“It’s okay, my love,” he said firmly. “You’re not his. You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. And I am yours. In life and in death. ”
Something inside me cracked, a fragile but vital piece of myself clawing its way to the surface. For a moment, the pain receded, and I looked up at Raffaele, his face blurred by tears.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
His lips curved into a bittersweet smile. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
The roar of the crowd was deafening, but I barely registered it. My entire world had narrowed to the blade in my trembling hand and the man kneeling before me. The compulsion surged through me like poison, a leash pulling me forward against my will, urging me to strike, to end him.
Raffaele.
His dark eyes were calm, steady, filled with a love that I didn’t deserve. I could barely feel him through the bond we had shared—the ghost of a warm, unshakable presence. I never thought I’d see the day when I missed it. But I did.
The compulsion from Izo, though, was relentless. It clawed at my mind, whispering insidiously.Obey. Kill him. Prove yourself.The pressure was unbearable, a searing pain splitting my head as I was forced to take another step.
I screamed as the command ripped through me, forcing my arm higher.
“Vivian,” Raffaele said again. “Look at me.”
I did, my tear-blurred gaze locking onto his. His dark eyes held no fear, no anger. Only love. Unconditional, unwavering love.
“It’s okay,” Raffaele said, his voice cracking slightly. “I’m ready.”
“No,” I whispered again, the pain of resisting the compulsion tearing through me like shards of glass. My knees buckled, but the compulsion wouldn’t let me fall. “I can’t... I can’t do this.”
“You can,” Izo snapped. “Do it now, Vivian! Kill him!”
The knife was raised high above Raffaele’s chest, my hands shaking so violently I thought I might drop it again. The pain was excruciating, a fire that consumed every nerve in my body.
“Please,” I begged, though I wasn’t sure who I was pleading with—Izo, the compulsion, the gods themselves.
Raffaele’s voice was soft—a whisper meant only for me. “I love you, Vivian. Always.”
That shattered something inside me. I screamed, my knees hitting the wet ground as I fought with everything I had.
“No!” I cried, the pain so intense I thought I might die from it alone.
The compulsion tightened further, squeezing every last ounce of willpower from me. My arms came down, the knife slicing through the air toward Raffaele’s chest.
But at the last second, I turned the blade inward.
The tip of the dagger plunged into my own chest, and a searing pain exploded through me. The world around me slowed, and a sigh shuddered out of my lips.
The crowd gasped, the roar fading to a stunned hush.
“Vivian!” Raffaele’s anguished scream cut through the stillness.
I staggered, the knife embedded deep in my chest. Blood seeped out, warm and sticky, staining the ground below me adeep crimson. My vision blurred, dark edges creeping in as my body began to shut down.
The compulsion shattered.
I felt it break. The chains that had bound me to Izo’s will snapped all at once. The suffocating pressure in my mind lifted, and for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, I could breathe. I fell to my knees, the knife slipping from my grasp as my hands went limp.
“No, no, no!” Raffaele struggled against his bindings, his voice raw with desperation. “Stay with me! Please, don’t go! Don’t leave me!”
I felt the bond between us weaken even more, the connection dimming as my consciousness began to slip away.
I love you,I thought.
