Chapter 59

Keir

Lillian had done it. She killed Ida. I tried to reach out to her after she told me Ida was making her do it, but she blocked me out somehow.

Had I not witnessed her killing Ida myself, seen the woman who took care of me as a boy fall against my destined love limply, I would've thought they were just hugging, but Ida's arms were not wrapped around Lillian, and her eyes were open and empty as her head laid on Lillian's shoulder. As Lillian screamed into the sky, Ida's body fell to the ground beside her.

Mavis was still nowhere to be found. She had been somewhere in the seating levels above us, screaming in horror as she watched her best friend drive a knife through her mother's chest.

My heart was cracked; I felt lost and broken. Ida had been more of a mother to me than my actual mother, and despite everything I'd put her through, she always stood by me. Guilt settled in, threatening to empty my stomach at any second. It was my fault she was here. I left her last night. I let her go chase other leads without me. I asked her for help, and now, she was dead because of it, just another casualty in my father's cruel games.

I swallowed the massive lump in my throat as my brothers and I ran at our father, who had his sights set on our girl, his sword drawn.

"Don't fucking touch her!" I yelled before throwing my shadows in his direction. He hadn't been paying attention to anything but Lillian, so I was able to catch him off guard, my attack sending him to the ground.

"She's mine to deal with. That was the agreement," he growled as he stood, dusting off his clothes and picking up his sword. "If I have to kill you as well, so be it. I can make more children. It would give me a chance to correct all the mistakes I made with you three." He looked disgusted with us.

"Leave her alone," Aiden said in a low voice. His hands were at his sides, palms glowing like embers, and he, like the rest of us, was breathing heavily, having finally reached the moment when we had to prove how far we were willing to go for our girl.

"We won't let you hurt her," Nicholas added. His hands were at his sides too, holding two ice blades, ready to use.

Our father smiled cruelly, extending his arms, as though inviting us in for a hug. "Give it your best shot, sons."

I lunged first, running at him as I drew my sword from my shadows.

Clang!

Our blades collided.

I kept pushing down on him, hoping to force his sword out of his hand, but he looped his arm around, throwing me to the side. I stumbled, letting out a frustrated growl as I found my footing once again.

Nicholas threw his ice daggers, but our father sliced through them with expert precision. Aiden blasted fire from his palms, but Father dodged easily.

Aiden and Nicholas roared with anger, the two of them acting as one as they took a moment to compose themselves before looking at him with renewed spirit. I could've sworn the floor shook as they took a few unified steps closer to him. I'd never been terrified of my little brothers, but if they were looking at me that way, I would have felt the edge of fear creeping up my spine for sure.

"That's the best you've got?" he yelled, throwing his arms wide and letting out a battle cry.

The twins kept throwing fire and ice at him, forcing him to focus on dodging their attacks rather than me. I used that to my advantage and swung my sword at him again, but he deflected me easily. He'd been sparring with me since I was a boy; he knew my moves before I did, knew how I fought because he'd been the one to train me.

He was focused and I was desperate, but I had more to fight for than he did. I ultimately had the upper hand, which I would use against him.

Aiden rushed at him, both hands throwing fire at our father. While he continued to dodge the strikes, it was impossible to get away from Aiden completely.

Father yelled as one of his shoulders was singed. He put his free hand on his shoulder, breathing heavily as he stared all three of us down.

"We aren't boys anymore," Nicholas said boldly before throwing shards of ice, nicking his body and face, leaving small, red cuts in their wake.

Our father screamed and threw his hand in Nicholas's direction, using his power to throw Nicholas so far back, his body slid even after he hit the ground.

He didn't move to get up.

"Nicholas!" Aiden shouted, distracted for a split second too long.

Our father took the opportunity to send Aiden flying next to his twin, the two lying side by side, still breathing but making no move to stand.

"You'll fucking pay for that." I felt rage burn through my body like an old friend as I turned to face my father, finally getting to take him on like I'd dreamed of after all these years.

"Is that so?" His voice was laced with arrogance, amused with our predicament, and it pissed me off. "Remember, son, I've always come out on top, and this will be no different."

I ran at him again, fully transforming as I used my shadows to punch and pull at him. He blocked my sword's attacks, but I swung to the right, causing him to move all his attention to that side. It gave me the opening I needed to catch him by surprise.

My shadows snagged his foot, sending him toppling with a grunt. Even though he fell, he managed to keep his sword in his hand and block my next chop. Still, I continued to slash at him as he slunk backward.

I was so focused on my sword, wanting to end this once and for all, that I didn't see him sweep my legs with one of his, sending me to the ground as well.

My mistake gave him time to get up, but I was up with him.

"You won't win this." He narrowed his eyes. "End this now, and you can still come home."

I laughed at him. "That has never been my home." I gestured behind me to the people I cared about most, lying on the ground. "They are my home."

He rolled his eyes, and I thought he would say more to try and convince me to join his side. Instead, he lifted his sword, an evil glint in his eyes that told me I never meant anything to him anyway.

"Then you'll die with your pet, and I'll bury you next to your mother's fresh grave," he gritted out as he swung.

No. He couldn't have. He'd never…

I'd let myself get so caught up in what he'd just confessed that I didn't have a firm enough grasp on my sword. His blow knocked it out of my hand, sending it sliding across the ground, too far away to pick up without exposing myself to him.

I tried to reach into my shadows for more weapons, but he extended his hand, an unseen force grabbing my throat and squeezing. There was no escape, no matter how hard I clawed and scratched at my neck. My shadows were trying to hit him, grab him, anything, but they started retreating as I lost control of them, the lack of oxygen rendering me weak.

He marched to me confidently, and once he was right before me, he lifted his blade, nicking my cheek. I snarled, fighting him even when he clearly had the upper hand.

"Fucking do it then." My voice was surprisingly calm. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of making me beg for my life. He'd have to take it, knowing I was ready to die for the people I loved.

"Let. Him. Go."

My father's eyes widened as he looked behind me and grinned with amusement. "Interesting."

He dropped his hand, releasing me. I fell to the ground, gasping in the air I had been deprived of. My vision went in and out as I turned to see what caught his attention.

Lillian.

She stood taller than I remembered, her shoulders straight with confidence. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Her hair had been pulled out of its braid, flowing freely in the wind. She seemed… different.

Her eyes were black .

She held her dagger in her hands, attention trained on my father.

"No…" I tried to tell her, unsure if I could even be heard over the crowd's roar.

She was nowhere near ready to take on my father. He would demolish her in a second. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't lose her, not like this.

"I can confidently say I was not expecting this," my father said snidely.

She remained stoic, giving nothing away. "Just leave us alone. I don't want to hurt anyone else."

I tried to get up, but my arms and legs were unresponsive, my head still swimming. My ears rang, and the black stars of unconsciousness still pricked at the corners of my eyes.

My father laughed coldly. "Oh, that's too bad. It's so much fun. Let me show you."

His attention turned back to me, and he lifted his sword again. I raised my arm, as though that would be enough to save me from his steel.

He started to swing, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the blow, but nothing happened.

"What the—"

I opened my eyes to see him disarmed and wrapped in black shadows. He looked shocked and disturbed. He'd been caught off guard, and the anger of that realization spread across his face.

He was struggling against the bonds he found himself in, as though the shadows were squeezing him —hard . His face turned red, and he gasped for breath.

Clank.

His sword fell to the ground, and his eyes widened even further, knowing he was now restrained and disarmed.

My shadows had saved me. Satan's sake, they'd never done anything without my bidding, but they were saving my life.

But then, he started to move away from me, and I knew they weren't mine.

Lillian was surrounded by shadows of her own, coming from her, and she looked furious as my father was dragged to face her.

"You bitch," he spat, his face red and angry as he continued to struggle against her shadows. "You're nothing but a pathetic, puny, useless human. You'll never amount to anything. You'll always be that scared little girl crying alone in her bed after the monsters left. No one will ever respect a tainted, wretched thing like you."

I expected her to say something then, to react to his childish name-calling and digs at her past in the hour of his demise. Instead, she tilted her head, and the corners of her mouth twitched enough to call it a smirk, though it was laced with something dark and sadistic.

My heart pounded loudly against my ribcage, watching the woman I loved more than anything stare down our villain, finally getting the revenge she most definitely deserved. Even now, she was intoxicating, though she was dangerous. The power radiating from her was intense. Being a freshly made demon, she had a sort of adrenaline running through her, magnifying the abilities she'd gained once she transformed.

Father's body was maneuvered until he hit the ground, landing on his knees with a grunt, no care taken to ensure he landed softly.

The King of Hell was now bowing to the human he'd set out to destroy. He was facing death, but his expression held no remorse, only anger and humiliation.

"This is for Ida…" Her jaw was clenched as she stared him down. "And for your sons," she tacked on through her gritted teeth, speaking in a tone that said she had no respect or compassion for him. "And for me," she said with finality.

She held up the dagger she'd used to kill Ida, still covered in her blood, and sank it into his chest slowly. He gasped, and his lips moved as though he was trying to force words past the blood now pooling in his mouth, but no sound came out. He coughed, and blood spurted from his mouth, splattering onto her face. She didn't react. Her face remained stone-still for a moment before her lips twisted into a smile, maintaining eye contact with him as she held the blade buried in his chest.

Lillian exhaled a deep, gratifying sigh, taking slow, deep breaths, as if she was savoring the moment, and twisted the dagger for good measure, making his body jerk.

His body shook as the life left him, and when her shadows uncurled from his body, he collapsed to the ground.

She fell to her knees, and I scrambled to my feet, only to fall in front of her, catching her head on my shoulders.

"I've got you, princess," I assured her as I held her.

The twins joined us, sinking to their knees with me, wrapping their arms around us. I had no idea when they'd gained consciousness or how much they'd seen.

We stayed like that for a while as the crowd roared. No one moved to do anything, not even the guards. They left us alone and kept the crowd contained to their seats.

Lillian started to pull away, but I refused to stop touching her as I helped her to her feet instead. She was still looking at the ground.

"Princess?" I grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at me, and all the breath was knocked from my lungs.