Chapter 10
1137 Words
Azzurra drew in a trembling breath, her grip on the knife so tight that the skin beneath her nails turned pale, her knuckles stark white with tension. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as her gaze shifted to Maristella, who stood shaking, her face a mask of dread. Rinaldo held her in place, one arm twisted painfully behind her back as she struggled to stay upright, fear radiating from every inch of her.
“Go on,” Mattia drawled, casually shoveling another spoonful of food into his mouth. “Don’t keep me waiting.”
Azzurra’s eyes refused to leave Maristella’s face. The other girl’s cheeks were wet with silent tears, her mouth trembling, body visibly paralyzed by terror. And yet, around them, the other staff remained eerily still. Calm, even. But in their eyes fear. This wasn’t shocking to them. This was routine. And why wouldn’t it be? Their prince was a monster in noble clothing.
“P… please,” Maristella whimpered.
Azzurra forced down the thick lump forming in her throat. This prince must have lost his mind if he truly believed she would murder another human being just to save herself. If humans didn’t protect each other, these Lycans would devour them one by one.
From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Mattia. No guards near him. No barrier between them.
This might be the only chance she’d get.
“I’m sorry,” Azzurra whispered, her voice steady despite the tremor coursing through her limbs. Her eyes stayed locked on Maristella unaware that high above, someone watched her from the balcony. A silent observer tracking her every move like a hawk.
Azzurra’s brow furrowed from the shadows above. Why did this one seem so shaken? Most of the humans adjusted to the cruelty by now. But this one looked horrified. Terrified. Odd.
As Mattia set down his spoon, Azzurra lunged driven by sheer desperation, the knife aimed directly for his chest, her heart thundering as she closed the distance.
But her blade never met its mark.
Mattia’s hand caught the dagger mid-air, fingers clenching the sharp metal without flinching. Azzurra froze, breath hitched. She pushed harder, but the blade wouldn’t budge. Blood trickled from between his fingers where the steel bit into his flesh.
He smirked.
With terrifying calm, Mattia rose to his full height, towering over her until she felt dwarfed, insignificant. The knife, still in his grip, shifted closer drawing her body nearer as the tip hovered against his chest.
One strand of his blond hair had fallen into his piercing eyes, the rest pulled tightly into a bun. His gaze, cold and glinting with amusement, pinned her in place.
“Such a fiery little pet,” he murmured, voice thick with dark pleasure.
She felt her stomach churn.
This this was exactly what he’d wanted. The knife, the challenge. It was all a test, a trap laid with careful precision.
“Did you see that, brother?” Mattia hissed, his voice rising slightly.
Azzurra’s blood turned cold.
A strange awareness prickled along her skin, and she turned her head slowly only to meet a pair of unreadable amber eyes watching her from above. Marcello.
He said nothing, showed nothing, but his stare pierced straight through her.
Mattia yanked the knife from her grasp and flung it aside.
“Guards!” he barked.
In seconds, two Lycans dressed similarly to Rinaldo rushed into the room. Their hands closed around her arms with crushing force, and she began to thrash, her earlier courage splintering into panic. Her heart thundered as she realized Marcello’s presence had shattered her nerve.
She hated that.
He hadn’t lifted a finger, and yet his presence alone turned her into something small and shaken.
She was dragged from the hall, struggling with everything she had, but it was no use. As they pulled her down the corridor, she glanced over her shoulder. Mattia followed at a leisurely pace, a sinister grin curling across his lips.
When their eyes met, he gave her a smile sweet and chilling all at once.
The dungeon door groaned open, and a wave of rot and damp hit her nostrils. She gagged at the stench, her eyes watering.
What about Maristella? Azzurra’s thoughts raced. Would Rinaldo hurt her? Would Mattia let her go?
“Tie her up,” Mattia ordered behind her.
The guards didn’t hesitate. Rough hands secured ropes around her wrists, pulling her arms above her head and anchoring her to a thick pillar. Her back pressed cold against the stone, and every breath came heavy and shallow from her exertion.
“Leave us,” Mattia commanded. As the guards neared the exit, he added without looking back, “And tell Rinaldo to punish that slave girl for twenty minutes. She needs a better sense of time. Now go.”
“No!” Azzurra screamed, thrashing wildly against the ropes. “Don’t touch her!”
But they left without pause. The door slammed shut behind them with finality.
Tears burned at the edges of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
“You just met her,” Mattia muttered with irritation, fishing a handkerchief from his coat pocket and wrapping it around his still-bleeding hand. “And you’re already willing to bleed for her?”
He paced slowly before her, thoughtful.
“Now…” he mused aloud. “How should I punish you for trying to kill me?”
He stopped and looked at her, eyes alight with inspiration.
“Ever had your fingers broken before?” he asked with a note of excitement, like a child discovering a new toy.
Azzurra’s stomach dropped. Her mouth stayed shut, her body taut with fear, trying to steel herself.
But he didn’t give her a moment to brace.
He grabbed her left hand, seized her index finger and snapped it.
A scream ripped from her lips before she could stop it.
She hadn’t even caught her breath when the next c***k echoed off the dungeon walls, followed by another cry stifled through clenched teeth and blurred tears.
Mattia pulled the rope tighter until she was forced to stand on the tips of her toes, straining against her bindings. He stepped back, admiring his work with a satisfied smile.
“Beautiful,” he said with twisted delight. “You’ll have some time to think about your behavior down here.”
He stepped closer again, his voice dropping to a growl.
“For the record,” he sneered, “I’ve never been so merciful to someone who tried to take my life. Don’t you ever try that again unless you’re ready to be broken, inch by inch.”
With that, he turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving her hanging in the silence, pain radiating through every inch of her trembling body.
- Writer
