"You will pay. I swear by the gods, you shall pay for your misdoings," I looked at him dead in the eye. Cole gazed back at me with calculated eyes, my words having effect on him. All thoughts of sympathy left my mind; my friends, Deltora- I only wanted revenge.

"It's the royal blood you possess, princess."

I had once read a tale about how royals can use their words to persuade people. Speeches before going into famous wars, popular lectures to their people written in history books, they were all spoken with royal blood.

People with royal blood had the power to compel and convince an audience.

I had felt a new power awaken in myself like never before. A sense of authority and rage was trickling into my mind in waves. I had always felt this sense of strength hidden deep inside me, only to be released by my mother's death and the truth about my heritage. My newfound sense of power could possibly be used for good, but only thoughts of darkness centered in my mind.

"You are the one shackled right now." He remarked back, as if he was assuring himself.

In the corner of my eye I could view my mother's corpse. Her eyes were open and her hands were still tied. Her blood seeped into my shorts, and I was laying in it with nowhere to go.

"Since you are all about 'power', who has the real authority here?" I asked, tilting my head to the side with a dark smile. I was already planning on leading the Descuvian army to eliminate the Bendlar clan.

"Keep up this act and I might have to do the same to you." He laughed, finally wiping the blood off the knife on his shirt. The indention of the key in his pocket was taunting me, begging my arm to reach for it.

I radiated power, staring right into his eyes,"I would love to see you try. My father is going to be furious with the state I'm in, you should've hit my body. Since you ruined my face I don't look like a pretty princess anymore."

Cole leaned down, examining my cheek. His eyes were completely dilated under my spell of words. His eyebrows furrowed as he viewed the consequences of his violence, and I realized it must've looked worse than it felt.

"Why don't you uncuff me, and I can place a cold washcloth on it to stop the bruising." I smiled up at him, making sure to keep my eyes trained on his.

Shouts echoed down the hall, distracting him. Cole shook his head out of the trance he was caught in. As he looked toward me, blatant anger arrived back into his eyes. I still felt no fear as I realized neither my power or plan worked.

"The Descuvi don't care about how you will look. All of them are driven to the point where beauty doesn't matter anymore, only pain," His smile was cruel as he punched my jaw.

My wheeze of pain echoed down the cave, as did shouts and clanging. Not that I felt anything- my pit of rage was never ending- but it was my body's natural reaction. I immediately threw a hand to my jawbone, my coughing starting to emit blood.

"I could do this all day long! I wish Damien could see you like this, all beaten up and afraid-"

An arrow pierced Cole's thigh from behind, causing him wheeze out in pain. His hands shook uncontrollably as he tried to put one on the wound. The mesgra made his twitching even worse and his eyes looked as if they were bulging out of its sockets.

The sound of a bow's strings being taught echoed down the halls, and I knew the attacker was getting ready to shoot again. I couldn't see far down the cave, but I felt his commanding presence without having to see my rescuer.

"Stop firing... he is mine." Damien didn't have to raise his voice to get the point across, but the deep resonance sent chills down my spine. The dark clouds clouding my mind broke free as the evil thoughts left completely.

"No... not you," Cole pushed off the ground, wobbling a little bit. He had to place all his support on one leg, turning his back to me. The guard supporting him placed himself in a fighting position, ready for the attackers to emerge in the light.

I couldn't look away from the depth of the cave, waiting to see the face of the boy I desired. The past week had been haunting, viewing only the rocky walls with a small flame. I could only close my eyes to imagine Damien's face in my head, but he was actually here this time.

He found me.

"You know Cole, we finally get to finish the fight I was waiting for in the woods. You can't run away this time," as Damien stepped into the light, my body immediately relaxed. Only his presence brought me such peace and I finally had hope that I was going to make it back home alive.

"You've never been quite the fighter, have you? You were always running from your problems back to this little cave." His words caused Cole to physically twitch, taking offense to his home.

Damien stood emotionless, but the reflection from the torch in his eyes replicated what I knew he was really feeling. He didn't even glance at me, which caused a pang of hurt to rise in my chest. My eyes were searching for his, begging for his gaze of serenity.

"Get away!" Cole looked at him as if he was a monster, knowing his end was near. My perspective was nothing of the sort, I saw the most kind-hearted soul whom cared deeply for only me.

Cole started trying to take steps toward me, attempting to use me as leverage. Damien followed in suit behind him, but the guard jumped in front of him to block his path. Another arrow flew through the air, nearly missing Damien's head to pierce through the guards'.

Damien pulled Cole's arm back, throwing him onto the cave's walls before he could reach me,"I am going to make it to where you will never... ever lay a finger on her again."

He whipped out his sword,"I would want to make this last, make you feel every ounce of pain unimaginable- but I don't have time for you anymore," he finally glanced at me. I knew he was requesting for me to look away, but I held my ground, shaking my head no.

I wanted to see his death after what he had done to my mother.

Damien's eyes softened for a split second, he finally saw the marks on my face. His eyes couldn't help but wander to the puddle I was in and then my mother on the floor. This gave Cole a chance to attack, clumsily slicing behind him with the knife.

Though Damien moved quickly, Cole still managed to slash his side. I watched as he gasped out in pain, grabbing his torso and holding his sword stronger than before. Cole messily tried the same method, but instead of dodging it, Damien cut through his arm before it could reach him. Cole's limb fell to the floor, the bone from his fresh wound could be seen. I felt satisfaction fill my stomach.

That was the arm he ended my mother's life with.

"I never knew you could last this long, Cole. Neither would the girls at the brothel." With three powerful swings, Damien managed to slice Cole's head off. I didn't watch the shadows this time- my dreams had finally become a reality.

Damien threw his sword down, frantically searching Cole's beheaded body for the key to my shackles. He ripped it out of his pocket, rushing over to me.

He reached out to hold one of my hands while turning the chains around, searching for the key hole. His simple action caused my body to relax, his familiar touch of electricity released the dark thoughts from my mind.

He uncuffed my hands, lightly brushing his fingers over the redness and blistering they caused. His eyes met mine, and I couldn't hold back any longer. I jumped into his arms, finally letting all my grief out.

He picked me up, not wanting me to sit in my mother's blood anymore. He sat against the wall instead, cradling me to his chest- understanding I needed him close.

"You found me," I found my voice speaking between sobs.

"Shh." Damien held me tighter, as almost if my emotions were transferring to him as well.

It felt like I laid in his arms for hours. I knew I smelt like piss, blood, and looked like a overall mess; Damien still held me as tight as he could, never loosening his grip. We couldn't seem to let go of each other, we needed the comfort of one's touch more than ever.

"I thought I would never see you again." Damien's voice croaked. I looked up to see streams of tears falling from his eyes. I couldn't help but join him in the action as I wiped his away, recalling the first time I saw him cry.

"I kept my promise to you. I'm here Damien, I'm here." I laughed in joy, kissing his lips. He returned the favor with just as much passion, and I could taste his salty tears.

"He hurt you," he stared at my cheek, his voice laced with sorrow. He didn't hold back the hiccup that followed.

"I'm alright, I can heal. But my mother-" I looked at her, only to stuff my face back into Damien's neck. The sight once brought me anger, yet now I only felt pain.

Damien sniffled, wiping the tears off his face. He picked me up in his arms, leading me away from the horror scene behind us.

"We have to burry her." I grabbed onto him tighter, letting my tears fall down his neck. I watched as we walked away from Cole's decapitated body and my mother's corpse. I would never forget the scene that unfolded, and I was afraid it was always going to haunt me in my dreams.

Landon followed behind us as we walked through the maze of the cave, silent as a mouse. I only kept my face hidden in Damien's neck, not wanting to view any more of the daunting scenery. Though his side was sliced by Cole's knife, he still managed to carry me to the entrance of the cave without trouble.

Once we broke through the entrance of the cave, bright light flooded against the back of my eyes. I hadn't felt rays of the sun in so long, the warmth felt comforting. I heard the sound of men around me silence their conversations as Damien grew closer to them.

Damien laid me down against a tree. "I need water and food, now," his voice held such authority. I continued attempting to open my eyes, wanting to see him in the sunlight. I felt his hands brush back the tangled hair from my face, helping the process.

Eventually, he handed me a cup of water and a bundle of grapes. He broke up the grapes for me as I sipped the water, treating me like a frail doll.

"The water should help you see better," he remarked, placing the grapes in my hand. He was never wrong, for I was able to gain some sort of sight afterward.

We were on a beautiful mountain, right outside the cave. Knights were filing out of the entrance of the cave with valuables such as gold, jewelry and books. I couldn't even look at the dark hole it seemed to embody, to instead I gazed at Damien.

He viewed me with worry, tracing my whole body and lingering on my injuries. I knew I was very malnourished, the amount of water and food I received caused an impact on my weight. I could tell he wanted to heal my whole body, and felt guilty for each bruise.

I gazed at him in exhaustion,"Can we go back home?"

He looked back at me with a soft smile,"Let's go home, sweetheart."

🥺

😭

💗🥰