Chapter Forty-Seven: History Repeats Itself
*Alexander Lykos*
Blood dripped down my chin as a fist struck it against it again, it filled my mouth as another tooth loosened. I stared into Damien’s eyes as spit it out.
The arena he put me in was covered with stains from dried blood, the familiar scents causing my lips to curl… it was the most I could do as the rest of my body was paralysed from the waist down, leaving me unable to do anything besides growl and snarl.
My gaze never faltered as Damien gripped my jaw, tilting it downwards, his eyes searching mine for answers.
“How are you still healing?”
I clenched my jaw as he released it, forcing my head to hit the wooden board of the stand I was mounted on. He turned his back to me, walking towards his men who immediately fell to their knees.
“He acted just like Her Highness did after we administered the poison to her, but… we have never administered it to an actual Lycan before—”
Only a gargling sound left his mouth as Damien tore his throat open with his claws, the healer’s blood spraying down the front of Damien’s clothes as well as his companions who were kneeling beside him.
Damien continued to go down the line and more bodies soon fell, but all I could focus on was he said… my eyes started to wander around the arena and further strayed to the clothes on their backs… they were wearing the attire of a period that had died, not the usually clothes that packs of today wear.
Her Highness… Sapphire!
“I can see the gears in your head finally synced together… it took you long enough, but any other expectation would be giving you far too much credit.”
I was too consumed with my thoughts that I had not noticed Damien making his way to me, the men who were once kneeling before him now laid behind him, their blood seeping through the grooves of the stone floor.
“Do not worry, Xander… my Queen is safe, she is taking a nap as we speak—”
“What have you done to her?”
He smirked as his eyes took in my expression, enjoying every moment of my distress.
“Her safety is never compromised when she is with me, I have done a better job of keeping her safe then you ever have.”
I could not help but left out a short laugh in disbelief at his delusions.
“You killed off her entire family, taking away the thing she loved the most without even giving a second thought to it. Even after finding out that the both of you were mates, you chained her up like an animal for amusement, tortured her---”
A sharp pain caused my jaw to clench as his claws sliced through my cheek, the blood droplets taking the path of their predecessors before hitting the ground.
“That was a lifetime ago, I have been given a new purpose, a second chance to reclaim what you stole from me centuries ago. This time, Xander Lykos, you will not come between us.”
His eyes were deranged as he raved about the past, his hands moved quickly around in his excitement to recite the events that had long passed… Damien had truly gone mad.
“You truly have gone mad, Damien.”
He stopped his tirade and turned to glance at me once more, I clenched my jaw in anticipation for another blow… but it never came. He just stood before me; hands still raised in the air as if he was frozen, but they soon fell limply to his side as he started to laugh.
His laughter bounced off the blood-stained walls of the arena. His own warriors taking steps back as he swayed on the spot laughing, even more terrified of him than when he slashed the throats of their comrades right in front of them.
Then there was silence once more as he stopped, his body rigid and stiff as he walked up to me, not a single trace of the past delirium.
“I am saner than I ever have been, Xander… I have been… reborn.”
“Sapphire is not Rose, Damien, that itself will ensure that history never repeats itself—”
“But it has already started its course, Xander… look around you! The beloved Queen is once again trapped up in a room, the King’s men scattered to deal with the damage as the King himself races to save her, only to end up captured himself…”
He grabbed my jaw to tilt it downwards so that our noses were almost touching.
“The only difference this time is that there will be now fire, and the Queen will live.”
“You are wrong, Damien, the Queen will die once more…”
My jaw was released as he stared in confusion at me… he claimed to love Sapphire, but he still knew nothing about her.
“You may keep her physical body alive, Damien, but you have already started to kill her soul. After all this time, you still do not seem to get it… Sapphire was never meant to belong to anyone, she is too much of a free spirit to be bound to anyone… I have come to understand who she is and love who she is, it is clear that you do not—”
“Shut up!”
“As long as she is able to draw breath, she will continue to fight against you, and she would rather die than bind herself to you. She will fight and fight until you drain her dry---”
Damien started to laugh once more.
“At least I will still have her, and you will not be able to take her from me again.”
I scoffed.
“How do you still not get it? She was never yours to begin with! Damien, she is a person to love, not an object to be conquered!”
“No! I was the one who guided her through palace life, her first friend… I was the one who she ran to for comfort. It was you, Xander, who twisted her away from me! You had the title, the wealth, the power, and scores of women who you could choose from, so why her? Why did you have to steal the one woman who loved me?”
My eyes widened as tears brimmed in his eyes, flabbergasted that he could cry after all the pain he had caused, that he could weep as though he was the one who was wronged.
“The visions that you have seen, I have been plagued with them too. Rose loved you, Damien, but she was never in love with you. Yes, she trusted you and went to you for comfort and guidance, but she never owed you anything, her heart was not payment! I never intended to fall in love with her, but I did, and she with me… you cannot blame any of us for this!”
He smirked as he wiped away his tears, his face now a blank slate… expressionless.
“You can say what you want, Xander, but things have changed. You are no longer the mighty King you were centuries ago, the both of us now evenly matched, and with Sapphire… I will rule once again.”
“Rulers like you never last, Damien… fear will never buy you loyalty.”
He let out a short laugh as he gestured wildly around the arena.
“Look around you, Xander, the packs that ‘fear’ bought me brought yours to your knees, and soon, even the ones who swore their loyalty to you will turn on you… everyone has a weak point, Xander… you were just never strong enough to use it… Oh, and that reminds me! Bring her in!”
The door of the arena slowly opened, and my heart fell as I saw Sapphire entering, her toned strong body now frail, her dark hair now considerable lighter… what has he done?
“Xander!”
She screamed my name, but could not move as the she-wolf we encountered in the forest wheeled her in, holding a tray that held up the tubing, the black liquid flowing through it to enter Sapphire’s body.
“What have you done to her?”
Damien smirked as he walked up to her, gliding his fingers up her arm, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut and turn her face away, before trailing them up the tubing to hold up the large clear bag that was full of the black liquid.
“You were right when you said that Sapphire would never stop fighting me, so unsavoury methods had to be done….as long as this liquid continues to flow through her veins, she is unable to run away from me.”
My heart broke as Sapphire looked up to stare at me, the broken wolf that I had met running through my forest staring at me once more, her eyes hiding an immeasurable pain.
“You should be proud, Xander, our lovely one here exhausted almost a quarter of my supply already on her own, it seems almost laughable that her common wolf half is the one that is protecting her from the effects of my concoction. For you, the mighty Lycan, only a single vial was needed to subdue you, but for her? This entire bag needs to be refilled once every two days… the soft Queen is a strong warrior in this life.”
I swung my neck from side to side, growling and snarling in frustration at my current paralysis that prevented me from going to her, from holding her in my arms. Tears slid down her cheeks as she took in my pitiful state before turning to look at the ground, and I knew that she was blaming herself for my predicament.
Damien smiled as I struggled, his hand trailing from the fingertips of Sapphire’s hand to the curve of her neck, ignoring her efforts to move away from his touch.
“Black is a beautiful colour for her, is it not, Xander?”
My jaw clenched as he stroked the black wolf pendant that hung at the base of the throat, moving it forward to hide the sapphire from view.
“I have to say, it is a much better alternative to that pitiful gift of yours…”
He stroked Sapphire’s cheek as he stared at me.
“A woman like her deserves only the finest things in life, and it seems that I am the only one that sees it that way.”
“Then you still do not know me, Damien.”
A small smile fell on my lips as she turned to Damien, a tiny spark of her fire burning in her eyes. He chuckled before gripping her jaw, to prevent her from turning away, before pressing a kiss on her cheek.
“In time, Sapphire, you will learn to love what I love even if you hate it.”
He kissed her one more time before clapping his hands together.
“I think this is all for the little reunion, it is time, my darling, to watch the latest show I have prepared for you. I can guarantee that the last one would pale in comparison to this.”
“No!”
Sapphire continued to scream as she was wheeled back out of the arena, her futile cries of my name met with mine. I watched as the guards started to leave the room, climbing up to where the spectator stand was.
“You said that loyalty would be your saving grace, but I assure you, everyone will betray you if given the right push.”
With that he walked out to join Sapphire on the spectator stand, raising his hand to signal the opening of one of the chambers.
My heart sank once more as Sapphire screamed; the limp body of Amelia thrown into the arena. Her body was bloodied and bruised with arrows still embedded in her skin. Her hair matted with her own blood as she tried to push herself upright in an effort to look at Sapphire.
“Do not worry, Amelia, you will not be broken for long.”
It was if time slowed down as a vial of red liquid flew from Damien’s hand, its suspension in the air seemed to never end before it crashed against the stone ground, the glass shattering as the air filled with a red smoke.
Everything fell silent before a roar echoed through the arena.