Empress Of Wrath, Blood And Desire

Chapter 28: Life goes on

"Never reveal weakness. The moment your enemies sense it, they will seize control." Her voice, bold and infamous, resonates with authority as I stare at her, eager to emulate her strength one day.

My mother embodies raw power and potential. She has always wielded the ability to claim what she desires and become who she chooses to be, with or without bloodshed.

I have always admired my relentless mother, a woman capable of bringing anyone to their knees or to their grave with ease whether with power or not.

My mother is a force of wrath.

"The enemy is always watching, whether you realize it or not. You must stay five steps ahead...always..."

She deftly twirls the blade between her perfectly manicured fingers before passing it to me. Fingers that have ended many lives.

I mimic the motion, twirling the blade through my fingers another skill she has drilled into me, mastering multiple tasks at once.

Despite her venomous nature and icy demeanor, she possesses a beauty fit for the silver screen.

Her medium brown hair was always pulled into a tight bun, and those piercing gray-blue eyes that ensnare men, just as they did my father- the most powerful man in the world, a mafia king. And that makes me a mafia princess.

"I'm heavily pregnant with your sister, and I need you to protect me until I'm strong enough to do it myself, baby," she says, giving me one of those rare, sweet smiles that I cherish. "You know our enemies are always lurking, and you are my protector."

"I'll train relentlessly to keep you and my baby sister safe, Mummy."

She reaches over, gently caressing my face. "You'll grow into a fierce warrior, and one day, a great mother."

"Thank you, Mummy. I learn from the best- you."

Her smile falters slightly as she gazes deep into my eyes. "You're too kind for this world, and that is a vulnerability you cannot afford. This world will carve you apart..."

"I won't allow it, Mummy. I will strike first, without mercy."

"And why...?" She prompts.

"Because mercy is a luxury we cannot afford. Only death will suffice."

She nods earnestly.

"If you look into the face of evil, evil is going to look right back at you, darling." Her voice fills my eight-year-old ears, our eyes locked in an unbreakable bond. "And if you're not strong enough, it will see everything you fear and use it against you. Evil is in me, and it's in you."

Our gazes remain locked, sealing an unspoken pact.

-

"It... it hurts," I whisper as they rush me down the hallway on a stretcher, the bright lights on the ceiling breaking something I rarely feel.

Fear.

Pain is something I usually endure without complaint, but losing a part of myself- losing a life I was nurturing- cuts far deeper.

"I know, I know..." Marcellous murmurs, his voice thick with worry as he grips the edge of the stretcher, refusing to let go.

My white nightgown, now drenched in blood, looks like a scene from a murder, and each glance at it makes my heart ache even more than it already is.

My body betrayed me. It killed the baby I was starting to welcome, the one who was supposed to make me whole.

They wheel me into the room and quickly transfer me to the bed, moving with a practiced urgency. But everything around me fades into a blur as my mind shuts down, shielding me from the pain, the loss, and the horror.