It was two nights after Yulemas when Celaena decided to go back into the catacombs. Alone, this time. She couldn't face seeing Sam. Not now.
Perhaps not ever, she thought to herself as she quickly assembled a makeshift blade.
A sort of stillness washed over her, and she paused, letting it take her. She felt . . . Free. She didn't feel burdened.
Celaena gathered her weapon and slipped past the door, letting it fall shut softly behind her.
****
There was something a lot eerier about being in the catacombs alone. Like it was just her and the darkness and nothing else.
"That's because it is, dumbass," Celaena muttered to herself. She was alone.
Alone.
Alone-
Celaena whipped around, her blade and stance already in an attacking position when she heard footfalls behind her.
Well, she thought. I guess I'm not alone, after all.
The soft treads began to get louder and louder, but, as Celaena frantically searched the catacombs, all she could see was darkness.
Then she met eyes with it.
A hound made of blood and bone and shadows.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the infamous Celaena Sardothien."
Cain.
Celaena turned around slowly to signal she wasn't about to attack. Cain stood a few feet in front of her, and she wondered how he got so close without her realising. The catacombs flooded with light as various torches mounted on the stone walls flickered to life.
He smiled sinisterly. "It wasn't supposed to be you tonight," he exhaled gruffly. "But, I suppose it wouldn't make much of a difference, would it?"
Celaena frowned in confusion until it hit her.
Of course. Cain - the only tribute that grew stronger as everyone else got weaker. The one who had been consuming energy from the other competitors for his own glory.
Her eyes briefly flickered to the hound beside him.
"The Ridderak," she breathed. After doing extensive research and spending many of her spare hours in the library, she managed to scrape together a plausible amount of information on Wyrdmarks and the Ridderak.
"It was you," she whispered shakily. "Y-You and the Ridderak. The competitors being murdered . . . It was all you."
Cain grinned. "That's right, sweetheart. And now," he looked down at the Ridderak, who obediently met his stare, "it's your time."
Cain and Celaena locked eyes and the lights blinked out.
Mere seconds later, they came back to life, but Cain was already gone.
A growl snapped her out of her thoughts, and Celaena's mind raced back to the Ridderak.
She turned and ran.
****
She could hear the Ridderak bound after her, and she quickly reached into her pocket to grab her makeshift knife that she now realised was pitifully small compared to the beast.
One problem. She had dropped it.
She cursed herself for being so careless.
Celaena slammed to a stop in front of a door. She pulled at it with petering strength, but it wouldn't budge.
The Ridderak was coming for her, and she was cornered.
So Celaena decided to do something that was perhaps the most stupid decision of her life. She ran towards the Ridderak and it's fangs that ripped bodies apart, and when it leapt towards her-
She swiftly rolled underneath it, effectively confusing it as she gained time and sprinted to the corridor to the right where she knew Elena lay.
And where Elena lay, Damaris lay.
****
She launched herself into the room, darting to the sarcophagus in which Elena was entombed in. Damaric lay on top of the box, and she quickly grabbed it, not letting hesitation and doubt control her.
Celaena turned around briskly, her matted hair that was interwoven with the blood of the Ridderak and mud wildly framing her face.
The Ridderak entered the clearing, snarling and flexing its muscle-ridden body.
The two figures moved at once, and Celaena promptly brought the ancient blade down upon the demonic creature's skull, splitting it clean in half.
The cavern was filled with a silence so tense that Celaena dropped to her knees in exhaustion, staring at the lifeless monster she had just killed.
She quickly stood again, remembering Cain.
It was that moment when Celaena vowed she would beat him. Beat him and send him back to hell. She vowed that she would redeem those who lost their souls and lives for his greed.
But for now, she needed to get her loved ones to safety.
Sam had to go.
woah i really decided to yeet description and good quality writing out the window didnt i?
~anyway, hope you enjoyed and stay safe~
✌💜🥺🤞💖✨💜
YOU ARE READING
After Everything
Fantasy"it was like a dance. a dance of silver and blades and speed. they danced around one another, moving in time, as if it had been rehearsed a hundred times before. they fought like old lovers, as if they knew the others next moves like it was written...
