Marienne's life was completely undone when her village went up in flames. Badly burned and her eyesight lost, she awakes in a strange place, with no knowledge of how she arrived there. Her savior was the enigmatic and alluring Victor, the Lord of Az...
Author's Note: Well, we're finally in the home stretch! This is the first of the three last chapters of this story. I'm so thankful to those who have stayed with this story to its conclusion. I absolutely loved writing this story! Also, quick content warning, but there will be descriptions of violence, gore, and blood in this chapter.
Hope y'all enjoy. <3
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When I left Amelia upstairs in Valentina's room, I wasn't sure what would result from her search, and even though I was deeply worried about Victor's fate, I had to set it aside for the much greater threat Azyron would pose to the world should Valentina manage to set him free to any degree. Furthermore, what would I do if I got down there and she already had?
I rushed through the castle, practically flying down hallways, and pitching myself down the stairs into the basement. It was no surprise to me to see Valentina sauntering her way down the hall towards Azyron's prison. She, however, was surprised to see me.
"You? I didn't think you'd be bold enough to leave your doomed lover's side. Well, it's not like you'll be able to do anything to stop me. Besides, I'm sure Azyron would like to give you a sound thrashing itself." She laughed, her voice pinging off the stone walls. She continued walking, unhurried and unconcerned.
Desperate, I ran down the hall and threw myself at her bodily. I hadn't the slightest idea how to fight a person proper, and I was sure any punches I tried to throw her way would prove ineffectual. My hope was to slow her down until-well, until someone could tell me what had transpired upstairs. Let the others work out what was to be done about Valentina and her destructive ambitions.
Startled, she fell forward and we landed in a tangled heap. She struggled to get away from me, but I held onto whatever scrap of clothing or piece of flesh I could lay my hands on. Valentina reached out, scratching at me with her nails, raking her fingers over my face, trying to push me off of her. I turned my head away, closing my eyes. She began screeching and screaming, frustrated that I wasn't proving easy to shake off.
With a rip and tear of fabric, she finally managed to escape me. I still held yards of fabric between my fingers, successfully destroying a good portion of her dress. Her face was the angriest I'd ever seen her. "You foolish little idiot! You've ruined my dress, and for what? Victor is still going to die, no matter what you do. I've made sure of it." She barked out a laugh. "You've lost Mary. You just refuse to accept it."
