Fear engulfs me unlike anything I've every felt thus far— it seizes me like a child witnessing the boogeyman for the first time ever. My blood turns cold and I can feel my body shutting down in a fear response.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck—" I start to mutter to myself, eyes never leaving the sentinel. I back a step up as I hear loud cracking; it's body was starting to break away from the stone wall. I think if there ever was the time to shit my pants, it would be now.

"Vi...." Claire calls out, her voice urgent and deep with fear. I don't respond nor do I stop my chanting, too frozen to do much. Is this how I'm supposed to get my father back? By being a wuss?

"Viola!" Claire calls again, louder and with more force to her tone.

"What?!" I yell back, a sharp edge in my tone from the stress of being caught in a frightening situation. Demons. We were dealing with actual demons— not like Kilian, never like Kilian. He's charming and funny, and the most handsome man I'd ever laid eyes on; these were different creatures. These were brutal, bloody, and vicious looking; more so than Kilian when he's angry.

"There's marble—" she starts, but I cut her off as I get into a sloppy fighting stance, trying to be quicker than death.

"I can see that!" I snap, my fear coming out as irritation. The marble sentinel gives me a sinister smile as it starts to break itself off of the wall; pieces of marble crumbling jaggedly off of its arms.

"No! More!" She shouts as I finally glance her way. No more ?

She's pointing behind me with a terrorized expression, and I find myself dreading to look at what she's seeing.

Forcing myself, I turn my face to the left and finally see what's causing my sister such horror.

Through the dimly lit hallway, the torches had begun to extinguish themselves one by one. Slowly, we were being encased in darkness— the only thing that the eye could see would be the dozens of red eyes now awakening from each evil marble sentinel.

I can hear Claire snapping at her fingers, probably trying to relight the torches; it was useless, there was a magic spell stifling the flames.

I grind my teeth together as I mutter to Claire.

"Think we can take them.. fight or run?" As the sounds of marble breaking increases in our surroundings. The marble sentinel in front of me broke both his arms free, and was starting to rip his legs off of the wall as Claire smacks her lips together.

"Run." The demon in front of me snarls, it's voice gravelly and sinister; it's smile never vanishing. He was looking at me hungrily, like if he could already taste me from a distance. A phantom of a chill sweeps over me, and I suddenly feel rage and disgust.

"Like fuck were running!" She states viciously, getting into a fighting stance. Like fuck? Was that a thing? Did she mean like hell?

I clear my mind as I grin, my ice and adrenaline now pumping faster than ever, overlapping any fear that I'd felt before hand.

"Agreed." I say, and with the slip of a hand— I grab onto Kilian's sword, frost spreading throughout the blade and jewels encrusting the hilt.

It starts to vibrate as I give the sentinel a smile back, and with no other words, I swing with all my might and aim for it's neck.

It's head falls to the ground with a loud boom, marble shards falling onto the ground between me and the wall— some shards reaching my feet. His body on the wall begins to get coated with fresh crystal ice, too thick to break. I glance at Claire and she grins at me.

"I was going to give you advice on how to rip heads or hands off... but I think you got it!" She cackles as I see a flame light up from her palm, her veins going a glowing orange color as if she were a light socket.

A hand?

We have no time to converse any longer as the demons completely detach themselves from their posts, their marble armor glinting in the moonlight, hues of white and grey catching my eye. They all have blood streaming down their cheeks, eyes red as rubies.

Their motive was clear, kill us first, ask questions later.

I was a bit tickled that they even thought I was a big enough threat to attack, but the glance Claire throws me snaps me out of my gloating as she clenched her teeth.

"Kilian has agreed to go with his father, pretty happily. They've captured Atticus." Her eyes are glazed with awakened fury as my heart skips multiple beats and the sensation of me falling attacks me.

"He—no. He couldn't." I say, breathing quickly as Claire's sharp glance pierces me.

"He's betrayed us." She says, her anger thick and hot piercing the air between us.

The demon comes to my right, and I send a quick bolt of ice through his forehead and one eyeball. The blood of a thousand tears fall out, but all I can hear are the words Claire has spoken on loop.

He's betrayed us. Betrayed. Kilian betrayed. Us.

Kilian.

My heart howls but my anger is quicker than my sadness, and I feel myself willing myself to fight these demon statues so that I can make it to him.

There has to be another reason.

Kilian.

I'm betrayed.

I grind my teeth as the sounds of Claire smashing as many guards as she can, melting their marble skulls and getting her hands dirty.

I glance at the sword I'm holding, and suddenly feel dirty.

It feels dirty for me to hold, and wield the sword he'd given me for protection. Who knows if this sword would also end up betraying me.

I drop the frosted blade with a clang as my hair starts to ruffle, like I'm some offended cat.

If it was true— if he had somehow handed my father over and led me on some wild goose chase like I was a cute little confused puppy, only to get me killed in the end and my family along with me...

"I'll kill him." I say calmly.

And even though my heart bleeds with this new piercing feeling of betrayal;

I mean it.

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