palace. I pretend to be sorting through the weapons, planning out my horrific torture methods, all the cruel ways I'm going to hurt Chloe. As I put on a decent show I listen into everyone around me; dinner plans, bleeders screaming, prisoners screaming, so many people having sex, the gossiping about Lucien or city affairs- apparently one of Lucien's nobles is a serial cheater. All of it attacking my ears as I sort through to find anything of importance while I wait.

When a sudden burst of angered yelling about an attack comes through my lips curve into a knowing smile. Game on.