Chapter 97

Chapter 97
The Devil’s victory, but at what cost?

Damian’s POV.

The chamber still reeked of blood and smoke. Lucian groaned as he slumped against the shattered pillar, blood soaking through his shirt. He was finished as a fighter, his treachery already bared for the world to see. I didn’t spare him a second glance. I couldn’t afford to. 

Across the ruined hall, Tatiana stepped from the shadows, her heels clicking on marble stained red. The light caught the sharp line of her jaw, her father’s ruthless legacy burning in her eyes. She was no longer just Sokolov's daughter; she was the heir.

“You’ve taken everything from me,” she said, her voice like shattering ice against stone. “My father. My brother. My birthright. Do you really think I’ll let you walk away with her?”

I planted my feet, body coiled, my gun raised but my mind razor-focused. Claire lay behind me, weak but alive. And I’d die before letting Tatiana touch her. 

“You’re not your father’s heir,” I said, voice low, steady. “You’re just a desperate child clinging to a throne built on bones. And I’ll end it tonight.”

Tatiana’s lips curled into a mocking smile as she drew her own weapon. “Then let’s see if the devil you claim to be can survive hell itself.”

The last battle began. 

Tatiana moved like lightning, her shot grazing my arm as I dove aside. Pain laced through me, but I didn’t falter. I returned fire, forcing her behind a crumbled column. Dust rained down, and every crack of gunfire echoed like thunder. 

“Damian,” Tatiana taunted from cover. “Do you know why Lucian betrayed you? Because he saw what I see. That your empire is fragile. Built on loyalty you don’t deserve.”

Her words cut, but I didn’t let them show. “Lucian was weak,” I spat, advancing carefully. “And so are you. Hiding behind ghosts and family names.”

A bullet whistled past my cheek, hot as fire. Tatiana had moved again, fast, unpredictable. She wasn’t like her father. She fought with venom, cunning, and rage. Every strike was personal. 

I ducked behind a steel beam, blood dripping from my grazed arm, chest heaving. My eyes flickered to Claire who was stirring weakly, whispering my name. It gave me strength, grounding me against the chaos. 

“You should’ve stayed dead in your father’s shadow,” I growled, loading my last magazine. “Because when I’m done, there won’t be a Sokolov left to bury.”

Tatiana’s laugh was chilling, wild. “Then you’ll have to kill me with your own hands, Damian. And something tells me that’s exactly what you’re afraid of.”

She lunged into the open, and the fight turned deadly close.

The clash was brutal. Steel against steel as my blade met hers in a sudden shift to knives. Sparks flew, each strike ringing out in the silence between gunfire. 

Tatiana’s movements were vicious, almost feral but trained years of her father’s merciless conditioning sharpened into lethal grace. She slashed at my throat, and I blocked, the impact rattling my bones. I countered with a brutal strike to her ribs, but she twisted, pain only fueling her fury. 

“You don’t understand,” she hissed, pushing me back step by step. “This is bigger than you. Bigger than your empire. The Sokolovs were born from blood, and blood is how it ends.”

My eyes darkened, muscles straining as I forced her blade away from my chest. “No. This ends with me.”

A vicious headbutt caught me off guard, blood bursting from my brow. Tatiana used this moment to shove me hard against a wall, knife pressing close to my jugular. 

“I could carve the empire from your throat right now,” she whispered, her breath hot with fury. “Take everything from you the way you took everything from me.”

I gritted my teeth, vision swimming, then I slammed my forehead into hers, breaking her hold. She staggered back, dazed, and I surged forward with a roar. 

I have risen and I wouldn’t let her win. 

The hall shook as the fight dragged across broken marbles and splintered wood. I drove Tatiana back, my blows relentless, fueled by years of vengeance and the need to protect Claire. 

Tatiana’s knife clattered to the ground, but she was far from finished. She clawed at me, fist flying, eyes blazing with a hatred that seemed bottomless. I caught her fist mid-strike and twisted, forcing her to her knees. 

“It’s over,” I snarled, breath ragged. “Your reign ends tonight.”

But Tatiana laughed, blood staining her teeth. “You think killing me will end this? The Sokolovs have roots deeper than you’ll ever tear out.”

“Then I’ll burn the roots,” I shot back, my gun pressed to her temple. My hands trembled, not from weakness, but from the weight of the choice. Killing her would erase the heir, erase the bloodline. But it also makes me everything she accused me of. Just another monster writing history in blood. 

Claire’s faint voice broke through the haze. “Damian…don’t lose yourself.”

And for a moment, everything stilled. Tatiana’s eyes widened, sensing hesitation. She lashed out with a hidden blade, slashing my side. Pain ripped through me, but it snapped my focus back. 

With a guttural growl, I wrenched the blade from her hand and pinned her brutally against the ground. 

“Enough,” I hissed. “Everything ends with me. Not with you.”

Tatiana thrashed beneath me, her strength fueled by pure rage, but my grip was iron. My gun pressed against her chest, not her head. A deliberate choice. 

“You wanted my empire,” I said, my voice cold as steel. “But you’ll leave this world knowing you never deserved it.”

Her sneer faltered, fear flickering for the first time. “If you kill me..”

“I don’t need to kill you,” I cut in, pressing harder. “You’ll die by your own venom.”

With one swift motion, I twisted her arm and drove her into a shard of steel protruding from the rubble. The weapon punched through her side, her scream echoing through the hall.

Tatiana’s eyes blazed with shock, fury, and finally the hollow realization that she had lost. Blood bubbles at her lips, her body trembling as she gasps. “The…Sokolovs…never die.”

Her words had faded as her strength drained, her hands clawing at my jacket before falling limp. The heir of Sokolov was finished. 

I rose slowly, bloodied and battered, my chest heaving. My gaze flickered to Claire, who was fighting to stay conscious, her eyes widened with relief and fear. I stumbled toward her, dropping to my knees beside her. 

“It’s over,” I whispered, cradling her against me, though the weight of every pressed heavily on my shoulders. 

But deep inside, I knew this wasn’t just victory. This was the beginning of the end of empires, betrayals, and the man I once was. 

The devil had won. But at what cost?