I was out finally—in the palace.
It was evening already. Two hours had turned to almost eight. The journey had been an eternity of rattling bones and aching muscles, and now I stood in the courtyard of the most powerful creatures in existence, my legs unsteady beneath me.
The guards bowed slowly as I passed. Yes, bow—all of you. Bow. Because when I am done clearing your elites, I will be made lord. Practice clearly.
"Aurelia!"
Cornelia's voice cut through the evening air. That fool again. I kept walking fast, perhaps I could escape into the crowd milling around the entrance—nobles in fine robes, slaves carrying platters like bees.
"Aurelia!" Her hand touched my shoulder.
I turned immediately, my voice sharp as a blade. "ARE YOU THAT MUCH OF A SLUT THAT YOU DISTURB ME EVEN IN PUBLIC? DO YOU HAVE NO SHAME?"
"Shuuuuu." She leaned closer, her breath warm against my ear. "I know you actually want me so bad—but not yet. You pretend, but fool, you are going to the wrong door. That place is for slaves. Here is the hall for the ball. Our lord likes a great welcome party."
She led me to a bigger door—guards lined out like statues on either side, the door itself glowing like gold, carved with scenes of conquest and glory.
Oh, now I know the difference between the elite door and the slave door. What exactly is the difference?
I entered the hall.
It was... it was amazing.
The violins danced their music around the chamber, notes rising and falling like birds in flight. The chandelier blazed above—a thousand candles reflected in crystal, casting dancing shadows across the marble floor. Everything was huge. Amazing. Overwhelming.
This is a palace.
I had never been to somewhere like this in my whole life. The walls were draped with silk the color of blood. The columns reached toward the heavens. The tables groaned under the weight of roasted peacocks, glazed hams, fruits I had never seen before.
This is the lion's den.
Where was Carla? My eyes searched rapidly, scanning face after face. I needed to talk to her—or perhaps escape this place entirely.
Luna walked up to our chairs, her dress changed from what I had seen her in before. Now she wore a gown of pale gold that shimmered with every step, her dark hair piled high.
"Why are you here late?" Cornelia asked.
"I had the worst ride of my life," Luna groaned, sinking into her chair. "The carriage turned upside down and I fell into a pool of mud."
I thought I was the only one with a bad ride. I will crown hers as the worst.
"Luna, you that love to dance—why have you not—"
"The crown princess is here."
Cornelia choked immediately on the light strawberry dessert she had been eating.
"What crown princess?" The words flew from my lips before I could stop them.
In all my knowledge about these monsters, I had never known there was a crown princess.
So that fool Tenebrarum is engaged?
"Tanaquil," Cornelia whispered, her face pale. "She is the crown princess. The most beautiful lady in all the earth—that is what people say. I am scared. She was staring at me too much."
Luna tried to arrange her dress, her hands trembling. "She is jealous that we can see the lord's face and she cannot. She will turn to stone. She lacks purple eyes... she was staring at me since."
Wow. What a painful existence.
"The most amusing thing," Luna laughed, her voice low, "is actually how they will perform their daily bed cravings without her seeing his eyes and reading his lips. She will just be screaming... feeling pain she cannot enjoy."
"Be careful!" Cornelia hissed. "If she hears you, you know you are dead!"
She turned to me, her smile returning. "Can we dance together, Aurelia?"
She held out her hand.
I slipped mine away immediately, my eyes still scanning the crowd. Where was Carla?
"You are shy," Cornelia said. "You have to—"
"I am pressed," I interrupted. "My bladder wants to release. I cannot find the rest room."
"You should have said something." Cornelia sighed. "Luna, take her to the chamber."
Luna was busy blushing at random guards, her eyes darting from face to face. She was the true whore among us.
"Luna!"
"Fine. Aurelia, let us go."
---
Luna led me through a side door, away from the music and the laughter and the glittering chandelier. The corridor beyond was quieter—torches flickering, shadows dancing along walls of polished marble.
"The chamber is just ahead, be fast I won't wait for long." Luna said, gesturing.
"I was just lying," I said, stopping. "I need to be taken to—"
"You lied?" Luna turned to face me, her dark eyes narrowing.
"I need to go to the slave chambers."
"The slaves' chambers are on the other side of the palace. We can go tomorrow—"
"I want to see her now."
Luna sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I am not too fond of the female gender... but if you would like a quick release, I will go under your skirt and play underneath—"
"That is enough!" I recoiled, my stomach turning. "I would never want that in all my life!"
"If you are attracted to males, sorry, I lack the proper equipment or should I label it as penis. I cannot perform that duty."
"What is wrong with you?"
"I am sorry. I am in my safe period."
Safe period.
The words rang in my ears. The healers had spoken of it—that cursed time when dark creatures were consumed by insatiable hunger, when all reason fled and only lust remained. They had warned me never to be near Tenebrarum during his. He would be dangerous. He would be uncontrollable. He would—
I will avenge them. The hanging. The healers. They will all pay.
"I need sex, Aurelia! Please, talk to me!" Luna's voice was desperate, her hands trembling at her sides.
"I want to be taken to the slaves' chambers."
"Why? You can go tomorrow—"
"I want to see my sister!" I screamed.
Luna fell silent. She stared at me with something I could not read her eyes darted away, fixing on the floor.
"I just want to see my sister," I repeated, my voice cracking. "She has questions to answer."
"I... I think we should go back."
"I just want to see my sister."
"I will be going now."
"Aurelia—"
"If she is back there, tell me." My chest tightened. Each breath came shorter, sharper. My heart hammered against my ribs like a caged beast. "My plans... my plans... I cannot use my body... I cannot... Please, where is she?"
"She is nowhere."
The words hit me like a physical blow. My stomach dropped. My vision swam.
"She was taken to another estate," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Why would they do that? She cleans and performs her work diligently. She is perfect as a slave. She is—"
"Listen. Calm down, Aurelia...Just try to breathe."
"Just tell me!" I screamed. "If she is here or not!"
"Okay, Aurelia." Luna's voice cracked. Her eyes glistened. "I cannot keep this from you any longer. It was for your own good."
"Keep what?" My blood turned to ice. My hands trembled at my sides. "You are scaring me, just tell me."
"She is gone."
Gone? Who is gone?
"What type of gone?" My legs moved backward, one step, then another. The corridor tilted. The torches blurred.
"She is dead."
No. It is a lie.
"The lord ordered her head chopped off."
No.
"She died today."
No. No. No.
The words crashed over me like waves. My vision darkened at the edges. My knees buckled. I caught myself against the wall, my palms scraping against cold stone, the skin tearing.
"No," I whispered. "No, that is not—she cannot be—"
"I am sorry, Aurelia."
"You are lying!" I screamed, my voice raw and wild, tearing through the corridor like a blade. "YOU ARE LYING! She was fine this morning! She was—she was fine!"
"She was executed this morning. For treason. For—"
"For what?" I lunged at her, grabbing her shoulders, my nails digging into her skin, drawing blood. "FOR WHAT?"
"For laying with Lord Vasile without permission. For—"
"He is grown enough to speak for himself!" The words tore from my throat like bile. "She did nothing wrong!"
"The lord does not care about love."
I released her. I stumbled back. My chest heaved, but no air came. I was drowning. Drowning in a sea of blood and grief and rage.
I could not breathe.
What have I done?
---
Clara.
My sister.
Dead.
I saw her face—covered in flour, her eyes bright. I heard her voice—soft, trembling, "I will do it. I will."
I had asked her to lay with Vasile. I had pushed her into his arms. I had used her like a tool.
I killed her.
The thought struck me like a blade between the ribs.
I killed my sister.
I fell to my knees. The stone was cold beneath me. My hands pressed against the floor, my fingers splayed. Tears fell—hot, silent, unstoppable. They splashed against the marble, leaving dark stains.
I killed her.
I killed her.
I KILLED HER.
"Get up," Luna whispered. "Please, get up."
I did not move.
I could not move.
I sent her to him. I used her. I—
"You need to stand. Someone will come. You cannot be seen like this."
I looked up at her through the blur of tears.
"Who did it?" My voice was hollow, empty. "Who killed her?"
"Tenebrarum ordered it."
Of course.
Of course it was him.
I pushed myself to my feet. My legs shook. My hands clenched into fists. The tears still fell, but I did not wipe them away.
"I will kill him," I said.
"Aurelia—"
"I will kill him." My voice was ice. My heart was stone. "I will kill him, and I will kill everyone who serves him. I will burn this palace to the ground. I will—"
"Stop. Please stop."
I turned to her. My eyes were dry now. My grief had hardened into something else—something cold and sharp and deadly.
Then I grabbed my own head and slammed it against the wall.
Thud.
Blood gushed from my forehead, hot and thick, streaming down my face, into my eyes, my mouth. The taste of copper filled my senses.
I am a monster.
Thud.
Again.
I am a monster.
Thud.
Again. Again.
"You do not need—" Luna grabbed me, her arms wrapping around my shoulders, pulling me back.
"WHERE ARE THEY?" I screamed, my voice cracking, blood spilling between my lips. "WHERE ARE THE HEAVENS? WHERE ARE THEY?"
Luna stared at me, her face pale, her eyes wide with horror.
"You are bleeding intensely. You are—"
"Get your hand off me!" I shoved her away, stumbling backward. Blood dripped from my chin, staining my dress, pooling on the marble floor. "You did not say a word! You did not tell me a thing! I—"
"I was scared of this! Look at your head! I was—"
"SHUT UP!" I screamed, my voice raw and wild. "I WILL KILL YOU TOO! I WILL KILL YOU ALL! EVERY DARK CREATURE—I WILL CLEAR THEM FROM THIS EARTH!"
---
My baby... who would take care of this home when I am gone? You are my successor.
That fool who only knows how to open her legs? I will never be Carla. I will never be worthless!
Listen to me. I swear by Father's shade, by all the gods, I will get you out. But you must go to her. Now.
The words clashed in my head like swords. My father's voice. My own voice. Clara's face. Flavia's laughter. All of it—all of it crashing together, splitting my skull.
The healers...
I dug my fingers deeper into the wound on my forehead. The pain was sharp, blinding.
I wanted it. I wanted to feel something other than this—this guilt.
I need it!
If I die, let me die now.
Why is it slow why I'm I not dying faster...why is it slow!
"Aurelia, you are hurting yourself!" Luna grabbed my hand, her fingers slick with my blood."You need to be taken to a healer immediately....let me help you..."
Clara.
Forgive me.
I will avenge you.
I swear it.
I will.
I WILL.
"Let me go!" I pushed against her, my hands flailing, my vision red.
Ahhhhhhhh!
Luna screamed. Her hands flew to her belly. Blood—her blood—welled between her fingers.
I looked down. My hair pin—the one I had hidden—was buried in her flesh. I had stabbed her. I had—
No. I did not. I did not.
I did.
I grabbed the pin and twisted it deeper.
Luna gasped, her eyes wide, her mouth open in a silent scream.
I pulled the pin free. Blood spurted from the wound, hot and dark, staining her white gown crimson.
"Stay away from me!"
"Aurelia...."she was collapsing when I started running.
I ran.
I ran and ran and ran. Blood on my hands. Blood on my face. Blood in my mouth.
I will kill them all.
I will kill them all.
I WILL KILL THEM ALL.
YOU TENEBRARUM I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD PIERCED AND DANCE ACROSS THIS WALLS. JUST WAIT AND SEE.
---
To be continued...