Chapter 19
1063 Words
Fear flickered in her eyes, and he watched as the color drained from her face. A faint bruise peeked out from beneath her turtleneck the mark he’d left on her the night before. Marcello's gaze lingered a moment too long, wondering what the scar beneath her collarbone looked like now. She was hiding it he was sure of it.
Behind them, Mattia smirked, openly amused as he studied her too.
“No,” her voice trembled, barely audible, as Marcello silently assessed her. He’d anticipated that response.
“You don’t get a choice,” he said, stepping in closer until the space between them evaporated. His towering presence forced her to look up. “Choose, or they all die.” The venom in his words hit her like a gut punch. Her heart leapt to her throat. She froze.
Her chin quivered, and his eyes tracked the motion. She bit down on the inside of her cheek, trying to choke down the storm brewing inside her.
Why were they like this? So cruel. So merciless. Especially toward humans.
Oh, if only she had the power they’d all know what it was like to beg.
Azzurra’s eyes flicked to the line of captives. They stood in a row, trembling, their faces etched with despair. Nearly all had tears in their eyes except one. A tall, broad-shouldered man stood rigid, jaw clenched, his stare fixed forward.
“Choose,” Marcello muttered, shoving her forward. She stumbled but caught herself. She avoided their eyes. She couldn’t bear it. Most were young women, shaking like leaves.
But she couldn’t. She couldn’t pick one. Her hands balled into fists at her sides, trembling with restraint.
“I won’t choose,” she said flatly. Her tone was controlled, emotionless an armor she rarely wore.
“So you'd rather watch them all die?” Marcello’s voice remained calm, savoring the torment flickering in her soul.
There was something about her that unnerved him this fierce, infuriating devotion to her kind. It grated on him. She was human trash, and yet she dared defy him.
She was meant to be executed anyway his father had brought her for that.
“Do whatever you want!” she snapped, defiance ringing through the chamber. The words hit like a slap not just to Marcello, but to every guard and captive who heard them.
From the line, the bulky man with brown hair smirked. The others gasped.
Azzurra cried out when Mattia seized a fistful of her hair, yanking her head back, his face looming over hers.
“You want to die?” he snarled, eyes blazing. But she didn’t cower she stared straight at him.
“Only if you’re ready to lose your throne,” she hissed.
Mattia’s jaw locked, molars grinding. He spun her around, hand rising to strike but before it could fall, Marcello tugged her leash, pulling her against him. Her shoulder slammed into his chest, and she recoiled instantly, as if his touch could scald her.
“It’s alright, Mattia,” Marcello said, his voice devoid of emotion.
No fury. No expression. Just a blank mask and those amber eyes still, unreadable, dangerous.
It was this this void that chilled her most. When his face betrayed nothing, when those eyes looked like a dead, endless night, that’s when he terrified her most.
He moved again, and she flinched but instead of hitting her, he simply unclipped the leash from her neck. She stepped back immediately, rubbing her skin where it had been, trying to shake off the unease his nearness left behind.
“Take them all to the dungeons,” he ordered. The guards obeyed.
Then he added, “Take her too.”
One guard seized her arm and dragged her after the others.
She didn’t resist.
As they led her away, she cast one last glance over her shoulder and met those amber and icy blue eyes, both locked on her like a predator sizing up prey. The look made her shudder.
What were they planning?
The guard shoved her into the cell, where five other humans had just arrived. She stumbled, but a strong hand caught her before she fell.
Her eyes met warm brown ones as the man steadied her.
“You okay?”
He was tall, broad clearly a fighter.
“I’m fine,” she muttered, scanning the room. None of them were restrained now.
She lowered herself to the floor, leaning back against the stone wall. The man sat across from her.
Two girls huddled in a corner, clinging to each other, both crying quietly. They looked alike. A boy sat near them, unmoving ashen and stiff like a corpse.
“Crying won’t save you,” the brown-eyed man said, his voice flat but not unkind. The girls sniffled, flinching.
“What else are we supposed to do?” one whispered, her voice cracking. “We’re all going to die.”
Azzurra swallowed.
“You shouldn’t give up,” she said softly but firmly. “If we’re doomed anyway, let’s make sure we take a few of them down with us.”
The girls gawked, horrified.
The brown-eyed man chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” Azzurra asked, irritation flaring.
“Not funny,” he said. “Just… nice to know there’s still fire left in us.”
She straightened, intrigued. “You a fighter?”
“I am.”
Her eyes lit up. “From the ember rebellion?”
He looked surprised. “No. I’m from a village down north. My grandfather taught me.”
She studied him a moment before nodding. “I’m Azzurra.”
“Leone,” he replied.
The pale boy finally spoke. “I’m… Alfio.”
“I’m Speranza,” one of the twins said softly.
“Selvaggia,” the other added. “We’re twins.”
Azzurra nodded as silence fell again.
“Are you the infamous pet the king bought?” Leone asked suddenly.
Of course he knew. That kind of gossip spread fast.
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she asked, “Can you teach me some defense moves?”
He tilted his head. “Do you even know why we’re here?”
She shook her head.
“For the tournament,” he said. “They abducted us for their sick, twisted tournament. No one survives it… not in the end.”
The truth dropped on her like a guillotine.
- Writer
