32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Thea

G wyn’s scream immediately filled the air. I turned to look at their dead bodies now that they weren’t hidden by my illusion magic. My darkness hummed at the sight. Vengeance. When I returned my gaze to my father, his eyes were wild with hatred. I already pulled out my dagger. I took a step backward to stand between them and Cassius. My barrier magic released from me without permission to protect all of the prisoners. Jesper stared at Tally, barely giving her a second glance. His hard-pressed face looked like he was fucked, and he was right. But first I needed to get rid of everyone else. He and my father would get my wrath.

I shifted my gaze along the line of guards to see who would come and try to fight me first. I wanted a fight. They all stood frozen with fear, their weapons drawn at me .

Gwyn was the one who charged at me with a dagger of her own. Stupid woman. I swiped my hand around, evaporating all the weapons pointed at me with my fire mist.

“You stupid fucking bitch!” She screamed as she came at me. “We should have killed you when you were a child!”

Gwyn had probably never held a weapon in her life, so when she charged me, it was easy to stop her with one punch to her pretty face. She crumpled to the ground, but my fire mist was quick to wrap her up.

“I promised you that you would watch me kill your daughters one day,” I sneered.

“They didn’t do anything to you!” she yelled.

“They were cruel to me. They helped all of you kill me, lie to me, and cheat me out of my happiness.” My fire lashed out and burned Gwyn, but only to cause her pain. My father seemed to just register what was happening.

“Kill the Crimson family and Thea!” he demanded from his guards.

“Whoever tries to stop me will die. If you leave, I will let you live!” I called out to the men I trained. Most of them stopped and debated whether or not they should fight me. Six kept moving towards me, and I shot Haden’s frost magic at them, freezing them immediately. Kizar guards headed towards me, but with no weapons .

The crowd was yelling and wailing as they tried to run from me, but they realized they were all stuck here too. They wanted a show, so now they would get one.

One guard that had hesitated decided to be stupid and try to attack me. I dodged his attack easily, but he kept running past me, heading for Cassius. He hit my barrier, and I smiled wickedly at him as he fell to the ground on his back. I moved quicker than he did. A moment later I stood over him, my dagger pointed at him.

“That was very fucking stupid of you.”

I summoned my darkness, lifting him off the ground, then speared the man through the chest, leaving a gaping hole big enough that I could see through him. Just like Tally. Glancing through the man’s body, I could see Cassius and gave him a small smile, not quite registering the fact that he was seeing me through a torso. Cassius seemed to be in shock, but I don’t think he had ever seen me completely taken away by my darkness.

I threw the man’s dead body toward my father and Jesper. I was not in control of myself as I moved toward them. Gwyn still watched the chaos tangled in my fire mist, her feet dangling a few feet off the ground. My fire was still burning her, causing her painful sobs to fill the space around me. It only fueled my need for vengeance. My dagger sliced and stabbed through men like it was nothing. My darkness humming at every heart I stopped, at every man I took down in the name of Crimson. For Cassius. For Exile. For my mother. For me.

My father and Jesper were circled by dozens of men. Cowards. I stopped and glanced at Gwyn.

“If you come over to me, Luren, I won’t kill her. I’ll trade you for her.”

I knew my father would never sacrifice himself for anyone. Gwyn looked to my father, expecting him to step forward. He didn’t move. I saw the sadness in her eyes, and it only made me happy to see her suffering. The fae in the colosseum still watched in shock, like they were safe from my wrath.

“That is the man you all follow blindly!” I yelled, causing it to turn almost silent. “A man who does not care about his wife, about his daughter, who does not care about any of you!” I was fucking seething. “You all disgust me. Who comes here to see the slaughter of innocent royal families?”

No one dared move.

Suddenly a dagger stabbed into my leg. Cassius’ voice filled the space as he ran at my barrier magic. Immediately my chest seized as the images of my vision pulsed through my mind. It was happening. Was this what Brim saw too? Cassius’ shadows swarmed around him, trying desperately to break out. His black eyes were full of hatred, but there was a deep fear too. Cassius’ shadows ripped my barrier magic apart, and he headed straight for me.

No.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears. Time slowed down as I froze in fear. My vision plagued me over and over in my mind. I reached for him, but my darkness wouldn’t release its hold on me.

Cassius, stop . I tried to release any of my magic, but it wouldn’t. He wouldn't be able to stop himself. Our bond would demand he protect me at any cost.

“Thea!” Cassius’ voice boomed.

It was happening. He was going to die. I could feel how frantic he was through our bond.

“Cassius, no!” I called out.

I tried to stop him with my magic again, but nothing came from me. Cassius was moving through the crowd of guards, his shadows ripping and tearing men apart who tried to stop him. His black eyes were focused on me. I had been so distracted by Cassius that I wasn’t paying attention.It wasn’t until I was falling to my knees that pain crippled me. My mouth fell open as the sword pierced through me. My father walked in front of me, smiling.

“You thought you could overpower me?”

“Thea!” Cassius became more frantic as he came for me. Sights and sounds became distorted as my blood flowed from my wound. I could feel the haziness creeping through me. All of my plans fell to the ground as I looked around in a daze. Time felt as if it had been slowed down. My gaze drifted from my father to focus on who stood directly behind him.

My mother.

She was beautiful. Like an angel, glowing brightly with Killian next to her. Her eyes were blood red as she tilted her head to the side to look at me. My breathing was labored. Each lungful of air sent waves of pain where the sword stabbed through me. My mother took two steps, so she was in front of me. She kneeled so we were at eye level.

“This is not how you die.” Her voice was calm, but I could sense the fear coming from her. Everything was moving in slow motion around us still. “The dagger in your leg is stopping your magic.”She reached down and yanked it from me, causing me to whimper in pain.

“This will hurt, sweetheart.” She frowned with tears in her eyes as she looked behind me to where Killian disappeared. Before I could think of what she meant, the sword was yanked from me. A scream so vicious tore from me, causing ripples of power to explode from my body and knock everyone down.My magic exploded from me. “That’s my girl. Heal yourself, and get Cassius contained.” My mother smiled at me. Sybil’s magic was already pumping through me violently, sealing the wound that would have killed me. I stood, my darkness in complete control of me. My body was engulfed in black flames as I looked around for my husband.

Cassius was kneeling...just like in my vision. A Kizar guard stood behind him with a sword. My darkness was already on its way.

“I love you,” Cassius called out to me. There was a ringing in my ears as I heard Cassius saying goodbye to me. I did not allow myself to acknowledge my fear because it would paralyze me. My darkness was already wrapping up the Kizar guard that was about to kill Cassius. I sneered when he went to swing his sword, only to have my darkness force its way down his throat, making him drop the blade and fall to his knees.

Cassius glanced behind him at the man gripping his neck as my darkness blocked his airways, and then it seeped into his blood, turning his veins black. His eyes turned black as well before I turned the darkness inside of him into fire, making his body melt. Flames burst from his eye sockets as he fell over dead.

Cassius smiled at me, but then his smile dropped. I could hear someone coming up behind me, but a man was approaching Cassius too. All too quickly, clouds rolled over the sky, blocking the sun from reaching us. Lightning scattered across the sky. Della was doing something, but I didn’t have time to think about it. I was too concerned with Cassius and the man approaching him.

“Watch out!” Haden’s voice echoed as he ran toward Cassius. Cassius turned around right as a man charged him with a sword. He froze. Cassius didn’t move a muscle. Why wasn’t he moving? Then, starlight exploded around Haden and Cassius. I couldn’t see them but figured Della was protecting them.

I could hear the heavy footsteps of the guard who was trying to sneak up on me was getting closer, so I turned and swung my daggers at him. The Kizar guard was small and not very quick on his feet. He swung too hard, causing his body to twist awkwardly but allowing me to step forward and pierce my dagger through his ribs. He fell over dead.

Frantically, I turned back to where Cassius and Haden had been, only to find my vision playing out right in front of my eyes again. Cassius’ golden eyes stared at me as blood dripped from his cut brow. My father stood behind him, sword already coming toward Cassius. I tried to get to Cassius with my darkness, but nothing happened as it hit a barrier. The Kizar guard standing next to my father smiled.

“Cassius!” I yelled, but I was too late. The sword sliced into Cassius’ neck; blood spilled from the wound as I tried desperately to get to him. I saw the moment his eyes went vacant. I refused to believe he was dead as my heart raced and tears flowed from my eyes. Cassius slumped to the ground. A scream tore from me, making the ground shake and crack below us, knocking my father and the guard down. Luren watched me, enjoying the anguish that was consuming me. I slid to my knees; my darkness expanded around Cassius and I.

“Please, open your eyes!” I begged. “Do not leave me!” My magic stormed above me. I could not control the emotions that ripped through my chest and nearly killed me on the spot. My hands covered the wound on his neck, trying to stop the blood gushing from it, but it was too much. My healing magic didn’t come forward to heal him because it knew there was nothing to save. He was gone. Cassius was dead. “I’m sorry.” I sobbed into his chest that no longer rose and fell with life. I gripped him tightly, refusing to let him go. My tears soaked his clothing, which was covered in his blood.

He was dead.

My husband was gone, and I couldn’t even begin to comprehend what that meant. Images of Cassius smiling and laughing hit me like an arrow. I would never see that smile again. I would never hear him laugh. I would never know what it was like to have a life with Cassius. My father had ripped that away from me, just like he did with everything.

“Please,” I begged his lifeless face. “I can’t live without you!” A war of anger and sadness raged inside of me. Cassius deserved to live; he was everything good in this realm. He was every good piece of me. Without him I was nothing. My body was on fire, black flames burning angrily across my skin. I did not want to leave him alone on the ground like this. I curled against him, begging the stars to take me with him this very second because I couldn’t breathe without him. I gripped his cold hand in mine.

I closed my hand tightly hoping when I opened then again that Cassius would be smiling at me, and this would be a bad dream. When I opened them, Cassius was still lying in a pool of his own blood not moving. His skin was too pale, his hand was too cold.

A soft golden glow caught my attention. His soul. I sat up and turned toward the glow, but it wasn’t Cassius’ soul that stared back at me. It was Haden.

“Haden? Where is Cassius’ soul?”

Haden kneeled so that he was looking at me at eye level.

“Thea…”

“Tell me now!”

“Della overheard your father talking about killing Cassius to weaken you. The guard next to him can block magic and take down barriers. You wouldn’t have been able to save him. So, I told Della that when they tried to kill Cassius, to make me look like him, and I would take his place so it could buy you enough time to kill that bastard.”

I shook my head to try and understand what he was saying through the grief.

“Cassius isn’t dead.” He frowned. “Look at your marriage bond; it isn’t broken.” My gaze snapped to my crown bond. It was still intact.

“I don’t…”

“Look at who you’re holding in your lap,” Haden demanded. When I did, it was no longer Cassius. It was Haden. “I tackled Cassius to the ground before the guard got him. Cassius is pissed, but he is safe behind an illusion barrier that Della put up. You must kill the guard next to your father, or he will get to Cassius again. His magic is what will allow your vision to happen.”

“You said you couldn’t die.” Relief filled me for Cassius, but I didn’t want to lose Haden either.

“I won’t die permanently. Any moment my soul will go back to my body. I will be healed; you do not need to worry about me.” Sadness flickered in his eyes. “Della always makes sure I come back to her.”

He used her nickname. The thunder above us shook the ground as lightning lit the sky. I didn’t need to know who was pissed. Della’s starlight turned red as she appeared next to Haden. But she turned to me.

“Cassius is safe; just focus on the prophecy. Use that rage coursing through you to kill that bastard next to your father. They will know it's not Cassius that died in a moment. I can only change fae, not scenery like you can.” Her eyes turned pure white before she gave Haden’s soul a soft smile and gently put him back into his body.

I stood, letting my darkness fall away so I could find Cassius. My eyes met his black ones through Della’s barrier. He was pissed. His hands were frozen together in front of him. Haden had restrained him.

“I love you,” I said in a shaky voice even though he couldn’t hear me.

Then I turned my focus to the man who had been standing next to my father. My father had retreated behind his wall of guards like that would save him. My eyes shifted to a blinding blue as I summoned Nev’s light magic. I created a ball in my hand. As the guard was distracted by Della, my darkness crept along the ground and wrapped him up, forcing his mouth open. I stomped over to him barefoot as I burned my uncomfortable heels off my feet. I shoved the ball of light down his throat.

The man had no choice but to swallow it. I backed away from him and made the ball of light expand inside of him until his body exploded. Chunks of the man went flying into the crowd, but they still didn’t dare move.Which was good, because I would cut the flesh from their bodies if they did. My red eyes flickered over to Cassius, who watched me as I put barrier magic, shadows, and my darkness around him. Would three layers of my magic overpower his need to get to me ?

He didn’t die . Relief filled me, but I knew that he was still in danger. I turned my focus back to where Gwyn had escaped and cowered behind my father. My darkness wrapped her up again and yanked her to me without lifting a damn finger. She cried and begged my father to save her.

Now that the fear of Cassius almost dying subsided, I was enraged—furious at the fae that thought our lives were just something to play with, furious that they tried to keep him from me. And enraged because I could have lost him.

“You all lied to me.” My voice rang out through the stadium. No one spoke or made a fucking noise when they heard how pissed off I was. “You were cruel to me. But I can forgive that; after all, my father did not tell you all the truth about what happened. But what I cannot forgive is how you all condoned my family tricking me into killing him!” I pointed my finger at Cassius. His eyes were full of worry for me. “Cassius Valeska, my mate, my husband! Your future king!”

Chaos broke out at my declaration. No one could leave as my darkness swarmed around us without their knowledge. My bloodstone pulsed violently, giving me all the energy I would ever need.

“Husband…” Gwyn sobbed .

Cassius’ eyes found mine, and he looked fucking proud to be mine.

“You broke your curse,” Gwyn's eyes widened at the realization.

“That’s right, Gwyn,” I sneered. “I broke my curse weeks ago!” I yelled in her face. “But even before that, I could see you for what you were. A cruel, heartless bitch.”

I turned to my father and Jesper. My mother was standing close to the blood witches, smiling proudly at me.

“This is for Crimson!” I yelled, making the chaos pause to watch me as I held up my dagger before plunging it into her stomach, yanking it up to her throat, cutting her open so her guts spilled at my feet. Her blood was splattering over me. My darkness pulsed violently as we stared Gwyn in the eyes until every fucking shred of light drained from her. And when it did, I tossed her dead body at my father. She landed at his feet with a thud.

My father yelled in his grief, but it couldn’t be real, not when he wouldn’t even trade himself for her. I would give myself, this realm, anything to save Cassius, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it. My father moved toward me but was still guarded. My eyes tracked his movements.

“Thea, I don’t understand what you are doing.”

“I am fulfilling the prophecy.” I smiled at him. “Killing kings, crumbling kingdoms. ”

“But... b-but...”

“B-but nothing,” I mocked him. “Your kingdom and now Kizar will belong to me, to Crimson, when I finish killing you and Jesper. Your fae will bow at the feet of their new king... Cassius. I smiled as my father’s face reddened with rage.

My father glanced behind me to where Cassius and the Crimson royal family were now standing, still bound.

“It looks like Cassius will be dying after all.” He smiled.

When I turned, I saw the man I killed earlier break through the barrier I had and pull Cassius from it. His magic didn't pulse as powerfully as it did earlier. The guard looked slightly different—a twin. He kicked Cassius’ legs so that he fell to his knees. Fear seized me.

Cassius will die.

“If you move, I will slit his throat.” The man threatened me as he held a sword to Cassius' neck. His ugly face held a hate-filled sneer.

“Drop your fucking dagger,” he demanded. I did what he said because I didn’t need it to kill him.

“You will stop this madness now,” my father demanded.

My eyes focused on the man, on the threat to my husband, and I could feel magic bubbling up. I let it take control, and a moment later the noises of fear stopped. When I glanced up, everyone was frozen again but Cassius. My heart was beating wildly in my chest at how close that was.

Quickly, I walked to the man but leaned down first and gave Cassius a chaste kiss. Then I yanked the man’s blade away from Cassius before I unfroze everyone so they could see me dragging the man by his hair. I quickly wrapped Cassius back up in my barrier magic and my darkness. The man thrashed around trying to get free, but my grip didn’t loosen, and fear seeped into his dark eyes.

“What the fuck?” He tried to break free, but I only smiled at him.

“Thea…” My father started to speak.

I forced the man to his knees, so he was looking at Cassius.

“You should have never touched what belongs to me,” I hissed. “I want you to look at my husband as I spill your blood for trying to hurt him,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Cassius’ eyes found mine.

I smiled at Cassius as I grabbed the man’s sword and swung hard, so the man’s head flew away as it came off, leaving a bloody trail all the way to my father’s feet. Cassius smiled brightly at me, and gods, he looked fucking proud of me .

When I turned, Jesper was trying to sneak away. I didn’t know which one I wanted to kill first, him or my father. Guards surrounded them, but I only had to take a few steps toward them before most of them broke and ran. I stopped and glared at the guards that I trained. I didn’t want to kill them.

“If you all walk away, I won’t kill you. I just want Luren and Jesper.” A few more of the guards ran, but some stayed, looking unsure. “You will not stop me from getting them, and you will lose your lives for nothing. You know my father does not care about any of you, but I do. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will be killing Luren and Jesper, so step aside or die with them.”

Most of them left.

About a dozen stood standing between me and my targets.

“You made your choice,” I frowned as I summoned their blood marks. “You will all step aside and watch me slaughter Jesper and Luren.” They all obeyed in formation. My father’s eyes glanced around before looking at me. “Being a blood witch has its perks. Blood manipulation is so fun to use. In fact, I blood-marked you too.”

My father stilled.

“You brought me a lovely gift.” I pulled my bloodstone out and showed him. “Thanks. ”

My father didn’t move, but Jesper turned and tried to run.

I used Cassius’ shadows to move across the field directly in front of Jesper. He skidded to a stop and looked at me, horrified.

“Where are you going?” I asked. He turned and started toward the arena, but I moved through Cassius’ shadows again, once more ending up right in front of him. This time, my darkness wrapped around his throat and slammed him into the ground, making it quake. Then it wrapped him up and dragged him along the ground behind me as I went toward my father. Luren continued to just stare at me without trying to run away.

He had accepted his fate.

I left Jesper tangled in my darkness on the ground as I stepped toward my father. The guards who refused to stop protecting Luren and Jesper would have to die. They chose their side, and it wasn’t me. My darkness crept from me and snapped the necks of each guard. The sound of bones breaking made my father finally try to move.

“Luren, you will stay!” I demanded, and his feet planted to their spot because of the blood mark. His eyes that matched my own widened as he realized he was not in control of himself. I sent my darkness after him. It grabbed his wrists and ankles, lifting him a foot off the ground. He didn’t try to fight, but fuck, his fear was pumping from him. I stopped a few feet away and glared at him.

“You are a disgusting excuse of a man, and I will spend the rest of my life scrubbing your very existence from this realm.”

My father breathed heavily.

“You should have never underestimated me. You should have never kept me from Cassius.”

“You’re a traitorous whore just like your mother!”

The insult only made my blood witch markings glow with anger as my red eyes locked on him. I stepped closer to him.

“Do you want to know a secret?” I asked. He said nothing. “My mother is standing next to you.”

His eyes widened as his chest rose and fell quickly.

“She didn’t go to the next life just so she could watch you die. You took all the elite magic fae from me and killed them. You took Sybil and my brothers from me. So, for that, I will make this painful. And because you killed my mother, I will draw this out. When this is all over, I want you to know that your fae will realize how terrible you were when they see how great of a king Cassius will be.”

“Fuck you!” he yelled. I stepped forward and pried his mouth open. Raising my dagger slowly, I waved it in front of his eyes, watching them widen in fear. Keeping my eyes locked onto his, I shoved my blade in his mouth and cut his tongue out.

“Much better now that I don’t have to listen to you,” I sighed. I threw his severed tongue at Jesper, hitting him in the face. He thrashed around in disgust as Luren’s cries filled the silent air. The crowd of fae barely moved, probably worried I would slaughter them if they did. I gripped my viper-handled dagger and stabbed it into his thigh, making him cry out. I used my darkness to pry his eyes open so he couldn’t look away.

“First, I will crumble your home.” I summoned my fire, but my other magic mixed with it, creating a comet-like ball of angry power. The bloodstone pulsed violently as I drew upon its energy to expand the ball before I threw it toward the castle. The size of the ball of magic cast shadows over the fae watching as they all looked at the sky as if they were watching a shooting star. Every pair of eyes watched as the ball of magic soared over them and hit the side of my father’s castle. The towers crumbled to the ground as screams of terror rang from the rubble. My magic ripped the castle apart in mere seconds, its stone and bricks exploding around us. My barrier magic swarmed around all of us as debris fell from the skies and my father’s legacy crumbled. He was trying to close his eyes, but he would see everything. An angry cloud of smoke billowed up into the sky, overtaking the sun completely and making it seem as though it were about to storm.

“I will stab you for each fae in Exile that you slaughtered,” I spoke as I slowly pressed my blade into his thigh.

My father cried, and I was just getting started. Just as I was about to start my stabbing, I looked over his shoulder at everyone watching. This would take too long. Sighing in disappointment, I knew I needed to not draw this out.

“Actually, I think we will do it this way,” I said as I lifted my hand to summon my darkness. It transformed into dozens of sharp points before I urged it forward, cutting into my father’s body without resistance. He screamed at the pain, but it wasn’t enough. I pulled my darkness back when he started bleeding too much.

“Well, this won’t work.” I tisked and brought forth my fire magic and burned his wounds shut before doing it again and again. More screams of agony filled the space around us. I could feel death coming for him. But that was too kind of a punishment.

“This is for my mother. For Cassius. For Sybil. For Kaz. For Kai,” I spoke angrily. “This is for Crimson!”

I held up my hands and squeezed my darkness around his wrists and ankles tighter before slowly pulling them in different directions. Luren’s screams were deafening as his body was slowly torn apart. Limb by limb, my darkness ripped them from his body. I made sure it was slow, and only when I knew he was about to die did I pull so violently that my father’s body fell into pieces at my feet.

More.

They deserved more punishment for what they had done. My breathing was wild as I stared at the pieces of Luren. I spit on him.

I was out of control when I turned and found Jesper still lying in my darkness. He was struggling, trying to break free, but he would never know what freedom felt like again. My darkness was angry, but more so than that, I was.

“I’ve been daydreaming of all the ways I could kill you, Jesper.” I smiled when he started crying. “Nothing feels like it will be enough of a punishment for what you did to me.”

All of the things that Jesper did to me came crashing down around me. My sanity snapped. I swiped my hand out so that my illusion magic recreated the cell in the bottom of the castle that he had tortured me in. I sat Jesper up and pinned his hands above him on the wall. Jesper was shaking his head no.

I used my magic to show everyone what he had done to me so they would understand why I was doing this. My memories of being tortured by Jesper played out in front of everyone. They watched in horror as my memories projected out. Walking forward, I used my dagger to cut his shirt off him. Then I started writing insults into his flesh.

He called out and thrashed.

“If you move, this will hurt worse for you,” I hissed his own words to him. Jesper stilled, but I wanted this to hurt him. So, I dug my blade deeper so that he had no choice but to move. He called out as loud as he could. A moment later, I stood with puffy breaths. I smiled at the words ‘Crimson’s bitch’ carved into the middle of his chest, among others.

“I just want you to know that I fucked Cassius on your throne after I slaughtered your guards.” My eyes shined brightly as his eyes filled with hatred.

“ I killed all of your guards. I killed the assassins you sent for Petra and Sy.” I leaned down so I could stare at him. “And I made your piece-of-shit mother gut herself in front of my coven. She died painfully as I promised her that I would make your death even worse than hers.”

Jesper was saying something behind my darkness that had him silenced. He was getting sluggish and hardly awake. That wouldn’t do. My hand swiped around us again, and now the illusion magic made us appear in a washroom. A nice, warm bath was drawn for Jesper. With my darkness, I lifted him up and put him in the water. Once again, I used my magic to show all the fae present what Jesper had done to me. I didn’t look to see what they all thought. I didn’t care what they thought, but I wanted them to understand that they condoned this behavior.

“You’re filthy,” I muttered at him, my own voice sounding like a stranger.

I released my darkness from his mouth so I could hear his pain and suffering. I stepped toward him, and he cried out for me to stop, but I wouldn’t, not until his heart stopped beating.

Glancing up at the illusion magic I played for all the fae, I saw them watching in horror as Jesper grabbed my head and held me under the water.

“Time to return the favor.” I smiled and stepped forward, grabbing Jesper’s head and shoving him down into the water. Jesper thrashed under me, but I held him down until he started to stop moving, then yanked him back up. He inhaled another deep breath out of instinct, and I shoved him below the surface of the water immediately.

When he stopped fighting, I pulled him up and took a step back. Jesper glanced at me, and his terror swarmed me when he looked at my face. I was sure I was terrifying everyone around me, but I didn’t care.

“Thea…” Jesper breathed. “It was all your father’s idea,” he cried .

I cocked my head to the side and stared at him like he was an idiot. Jesper stared back at me, probably thinking he was putting on a brave face. But I knew better.

“My father did not make you beat me or torture me. You did all of that on your own, Jesper. You didn’t need to be involved in the kingdom’s scams and deceit. You chose to do that, and now that greed will be the reason you die today.”

“I knew we should have fucking killed you!” he yelled. “I told your father that you were a lost cause, but he wanted to keep doing this stupid shit every year. I just wanted to kill you every year so that Cassius could never have you. I should have slaughtered his whole family while you were in Exile!”

I laughed.

“You?” I scoffed. “Weak. Pathetic. Coward. Useless. Dumb. Fragile man. You would never be able to get close to Cassius. He would have your body ripped into tiny pieces before you even knew it was coming.”

“Well, I still outpowered you at one point,” he sneered.

I clapped a big round of applause for the asshole.

"Congratulations, Jesper; you tricked me when I had no memories. You caged me like an animal only because you barbed my magic inside of me. Only because I let you barb it inside of me to save those I love. You used poison to weaken me. You were always a sorry excuse for a man. I’m sure your father died disappointed that you were his only heir.”

Jesper’s nostrils flared at my comment. It looked like I struck a nerve.

“And now, your kingdom will belong to me as the last heir of the Cerithian throne. As your sister by marriage, I will inherit all of it. But don’t worry; I don’t want your land. It will be split between Falgon and Akecia. Crimson will keep Cerithia. I will wipe your existence off of this realm after today. It will be as though you never existed.”

Jesper’s jaw clenched so tightly as if he wanted to say something to me, but he didn’t know what he wanted to say.

“Fuck you!” He spit toward me.

I stepped forward and slapped him across the face. Jesper stared at me.

“Just kill me already,” he demanded.

“But I’m having so much fun.”

Jesper finally looked away from me. My darkness lashed out and pried his mouth open. It formed a dagger-like edge and reached in, ripping his tongue from him. Jesper’s bathwater turned red as he thrashed around in agony. His death would be painful and drawn out. I’m sure the fae here would recoil in disgust, but they needed to know what happened when they fucked with me or my family. A moment later I summoned my fire magic and released it toward the bath full of water, making it rise in temperature.

“Let’s get your bath at a nice, hot temperature.”

Jesper tried to crawl out when he realized how warm his bath was getting. Slowly, I raised the temperature of the water, boiling him alive. His screams begging for death only fueled me to slow down his death. Jesper’s death was going to be agonizing, and somehow it still felt like he deserved worse; my whole family had deserved worse.

If anyone spoke around us, I did not hear them. I was too focused on Jesper’s pain and pleading. When his skin started bubbling from the heat, I would use Haden’s frost magic to cool the water down, only to do it all over again. His skin blistered and melted off of his bones and muscles slowly. His bathwater turned more red as he bled out.

The sight of his body was disgusting. His skin and body had practically melted into fae soup in the tub. I moved toward him when I could feel death coming for him. I stared at him in the eyes.

“Tell my family I said hi when you get to hell.”

Jesper was gasping for a breath he would never catch. But even now I wanted to take away his air, so I shoved him under the water, making sure his last lungful was water. When he didn’t fight back, I pulled him out. He was dead. His whole body slowly submerged into the water when my magic released him. My darkness swarmed around me; I was out of control, and I didn’t know how to stop. More. I wanted more vengeance.

Maybe I should kill all the fae in the arena. My dress blew in the warm gusts of wind. It was covered in blood. My toes curled on the dirt beneath them. Dust filled my lungs as I readied my magic for more blood.