Chapter Thirty

Maureen

V al drops to his knees and a rage unlike any I've ever known rises in my blood, crushing every rational part of me, stirring me like a deadly storm.

I scream and raise my hands toward Laurent. He snarls before directing his energy at me.

Fuck you.

I hold my ground, pushing back as we lock in a battle for power. I picture his lungs collapsing, his head popping like a balloon. Val rises to his feet and grabs one of my hands. The Erebus sigil on the back of my neck awakens, singeing my flesh. The pain feels like love. Like madness. We squeeze each other's sweaty hands, willing our power to surpass his.

Atlas grabs my other hand just as his father Pisces stands with Laurent, the both of them hurling a force at us that threatens to steal all the air from our lungs. Atlas's energy is sharp and brutal, yet effervescent as it tingles my skin. While Val's essence is rough, mangy, and ferocious like a rabid coyote.

"How could you let this happen, Riot?" Holden calls out. "You're supposed to play with your toys, not let them play with you."

This fucking piece of shit.

"I'm going to play with you next," I hiss.

He laughs. "Once I'm done destroying your little coven, I'm going to keep you as my pet. I even had a cage made for you. That way, I can punish you whenever I want."

The memory of his hands on my thighs fuels the rage in my chest. My hands shake as he walks toward us. Riot tries to block his path, but he sends him flying. I see Felix rush to him out of the corner of my eye. But I don't dare take my full gaze off Holden.

"Yeah, that's right, little temptress. No one will be around to save you from me. From all the vile things I plan to do to you. I will fuck your pussy raw until it bleeds. Every night. You'll be pissing razor blades and begging for death by the time I'm done with you."

Laurent and Pisces join him in laughter.

He plants the image in my mind. I see the cage, the restraints, the perverse look in his eyes as he dangles his stubby cock over me. I shudder and blink a few times.

"Get out of my head!" I scream.

Riot and Felix dash over to stand in front of me. To block me from Holden's ire.

"Enough," Riot roars. "She is not yours to cage."

"She never will be," Felix snarls. There's a dark edge to his voice that I've never heard before.

I glance over to see Villette wide-eyed and curled up on the altar. Zeus slithers around her, but his head snaps toward us. He wants a piece of these assholes just as badly as we do.

The ravens screech and squawk as my guys circle around me. Dark and light threads of energy glimmer between us. I let it consume me. Let it feed me and give me strength.

Pisces, Laurent, and Holden face us, throwing everything they have in our direction. I feel the temptation to give in to them. To surrender. To succumb. My limbs ache as I fight to hold my ground. Everything burns as if I'm actually on fire.

"Lean on us, Firecracker. Take what you need," Riot commands.

"Just like we did when we jumped the cliff, Maur," Val adds.

And now we have Felix. His energy is poetry. It caresses my soul like a soft feather, and yet, it feels impenetrable, strong like bamboo. I feel his light wrapping around me like a warm cocoon.

With a cry, I unleash my shadows. I let them soak through me, reaching the deepest parts of me before I unfurl them. The sigil of Erebus cools, sending chills like icicles over my heated flesh.

I stalk toward the three elders. "You will crumble and cower at my feet." It's my voice, but it sounds strange and unfamiliar. I lift my hands and send the ravens down. They shriek as they dive at their skulls. Blood spots their flesh as they peck at their lips, their cheeks, and their hands.

Pisces breaks first, flailing his arms around as he tries to fend them off.

Holden curses at him. "You idiot!"

They're weakening.

Riot rushes forward. "We're done being pawns for you." He cocks back and physically punches his father in the face. Holden releases his hold on our circle and swings back. Riot ducks and steps forward. He shoves him back. "You're too slow, old man."

"Fuck this," Laurent lunges at Val. "Time to teach you a lesson, boy." I step in between them just as he raises his fist, catching it in my palm before it reaches Val's cheek. "You will never lay a finger on him ever again," I declare.

The ravens flock to me, flapping wildly around us as I force this man down to the ground with every ounce of strength I have.

He glares up at me, sweat dripping down his face, his cheeks bright red, as his fist shakes in my hand. "You are an abomination."

Well, that's a fucking new one.

Val charges forward and wraps his hands around his father's throat, unleashing a scream that stops all of us in motion. Every trauma he's endured at the hands of this man boils to the surface. "You never loved me," he yells in his face as it turns purple.

Laurent's eyes bulge wide with horror.

"It's your fault I'm like this. You gave me these scars." Laurent claws at Val's wrists as he fights for breath. "My sigils protect me from you . Not from her or anyone else."

We watch as he chokes him. As the life leaves his eyes. Laurent's hands fall to his sides. "Fuck you." He spits in his face just as his body convulses and slumps to the ground.

I want to comfort him, but we have two other predators to deal with.

Holden shrieks. "Are you going to kill me too, Riot? Your own father?"

Atlas towers over Holden and Pisces, a demonic look in his eyes. "Probably."

"Atlas, you sick fuck. You've always been a disturbed boy," Pisces snaps.

He smiles back, his blue-green eyes glowing. "I learned from you, Father. But we're not your boys anymore. We're grown men who have come for a fucking reckoning."

Holden shakes his head at Riot, who is holding himself together by a very thin thread. "All of this drama… her pussy must taste as sweet as fucking pie. You have ruined everything for this slut."

Riot backhands him with all his power behind him, sending him to his knees. "Call her a slut one more time, and you'll be joining your good friend Laurent in the After… Nocturnus doesn't belong to you anymore. You've desecrated it with your greed and your filth. Nocturnus is ours now."

Atlas rubs his fingers in the air, and Zeus begins to slither across the floor to us. "You don't deserve to bear our sigils. You never did."

They both yell in protest as the king cobra snake wraps itself around Pisces, locking him into a tight embrace. "Don't do this, son," he begs.

Atlas laughs. "Oh, now I'm son? This is happening."

I stalk over to Holden, bloody knife in hand. "As soon as you take off your clothes, the ritual will begin," I hiss, mocking him with his own words.

"I will not." He folds his arms to his chest like a child pouting.

"Yes, you fucking will," Riot screams in his ear.

I kneel down next to his father and smile as I wave my blade in his face. "Undress. Now. Or I will let the ravens eat your testicles."

The venom in his eyes is monstrous. I can imagine he's dreaming about all the violent things he wants to do to me but can't.

"You're outnumbered," Riot goads. "We are stronger than you, and you know that you've lost. So do as she says."

I fixate on his every move, salivating as he removes his shirt, then his shoes and pants. The sick pleasure that twists in my bones sends an endorphin rush to my head, making me higher than any poison or drug ever could.

His short chubby cock shrivels in fear as I glare at it. "You're really fucking ugly, you know that?" He flinches as I lean forward. "This is going to hurt a lot."

Riot, Atlas, and Felix hold him down as he cries in protest.

I take stock of the sigils on his chest as I straddle him. "Hmm, which one should I take first?"

"You crazy, cunt," he whispers.

I laugh. "My how the tables have turned." There is nothing sweeter than revenge. Than taking back power and control. "You violated me, mutilated me, and tortured me in this very room." I can barely get the words out through my clenched jaw.

"I had nothing to do with that," Pisces calls out.

I jerk my head toward him. "No. You planned to kidnap me and do worse. I'll get to you next."

He whimpers as Zeus tightens around him.

I press the tip of my blade to Holden's chest. "You think you can handle thirty-five cuts, Mr. Graves?" I mock him again.

He purses his lips. "Do your worst."

With a quick flick of my wrist, I slash three lines across his chest. Fuck this feels good .

"Is that all you've got?" He cackles.

I smile as my gaze locks on the sigil above his heart. "I'll take this one first." I dig the knife into his chest and begin to cut.

His eyes fill with horror as he realizes that I'm not fucking around. He lets out a bloodcurdling scream as I sink the knife deeper, twisting and turning to dig out the chunk of skin that the sigil was carved into.

My adrenaline soars as I move to the next sigil on his neck and do the same. " Red looks good on you ," I echo his words back to him again. I am fire. Darkness. Rage. I'm caught between madness and euphoria. Hysteria and serenity.

There is no mercy for one who does not give it himself. No redemption for leaders who choose themselves over their disciples. I carve and cut and flay his flesh as if I were butchering an animal. I skin him alive. And in my head, I hear Val strumming his violin, filling my heart and soul with its haunted melody.

I hear Felix's words, his poetry, like a sacred chant. It beats a drum in my pulse, putting a fire in my belly. I roll Holden over and chip away at the sigils on his back. I have to hear the music so I can drown out Villette's sobs. She shouldn't be here.

When I saw his fucking hands on her…

I let out a scream and remove another sigil with one deep cut. "How does it fucking feel to be powerless?" I yell in his ear.

"Please…" Of course he begs. Well, I fucking begged, too, and he didn't stop.

Riot nods when I look up at him. "Finish it, Firecracker. Take your revenge."

I carve the last sigil out of him, my hands shaking. "Now I'm going to leave you here on the ground so you can slowly bleed to death."

His gurgled cries are muffled. He doesn't make any sense.

"Next." I stalk toward Pisces.

"No, please, no. I'm sorry. Okay? Can't we just call a truce? I promise I'll never bother you again. Believe me." His lips are quivering, his eyes bloodshot.

Just because he didn't succeed in kidnapping me doesn't negate all the vile things he had planned for me if he had.

"I'm not going to take your sigils, Mr. Thorn." I wipe my knife on my blood-soaked dress, which was pointless except to demonstrate how fucking feral I am right now.

He lets out a deep breath. "Oh, thank the raven."

I kneel down next to him and pet Zeus on the head. His tongue darts out to lick my wrist. "He is."

Pisces's eyes bulge. "What? Atlas, you can't do this. Please. I'm begging you."

Atlas locks eyes with Zeus as their unspoken bond sparks. The snake moves into action. "Don't worry, the numbness kicks in after the paralysis. You won't feel anything after that."

The sound of their screams sends shivers up my spine. My hands tremble as I clasp the knife to my chest. We won . The rest is a blur. Exhaustion is kicking in. All my muscles ache.

"Come back to us, Maur." Felix's voice is soothing, like a warm bath. I'll need multiple baths to get all this blood off.

He faces me, his brown eyes glowing. "In absentia lucis, tenebrae vincunt… Don't let the darkness prevail." He kisses me on the lips, and it tastes like sunshine. "Let me in."

I let out a deep breath and close my eyes. As soon as I feel his sigil reaching out to mine, I feel lighter, freer. "Your light destroys me in the best fucking way, Felix."

Villette still cowers next to the altar. I cannot approach her right now looking like this. Not after what she just watched me do.

Felix picks her up off the ground and hugs her to his chest. "I got you, Lettie. It's okay."

We're safe now.

We control Nocturnus and the ravens.

But… none of us are okay.