I was dragged into the room by my hair, my body a limp weight. When they released me, I lunged—not at them, but at the door, my fists pounding against the iron-banded wood.
"Get me out of here! Demons, noooo! Nooo!"
"Get me out!!!"I screamed louder.
"Are you not tired of hitting the door?" A voice sighed behind me, dripping with bored disdain. "You bark like a starved hound."
I turned.
And the world narrowed to a single, obscene tableau.
The chamber was not large. It was lit by a single brazier that cast long, flickering shadows across the walls. The air was thick with the smell of sweat, musk, and something metallic—like iron, sharp and primal.
There were three beds, but only one was occupied.
Upon it, a girl with eyes the same bruised violet as mine lay pinned between two creatures.
They were men in form, but not in nature. Their skin was pale, unnaturally so, like the color of ash. Their fingers were long, too long, and tipped with claws that dug into the girl's flesh as they moved her body, forcing her into positions she could never have achieved on her own. Their faces were angular, almost beautiful, but their smiles revealed sharp, jagged canines that gleamed like broken glass in the firelight.
One of the creatures held her hips, lifting her effortlessly off the bed as he drove into her from behind with a brutal, piston-like rhythm. The other knelt before her, his long fingers gripping her thighs, his mouth tracing a path up her body until he reached her neck. She gasped, her head thrown back, as his teeth grazed her skin—not biting, but teasing, threatening.
Tass. Tass. Tass....
The sound of flesh meeting flesh reverberated through the room, wet, rhythmic, relentless.
My stomach clenched. I bent double, my broken finger throbbing against my chest, my forehead pressed to the cold stone floor. Do not look. Do not breathe.
A shadow fell over me.
"Prince Tenebrarum is... demanding," a voice purred. I looked up.
Another girl with purple eyes stood over me. She was naked, her body gleaming with sweat in the low light, watching the scene on the bed with a detached, almost clinical interest. Her eyes—those cursed purple eyes—glowed faintly, betraying her inhumanity.
She crouched beside me, her fingers trailing through my tangled hair. "His touch is fire. His penetration is punishment and rapture in one." She nodded toward the bed. "He grants us the right to practice with his men. To learn endurance. To learn pleasure." Her lips curled into a predatory smile. "Do you not wish to join?"
On the bed, the girl gasped, her body shuddering as both creatures moved in a synchronized, overwhelming rhythm. One of the guards groaned, a low, guttural sound that sent shivers down my spine. His long fingers dug into the girl's hips, leaving dark bruises that bloomed like ink on parchment.
The other creature leaned forward, his sharp canines scraping against her collarbone as he whispered something in her ear. She moaned—a sound that was equal parts pain and pleasure—and her body arched impossibly, her fingers clawing at the sheets.
Sin. This was profanity. This was a corruption of flesh and spirit, a violation of everything sacred.
I recoiled, my spine hitting the wall. "I will not."
The woman laughed, low and knowing. "You will. Or you will break. There are only three of us with the true eyes now. He will not waste you."
She stood and walked calmly to the bed. Without a word, she placed her hand on the creature at the girl's hips, and he shifted, making room. She climbed onto the mattress, her movements graceful, almost predatory, and ran her fingers down the other creature's back, her nails leaving faint red trails in their wake.
He turned, his sharp canines glinting in the firelight as he pulled her into a deep, open-mouthed kiss. The girl beneath them gasped, her cries mingling with the low snarls of the creatures and the rhythmic— Tass. Tass. Tass...
I closed my eyes, but the sounds followed me—the slap of skin, the ragged breaths, the low, guttural murmurs.
The name slithered through my mind like a serpent.
Prince Tenebrarum.
I had heard this name before.
I had—
---
A memory surfaced, sharp and clear.
I was eight—maybe nine—standing in the muddy courtyard of our villa, a wooden sword clutched in my small hands. My father stood before me, tall and imposing, his own wooden blade resting lightly on his shoulder.
"Really?" he asked, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. "You want to fight?"
"Yes, Father." I puffed out my chest. "I will be just like you. I will kill people."
His face darkened. His eyes narrowed with a seriousness I had not expected.
"The gods hate death," he whispered, his voice low and grave.
"Yes, they do." My childish voice trembled with conviction. "But there are always bad people... like the dark creatures. I will kill them. "
With a single, swift stroke of his wooden sword, he knocked me off my feet. I landed hard, the mud sticking to my palms and knees.
"You have to be strong," he said, standing over me, his shadow blocking the sun. "Prince Tenebrarum is stronger. He kills with one glance. "
I scrambled to my feet, my fists clenched, mud staining my tunic. "Then I will kill him," I declared, my voice fierce despite my trembling lip. "I will make a pudding of his blood. "
My father's laughter was soft, but his eyes were serious. "Are you sure? If you want to join the army as a female, you have to be one of many. You have to be strong. "
I looked up at him, my small face scrunched in determination. "I heard people laughed that Flavia was not male. Is there a difference, Father? Are we not equal? Are we not also gifts from the heavens?"
He knelt then, his strong hands resting on my shoulders, his gaze locking with mine.
"You are much better than a boy to me," he said, his voice steady and full of pride. "You are my warrior. I bet on the breaker of Tenebrarum. "
My chest swelled with pride. "I will kill him, Father. I promise. I will!"
---
Now, years later, the memory burned like a brand.
Prince Tenebrarum.
The demon my father had spoken of. The monster I had sworn to destroy.
I had made too many promises—to my father, to myself, to Flavia.
And now I would keep them.
I clenched my fists, ignoring the throbbing pain in my broken finger.
I will kill him.
I will kill that monster.
---------------------------
To be continued...