“Help me,” I plead with her as I continue to yank at the cuff, “Diana, please!”
She presses her lips into a line as she moves over to the bed and sits down on it. Her posture is stiff and there’s something heavy in the air as she just sits there. “I’m sorry, I tried to warn you,” is the only thing she says to me before the shine of a key in her hand is the only thing I can focus on as she slides it into the lock on the chains. “Be strong.” The words are followed by the click of the lock.
I don’t ask what she means as I jump out of the bed and sprint down the halls. I need to get to Kofu. I rush to our chambers, fortunate that I don’t run into many people on the way and those that I do don’t try to stop me. When the doors of our bedroom come in to view, I don’t miss the sight of the droplets of blood outside the door.
My heart kicks into overdrive and I push the doors open.
A sob leaves my lips.
Lying on the floor of our chambers is the only man I’ve ever loved with my whole heart and it takes me only one second to realize that he’s dead.
My legs give out.
I crawl over to Kofu, letting out a cry when one of my knees slip in the pool of blood. I fall over on top of his lifeless body and weep.
“I will love you until the ends of time, Aphaedra Tempest. When the winds carry my ashes and the seas wash away my blood, my love for you will stay strong. I’ll live for you and I’ll die for you.”
I’ll die for you.
Die for me, he did, and now I’ll avenge him if it’s the last thing I do, because I know exactly who did this and I am going to make him pay.
Chapter Ten
After my brother killed Kofu, though everyone else in the castle says an enemy of the court broke in and did it, they started keeping a cuff on me twenty-four hours a day unless I was in the dome training.
And for years now, I’ve played by their rules, let them think that the fight I put up the day I let the storm out is over.
It’s not. I’ve just been biding my time.
“Alright, your highness, that’s it for today,” Margret’s voice comes through the dome and I offer her a fake smile like I do every day.
But there’s something a bit more sinister behind it today.
She just doesn’t know it yet.
I keep my head low as the lock on the door clicks, letting me out. It's another change that’s happened in the past couple of years.
The dome is just another part of my prison now.
I hold out my wrist, just waiting. Soft steps get closer and the silver cuff comes in view a moment before I let my powers out.
There’s a yell as Margret goes flying into the wall, the cuff clattering to the floor. I can’t make myself feel any semblance of guilt as I glance over at the woman before moving forward. When Lacey approaches, I flick a hand and she goes down in a crumble.
I’ve waited for years to get better control of my powers and now that I have, it's time for part one of my plan to go into place.
I take out the guards at the door, including my own, the two who replaced Magnus and Gerald after the “incident”. Father says Magnus and Gerald were too close and wouldn’t likely put me down if I had another outburst and tried to kill my brother.
With one last glance at the fallen guards, I continue through the castle at a leisurely pace, my boots feel firm on my feet, hidden beneath the gold of my dress. I made sure they weren’t visible when I put them on this morning, not wanting to tip anyone off to my plans.
As I approached my brother’s chambers, my mind tries to go back to the worst day of my life, but I refuse to let it.
No, today is about vengeance, not grief.
I zap the guards on the door with lightning and as they fall to the floor, I catch glimpses of their still moving chests.
I push the door open and find just the person I’m looking for sitting in front of a mirror.
“What are you doing here?” Lainey asks and it’s the last words she ever utters as I pull the dagger hidden in my boot and throw it clean across the room. It embeds itself in her throat, the skills I’ve honed in on the last couple of years being put to use.
Lainey gurgles as her hands try to stop the blood pouring out of her throat. I move across the room and pull out the bloody knife. I look her in those cold eyes as I further jab the dagger into her throat, not caring about the blood that coats my dress.
“This is for Kofu, you bitch,” I whisper lowly as I pull the dagger out. She falls to the ground and while I could put her out of her misery, I don’t. I want her to be fully aware of the pain in her body in her last moments.
I thought taking a life for the first time would be harder, but I feel nothing as I watch Lainey take her last breaths.
Footsteps pound outside of the door and I know that before the night is over a dozen more lives will be lost.
I’ll make it look like I put up a good fight before they exile me to Ezowel, let them think they had the upper hand in banishing me.
The footsteps get closer and there’s a bam as the first of the guards burst into the room.
