NICKOLAS
My eyes slowly peel open, but the darkness surrounds me. With a guttural grunt, I push myself to my feet, hands outstretched, grasping at the void, searching for something to anchor me. My fingers graze a cold, rough surface a wall. I cling to it, using it as a guide, shuffling forward, sniffing the stale air, trying to figure out where the hell I was.
I last remember Ava casting a spell that put me to sleep. Where the fuck have they taken me? My thoughts immediately turn to Amelia, my heart aching at the image of her waiting for me, her heart slowly shattering with each passing moment I don’t show. She must think I’ve changed my mind about meeting her parents. The thought twists like a dagger in my gut. I need to find out where I was and get the hell out.
“Planning on leaving so soon?” a voice slices through the darkness, and the lights blaze to life, searing my eyes. I squeeze them shut, hissing against the onslaught of brightness.
“I thought you would like to watch this interesting show with me first.” The voice is familiar.
“Callum,” I growl, blinking to bring the traitorous snake into focus outside the bars of my cell. What the fuck is going on? Where were Uncle Leo and Ava? Why am I being held prisoner by Callum and not them?
“Nice to see you again, Your Majesty. Or should I say, Nickolas, since we are not in the palace anymore, and I appear to have the upper hand right now?” His smirk is insufferable, and rage boils in my veins.
He smirks, and my jaw clenches. Only Amelia’s sweet lips have the right to utter my given name. No fucking other person! Callum will pay dearly for such disrespect. I stalk towards the bars, gesturing for him to come closer. The second that arrogant face is within reach, I rear back and slam my forehead against his nose. A sickening crunch echoes through the room as blood gushes over his features.
“Even as a human, you are no match for me,” I sneer, swiping his blood from my brow. The unmistakable scent of oak tree venom hit me the moment I regained consciousness. I am merely mortal now, stripped of my preternatural strengths – I would have to find a human way to escape this cell without my powers.
Callum hisses, clutching his ruined nose. “One for Nickolas, zero for me.” He shakes his head, seemingly unperturbed by his bleeding nose.
“Release me now, and I might grant you a swift death,” I growl, leaning into the bars, baring my teeth like a caged predator.
“Oh, Nickolas, you don’t seem to understand what’s happening, do you?” His gaze glints with malicious glee, and I remain silent, eyes narrowed as I wait for him to continue his villainous monologue.
“Why don’t I show you? I hope we aren’t too late.” Callum beckons a witch forward, and she weaves a spell, projecting a vision that drops me to my knees.
And then, I see her Amelia. The world tilts on its axis as she appears before me, beautiful and radiant, even in this shadowed projection. But something is wrong, terribly wrong. She lifts a gleaming blade to her throat, and realization cleaves through me like a rusted scythe. No, no, no, this cannot be happening!
I stumble back, legs trembling, and crash to the ground in a boneless heap as she slices that elegant column of flesh. Thick crimson blossoms spilling over her pale skin, and I can’t breathe, can’t think. Tears blur my vision as I watch the life drain from her eyes, those eyes that had so recently gazed upon me with warmth and adoration. My stone-cold heart cracks and rumbles to pieces.
“Amelia!” The broken rasp tears from my throat, anguish lancing through me like shards of ice.
“Who knew the king was such a lover boy?” Callum’s mocking words are a mere buzzing in my ears as the projection fades, leaving me bereft, hollowed out.
I turn to face him, hatred searing through my veins, scorching my soul. He is the architect of this atrocity, this unforgivable sin. Slowly, I rise, stalking toward the bars once more, my movements liquid and lethal.
“You are a dead man walking,” I vow, glaring at him, willing him to combust from the sheer intensity of my rage.
“I hardly doubt that,” he scoffs, but I detect a tremor of unease in his bravado.
“I am going to break every single one of your 138 bones,” I begin, relishing the way his throat bobs with a convulsive swallow. “I will cut off your manhood and force it down your gullet. I will pluck out your eyes and peel away each nail before severing your fingers and toes from their sockets. And through it all, I will make sure oak tree venom will be in the room, ensuring you feel every exquisite slice, every agonizing fracture.”
His pallor has taken on a grayish cast, eyes wide and glistening with the first inkling of the torment to come.
“Once you reach the precipice of death, I will treat your wounds and let them heal, then reset the cycle anew. Again and again, until you beg for the cold embrace of oblivion as a mercy.”
Callum doesn’t utter another word; he merely turns on his heel and flees. Coward. I pivot away from the door, retreating to the farthest corner of my cell. My hands fist in my hair as I crumple to the ground.
Amelia is gone. She’s gone, and it’s all my fault. She chose to stay away from her family to protect them, and now she thinks she’s responsible for their deaths because of me. Callum used dark magic to disguise someone as me, tricking Amelia. For a moment, I even doubted myself, wondering if I truly killed her parents, even though I know I didn’t. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that she took her own life, and the guilt is crushing me.
Fuck!” I scream, the weight of my sorrow crashing down upon me. A teardrop rolls down my cheeks. I fucking killed her, and I wasn’t even worthy of being with her, yet I was too selfish to let her go.
“Amelia,” I whisper, my heart heavy with grief. I can’t believe she’s gone before I had the chance to tell her I love her. My heart clenches painfully in my chest. Once I’ve had my revenge, I’ll join her. This world isn’t worth living in without her.