Harper rested her head against the cold stone of the dungeon wall, inhaling the dank, musty air that filled the surrounding space. The scene of her almost-execution repeated over and over in her mind; the delicious relief of the rope releasing her neck instead of the blade touching and severing her head from her shoulder.
Gillen arrived just seconds before the blade would have been released. She'd heard his cheerful voice behind her before she saw him, her neck still constrained by the crude execution block she was pinned to. When she was freed, she marched up to Gillen with more courage than anyone could have imagined possible. She had nearly been hopeful, believing that Gillen had changed his mind and decided to make her his body slave till her death to keep her close to him.
It turned out to be foolish thinking, spurred by the adrenaline pouring through her veins as a result of her close call to death. Instead, Gillen informed her that she was temporarily safe from really losing her head and that the rest of her life would now depend on Lucas' decision. The guards brought her to a large chamber filled with small cells enclosed with bars. They shoved her into one of the smaller cells.
She was now locked in the frigid confines of the squalid prison, where she awaited the fate of her ordeal in silence. She jerked her head away from her thoughts when she heard footsteps and guards approaching, followed by metal clanging and clanking of chains, and then the soft whimpers of a prisoner who had been treated a little too brutally.
The door opened, and instead of the normal two guards, there were approximately three of them escorting Francine.
"Get comfortable," one of the soldiers mocked before hurling Francine into the cell. Harper managed to catch the vampiress as she stumbled and tripped over her own feet.
"Hey! What happened to Libby? Where is she?" Harper asked the guards.
Instead of responding to Harper's question, the guards slammed the door shut with a loud crash and a click.
"Francine! What have they done to you?" Harper's chest clenched at the sight of Francine, who was covered in bruises and with bloodshot eyes. It was apparent that she had tried to fight back against the soldier or guard who was intending to serve the required number of lashes on her that day.
With a bitter, humorless laugh, Francine replied, "You should have seen the other guy who tried to defeat me."
Harper shook her head. "I don't know what's going on, but something tells me it's not good. I was about to die when Gillen appeared out of nowhere and informed me that I was temporarily safe from losing my head."
Francine curled up in a corner as if the thought of straightening her body would be painful. No words came out of her mouth.
"And Libby... They took her yesterday and she hasn't been returned yet," Harper continued. "And Clay... poor Clay... "
"Save your tears," Francine advised sternly. "Clay betrayed Libby, and now Libby is dead."
"What?!" Harper swallowed hard, her lower lips quivering at what she had just heard. "What do you mean－"
"I'm sure you heard me."
"Oh my god!" Her throat became dry almost instantly. "Are you certain? How did you find out? That can't possibly be true!"
"I heard from the soldier who beat me up that Gillen offered Clay pardon in exchange for telling him who began the rebellion. He told Gillen it was all Libby's doing."
Harper let out a gasp, and tears quickly flowed down her face. "But... but Libby didn't start..." she whispered, a sniffle in her voice. "She didn't initiate anything. She was merely trying to help us."
"Well, perhaps Clay thought, better her than him. Or us."
While Francine steeled her expression, Harper took several deep breaths. She thought the vampiress was tough as nails. She turned away from her. Unlike the cell they were detained in the first time they arrived at the Casa, this cell was small and could only contain two people. There wasn't even enough space to move about, with just four steps in a single direction before they came face first into a wall or the door. The chamber was also underground, which meant that escaping would be a difficult feat.
"To be fair, Clay may have been desperate to keep his head from being hacked off," Francine said casually.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Harper squinted her eyes at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Why do you sound like you couldn't give a damn about Libby's death?"
"Gillen made the deal, and I'm sure Clay regarded it as the only way out of his death sentence. Well, I'm certain that you would have done the same thing."
"No! I'd never do that!" Harper exclaimed, a wave of slight anger in her voice at Francine's thoughtless assumption.
"Oh, that's right. Then tell me, why did Lucas suddenly attack Alex? Huh? We had a fucking plan in mind! But Lucas murdered Alex! What in the world did you do, Harper?!" Suddenly, Francine erupted in a rage and grabbed Harper's torn rag with both of her hands, pinning her against the cold stone wall. "My mate is dead! So, what the fuck did you do?!"
"I didn't do anything!"
"Liar!" She put her forearm across Harper's throat, pressing down firmly and strangling her. Her eyes were ice-cold and glistening with anger. "What did you do?!
"I...had..." Harper choked, pushing back against her and trying her best to break free of her grip. But her strength was no match for the vampiress. "No... I... didn't..."
"Didn't what? What did you do, Harper?!" Francine pulled back slightly to give her enough breath to form words.
Harper coughed. "*I...rejected... Lucas!*"
"You selfish, bitch!" Francine's voice was filled with hatred.
"Let go of me!" Even as Harper squirmed and begged, she couldn't get herself free from Francine's grip. Again, the vampiress clamped down on her.
"This is all your fault! Because of you, Alex died!"
Harper pushed back. "I have a choice! Lucas, too, had a choice! We all have!" she replied quickly, despite the restraint on her. She just had enough. She was so sick of dealing with everything that she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"You don't have a fucking clue! You have absolutely no idea what you have just done. You don't know shit!"
"Lucas chose to kill Alex rather than help us get out of here. He made that decision, Francine!" She was simply fed up with it all at this point. She was fed up with attempting to live by their rules when she knew she had a choice in the matter. Furthermore, she was also sick of feeling guilty all the time. "If killing me makes you feel better, if you believe it would make all of this go away, then go ahead and do it! Kill me! It's entirely up to you! Go ahead and do it!"
She held her breath, looking Francine in the eyes, waiting for the vampiress to end it all. Francine, on the other hand, did nothing; if anything, her grip on her loosened, and a long pause followed. And then. . .
"I've underestimated you," the vampiress said, her low words rising to a roar in her throat, and she went at it again, pressing her forearm even harder against Harper's throat.
She made the mistake of being overconfident in the idea that Harper was no threat to her, and she had been too trusting. But not this time. Nope, not this time around. Anger. Hurt. Fear. Betrayal. How quickly do they turn into hatred?
"Francine…please…"
"You selfish, *selfish*, *selfish* human!" she yelled, pressing even more into Harper's throat, feeling her desperate attempts to breathe becoming weaker and slower.
"Francine…" Harper struggled to breathe, to free herself. And she tried to use all her strength to break away, but it was too late. With each passing second, her lungs begged for air, while the sound of her struggles became increasingly faint. Eventually, everything dimmed into blackness, and Francine's words faded from her ears.