"Do you know what it was like having my own son steal the position I fought for years to earn?" Her voice rises, fury bleeding through the controlled exterior. "Any idea how many secrets I had to buy with my own body just to get permission to speak in front of the Council? Your father never understood that ambition. Then again, he didn't understand much by the end."
She starts pacing, her heels clicking against the concrete in a steady, maddening rhythm.
"Always content to be just another soldier, another sheep in the flock, never wanting to be the one giving direction. Not you, not Berna, not him. None of you understood what I sacrificed to get where we are."
I have to bite my tongue to keep from calling her insane. Because she is. She sacrificed her family for a taste of power. Wasted years of her life on something she'll never have.
Vasili told me once that the Council votes would never go to a woman. Her secrets only buy safety, not the throne.
She opens what looks like a case and pulls out a thin, sharp blade.
"Remember the first place I taught you to sink a blade?" she asks Damien, her voice almost conversational now.
His eyes narrow, jaw clenching.
The implication makes my stomach turn.
"TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR, BUT LEAVE HER ALONE!"
His roar echoes through the warehouse, bouncing off metal and concrete.
"Don't raise your voice at me, boy!" She spins on him, all pretense of civility gone.
Her heels click on cement as she approaches my chair, each step deliberate. I force my eyes to stay on the man in front of me, to anchor myself in his gaze rather than the monster moving behind me.
"Damien, close your eyes, baby," I say softly, keeping my voice as steady as I can manage.
His eyes glisten as he shakes his head no, the movement almost violent in its desperation. I force a smile onto my face because I'd give anything, endure any pain, so he wouldn't have to watch this. Wouldn't have to see another person he cares about get hurt. But I can't stop this lunatic right now.
"Please. For me." I whisper, pouring every ounce of love and reassurance I can into those words.
And then I feel her move behind me, feel her presence like a cold shadow.
His eyes narrow on her hands as she brushes my hair off my shoulders, the gesture almost gentle. The contrast between the tenderness of the action and what's about to happen makes it even more horrifying, but I try to mask any fear from my features.
"I'm going to peel your skin off, I swear to God!" Damien shouts, trying to break the restraints holding him to the chair. I hear the scrape of metal on metal, see the way his muscles strain and bulge with effort.
The next second, sharp pain tears through the flesh between my shoulder and neck. A scream burns up my throat before I can stop it. It's agony exploding through every nerve ending, white-hot and consuming, making my vision blur at the edges.
I wish I were stronger. I wish I could swallow the pain, deny her the satisfaction of hearing me scream. But my body betrays me as the blade splits the muscle in two. It's like someone poured acid on raw flesh. Each heartbeat sends fresh waves of pain through the wound, and I feel blood streaming down my back, soaking through my dress in hot, sticky rivers.
"STOP!" Damien's roar fills the space, primal and desperate, and I hear ropes breaking.
The next moment, his body crashes into Marzena, pulling her away from me even though he still has a piece of metal embedded in his leg.
I can't see what happens between them—only hear the soldier's rushed footsteps from the corner. He hauls Damien off her and drives a fist into his stomach, putting him back on his chair and securing him.
"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" I scream, but my voice breaks, shattering into something desperate and helpless.
I feel the monster rise behind me, hear her brush off her clothes, then the sound of blades again.
"Since you interrupted my moment without permission, I think it's time to see how your wife's manicure looks without one nail. Or two. Or all of them." Her voice drips honey.
Damien's face turns crimson.
"TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT FROM ME! DO ANYTHING TO ME YOU WANT! SINK ANY BLADE, LET ME BLEED ON THIS CEMENT UNTIL THERE'S NOT A DROP LEFT, BUT LEAVE HER ALONE!"
His broken, vulnerable scream fractures something in my chest.
