The Consort's Will 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Bogdan's POV

Reyo poses the question with feigned amicability, a strained smile spread across his venomous lips. The malice behind his words is not lost on those bound around the table; no one stirs. The vampires do not deign him their attention, and the humans merely blink in response. Finn clenches and unclenches his fists beside Reyo, and I feel his sadness morphing into a most unpleasant blend of fear and angst.

Nonplussed at the lack of reaction, Reyo hums under his breath before nodding towards the guards. On his silent request, they react as one, moving to their designated captive and ripping the tape away from their lips. Various grunts and groans follow. The smell of blood fills the tainted air as layers of skin are physically torn away from the humans' chins and lips. Fiona and the two men beside Mark try to spit away the blood, but Mark licks it up, swallowing his own blood without a flicker of emotion crossing over his features.

Whether done out of sheer madness or defiance, it has the intended effect. Reyo's lips tighten into a scowl. He pulls a blade from the nearest guard, but he doesn't make it to Mark. Instead he stops behind Fiona, sliding his arm around her, and putting the blade to her throat. She tries to keep calm, but he presses hard enough to force a single drop of blood to slide down the length of her pale neck. The vampires tense from the other side of the table. I can see it in their faces, their blood-red eyes desperate for sustenance.

"Mark, I believe it is," Reyo growls, eyes flicking between Mark and Fiona. "You may not care what happens to the rest of your kind. Or yourself, for that matter. But this little tartlet," he growls, tightening his hold around her neck, "might be enough to get that quiet tongue to speak."

Mark keeps his eyes trained ahead, the swollen lids proving helpful to hide any change in his expression.

"No?" Reyo asks and presses the tip of the blade into her skin hard enough to produce another few droplets of blood.

Fiona whimpers at the pain, or perhaps the fear. Kelly's labored breathing picks up beside me. He grunts in protest, but no words form. He trembles, so many emotions locked inside his youthful mind, yet unable to rise to the surface. Instead, all he's able to produce is a cough that rattles through his lungs with enough force to push a bit of phlegm to the surface of his lips.

Although physically nearing death's door, Kelly is mentally still with us. He is aware of what's happening around him. Mark may not care if the mother of his child lives or dies, but Kelly's love and loyalty remain. Despite it all, even in his final moments of life, he fights for the red-haired traitor, the woman he vowed to keep as his soulmate, regardless of his form.

"Reyo," my human pleads, taking a hesitant step forward. "Please stop. You don't have to do this."

Reyo tilts his head to the side, watching the dribbles of blood sliding over Fiona's collarbone. "My dear Finn, I told you I would use this vixen as a bargaining chip, didn't I? So, you see, Finn, I cannot stop now. I am a man true to my word, so I do need to do this. What kind of a man would I be without my word?"

My human's eyes fill with tears. He lifts his gaze to meet mine, silently begging me to step in. This time, I cannot. I reply with an almost imperceptible shake of my head. No. I cannot save her. Reyo's eyes cut to Mark and he snarls a final warning.

"Surrender, or she dies."

Kelly shakes with fury. I tighten my hold on his knee, commanding him to be still. We cannot change her fate. It is not in our hands. All eyes sit heavily with Mark, awaiting his response. He swallows once, his adam's apple slowly bobbing up and down.

"I cannot accept your terms to surrender," Mark responds, his voice gravely and cold.

Reyo hisses. "Then your fate will soon be hers."