Chapter Twenty-Five
Joy
Clomp. Clomp. Clomp.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the stone staircase, each one sending a chill of dread through my bones. The sound grew louder, closer—deliberate and menacing, like death itself descending toward us.
Darius yanked on my chains with desperate fury, the metal links rattling and scraping against the stone wall. His veins bulged in his forearms as he threw everything he had into breaking me free. The shackles bit deeper into my wrists, drawing fresh blood.
"It's useless." The words came out in ragged gasps, my throat raw from screaming. "Darius, you have to go now. But take Brynn with you. She’s a servant in the castle and she’s in danger. Please.” I could taste copper and fear on my tongue, my heart hammering against my ribs.
His eyes blazed with stubborn determination, sweat beading on his forehead. “I’ll save her. But I promise you, my men and Iwill get you out. Just stay alive." The fierce protectiveness in his voice made my chest tighten with both hope and terror.
"Hide." It was all I could manage, the footsteps now just around the corner.
"I don't need to hide." His jaw set with grim resolve. Then in a blur of supernatural speed, he was gone—nothing but a whisper of displaced air. He whisked past Ari and Queen Alanna, leaving only the faint scent of leather and steel in his wake.
The queen whirled around with desperate fury as she stretched out her arm toward empty air, her fingers grasping at nothing but shadows and dust motes dancing in the dim light. “Darius, no.” The words came out more as a keening wail that echoed off the stone walls, a sound of pure loss and disbelief.
Ari shook his head slowly, his cold blue eyes focused on me with predatory satisfaction. “Joy, you stupid little fool.”
My legs shook violently beneath me, trembling like palm trees in a hurricane. I could barely stand as I fought to keep my spine straight, trying not to show the terror that was roosting in the middle of my gut. My heart thundered so loud I was certain they could hear it.
Queen Alanna spun toward me, her face contorted with rage and grief. She rushed over and seized my shoulders, her jeweled fingers digging into my flesh like talons. “What have you done? What have you done?” She shook me hard, my head snapping back and forth.
My teeth rattled together painfully, the sound echoing inside my skull. Black dots swam across my vision like ink drops in water, threatening to pull me under. The room tilted sideways, and I gasped for air that seemed too thick to breathe.
“Alanna, stop,” Ari commanded. “He’s gone. There’s nothing you can do. We have more important things to worry about than that fucking Golden Demon.”
She released me so abruptly I stumbled backward, and my legs finally gave out completely again. I crumpled to the floor, my knees cracking against the stone with a sharp pain that shot up my spine.
“He might not mean anything to you, but he’s my future king.”
“A crown he doesn’t want,” I whispered, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
The slap came without warning. Her palm connected with my cheek in a sharp crack that echoed like a cannon. The force of it sent me flying sideways, my shoulder slamming into the stone wall with a rib-cracking impact. Stars exploded behind my eyelids as pain bloomed across my face, the taste of copper flooding my mouth.
"Shut up. Shut up,” she shrieked, spittle flying from her lips. "He's mine. He belongs to me."
Darius had been right. She wasn't just obsessed—she was completely unhinged. A deranged fan who'd built a fantasy around a man who wanted nothing to do with her twisted delusions.
"Alanna, if you keep beating the shit out of her, then she'll be too weak to open the portal. Is that what you want?" Ari's voice cut through the queen's rage with cold practicality, though I could hear the underlying threat beneath his controlled tone.
The queen's breathing was ragged, her chest heaving as she struggled to rein in her fury. Her wild eyes darted between Ari and me, madness warring with calculation. "No," she finally spat. "But as soon as she is no use to us, kill her."
The words made every nerve ending scream with terror. My skin broke out in gooseflesh, and I could feel the blood draining from my face. Everything was crashing down on me like an avalanche—the weight of realization crushing my chest until I could barely breathe. There was no way I was going to make itout of here alive. No rescue was coming. No miracle would save me.
The metallic clink of chains echoed through the chamber as Ari unlocked my shackles. Without their support, I slumped down the stone wall like a broken doll, my body too weak and battered to hold itself upright. The cold marble was a relief against my burning cheek.
"Get up," Ari commanded, but when I couldn't comply fast enough, he grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me to my feet. His fingers dug into my flesh hard enough to leave bruises. "If you keep pissing off the queen, she'll focus on that damn Golden Demon and ruin our plans."
"Our plans?" The words came out as barely a whisper. I stumbled as he pulled me forward, my legs still unsteady beneath me. My vision swam with exhaustion and pain.
His grip tightened, and I winced as his nails bit into my skin. "You'd better hope she stays focused on that, or you're liable to lose your head—literally." The casual way he said it made my stomach turn to lead.
"Where are you taking me?" The corridors seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of us, shadows dancing on the walls like harbingers of doom.
"You need to get dressed again. Can't go back with you wearing rags." His tone was almost conversational, but there was steel underneath. "Your little vampire enforcer might do something foolish if he sees you like this."
