NICKOLAS
“How could this happen? How could you fucking let this happen?” I roar, my voice raw with fury and desperation as I pace the living room like a caged animal, my hands clenching and unclenching at my sides.
“You think I let this happen?” Ava screams back, her face twisted with indignation and hurt.
“Don’t you dare fucking raise your voice at me,” I snarl, whirling on her with a ferocity that has her taking an involuntary step back. I loom over her, my body vibrating with barely contained rage, and for a moment, I see a flicker of fear in her eyes.
“And if I do, what will you do to me?” she challenges, lifting her chin defiantly as she tries to match my stance, but even at her full height, she barely reaches my chest. I glare down at her, my fists clenching so hard I can feel my nails biting into my palms, drawing blood. She knows I won’t lay a hand on her, that my love for her stays in my hand even in the darkest of moments, and the knowledge only fuels my impotent fury.
“I think the two of you need to take a seat,” Uncle Leo says, his voice calm but firm as he steps between us, placing a hand on each of our chests. I drop my gaze to the hand resting over my heart, feeling the steady thrum of my pulse beneath his palm before lifting my eyes to meet his. The look he gives me is equal parts understanding and pleading, silently begging me to rein in my temper.
With a huff of frustration, I stalk to the other end of the room, dropping into a chair with enough force to make the wood creak in protest. Uncle Leo guides Ava to a seat across from me, his touch gentle but insistent.
“Good. Now that you’re both seated, we can begin,” he says, his tone brooking no argument.
“How was Ember able to portal into Amelia’s room?” I ask.
“I think you know the answer to that,” Ava replies, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
I shoot her a venomous glare, my hands tightening on the armrests until my knuckles turn white. Uncle Leo catches my eye, mouthing a silent plea for forgiveness, and it takes every ounce of my self-control not to snap the fragile wood beneath my fingers.
Tearing my gaze away from Ava, I focus on Uncle Leo, my jaw clenched so tight I can feel my teeth grinding together. “I know she was able to portal in because you undid the spell,” I grit out, each word feeling like broken glass in my throat. “But how did she know you were undoing it? How did she time her arrival so perfectly?”
“I think I can explain that” Uncle Leo says, his expression grave. He turns to the door, raising his voice. “Bring her in.”
A moment later, a battered young woman is dragged into the room by one of the house guards, her maid’s uniform torn and stained with blood. Ava’s eyes widen in shock as she takes in the girl’s appearance, her mouth falling open in a silent gasp.
“What happened to you, Geneva?” she asks, her voice trembling with a mixture of concern and confusion. She turns to Uncle Leo, her brow furrowed in a silent demand for an explanation.
“While you and Nick were trying to save Amelia, one of the guards found her sneaking out the back,” he says, his tone heavy with disappointment. “They brought her to me, and I was able to solve the missing pieces of the puzzle.”
“What did you find out?” I ask, leaning forward in my seat, my heart pounding in my ears.
“Geneva, here is the one who set fire to Amelia’s room,” Uncle Leo says, his words hitting me like a physical blow.
“Why?” Ava whispers, her face pale with shock and disbelief.
“We all know the protective barrier Ava created around Amelia’s room grows in strength the more you attempt to force through it,” Uncle Leo explains. “It’s a failsafe, designed to activate when someone other than a member of this household or Nickolas tries to breach it.”
“But instead, it almost killed Amelia,” I continue the words tasting like ash on my tongue. “Because the fire was set inside the protective barrier, not outside.”
“Exactly,” Uncle Leo nods, his expression grim. “The barrier couldn’t differentiate between an external threat and an internal one. It activated its failsafe, forcing Ava to undo the spell to rescue Amelia.”
“Which made it possible for Ember to portal into the room,” I finish, the pieces falling into place with sickening clarity.
“But how did Ember know about the failsafe?” Ava asks, echoing the question that’s been burning in my mind. “And how did she know the exact moment I was undoing the spell?”
“That’s where Geneva comes in again,” Uncle Leo says, his gaze hardening as he looks down at the trembling girl on the floor. “She told Ember about the protective barrier, helped her find a way around it, and informed her the second Ava began the process of undoing the spell.”
“Wow,” Ava breathes, staring at the witch in stunned disbelief. I can see the betrayal etched into every line of her face, the hurt and anger warring for dominance in her eyes.
But I barely register her reaction, my attention focused solely on the cowering figure before me. This girl, this traitor, is the reason Amelia was taken from me. The reason she’s out there somewhere, suffering at the hands of that sadistic bitch. The reason she may yet face whatever fresh hell Ember has concocted for her.
The rage that’s been simmering in my veins ignites into an inferno, a white-hot fury that consumes me from the inside out. My vision tunnels, the edges tinting red as I clench my fists so hard I can feel the bones grinding together. She has to pay. She has to pay with her blood for what she’s done.
“Nickolas!” Uncle Leo’s shout snaps me out of my murderous reverie, and I whip my head around to face him, my chest heaving with the force of my ragged breaths. He gestures to the armrest of my chair, and I follow his gaze, blinking in surprise at the sight of the splintered wood beneath my fingers. I’ve gripped it so tightly that the delicate carvings have crumbled to dust under the force of my anger.
Releasing my hold on the ruined chair, I rise to my feet, my movements slow and deliberate as I stalk toward the center of the room. I crouch down before the witch, my face mere inches from hers, and I can smell the fear rolling off her in waves.
“If you tell me where she’s being held,” I murmur, my voice a low, menacing growl, “I will give you an easy death.” I pull back just far enough to meet her gaze, my eyes boring into hers with an intensity that has her shrinking away from me in terror.
“I-I-I don’t know,” she stammers, her whole body quaking like a leaf in a storm.
I straighten up, towering over her trembling form, my expression cold and implacable. “Burn yourself alive,” I command, my tone devoid of any emotion.
Her eyes widen in abject horror, tears spilling down her cheeks as she scrambles forward on her knees, clutching at the hem of my pants in desperation. “Please, I beg of you,” she sobs, her voice cracking with the force of her fear. “Kill me instead.”
I glare down at her, my lip curling in disgust, and she recoils as if I’ve struck her, releasing her hold on me and scuttling backward across the floor.
“Please, kill me,” she begs, turning to Ava with pleading eyes. But my aunt turns away, her face a mask of stone, and I can see the devastation in the set of her shoulders, the betrayal cutting her to the quick.
“And make sure to start with your toes,” I add, my voice as cold and unyielding as the ice in my veins. Without another word, I turn on my heel and stride from the room, the sound of Geneva’s agonized screams chasing me down the hall.
As I reach the front door, the scent of burning flesh reaches my nostrils, acrid and cloying, and a grim smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. She chose wisely in the end. Allowing me to kill her myself would have been a far worse fate than the one she’s suffering now.
I step out into the night, the cool air a balm against my overheated skin, and I take a moment to breathe deeply, trying to center myself. I need to focus, to channel my rage into something productive. I have to find Amelia, and I have to bring her home before it’s too late.
My heart clenches at the thought of her out there, alone and afraid, at the mercy of those monsters. I can’t let history repeat itself or let her suffer the way she did the last time Ember took her. I have to be better, faster, smarter. I have to find her, no matter the cost.
With a renewed sense of purpose, I set off towards the castle, my mind already racing with plans and strategies. I’ll assemble my best men and send out search parties to scour every inch of the kingdom and beyond. I won’t rest until she’s back in my arms, safe and whole.
I have to find her. I have to. Because the alternative is too horrific to contemplate, a world without her light, her warmth. A world I know I cannot survive.
So I will move heaven and earth, will tear apart the very fabric of reality itself, to bring her home. And heavens help anyone who stands in my way.