MONSTER

MONSTER


Nicholas POV

No. No. No. No.

It was all crashing down. No. This was not an option. This was not the way it was supposed to end. Years. I spent years crafting this moment to perfection, beating this plan into shape with steel and flames. And now, everything was disintegrating like a sandcastle before a tidal wave.

I screamed at the top of my voice, my voice cracking, "Footmen! Hold back! Don't let them penetrate the inner court!" But Antonio's soldiers advanced like a demented flood. Bullets rained in the air, punching holes through my line of defense like paper. My well-trained men dropped one by one like meatbags.

There was chaos.

I spun around in terror as Antonio grabbed one of my soldiers by the arm, twisted it until bone snapped, and then slapped the man onto the floor with a deafening bang. Another of my men tried to escape and was shot through the head by a Knight precisely positioned above on the second balcony. Bodies littered the ground. Gunpowder, smoke, and blood filled the air.

What were these people?

Beasts.

Wild beasts.

Isabella moved like a specter, a brilliant knife in each hand. My eyes went wide as she sliced the throat of one man, turned, twirled, and stabbed the knife into another's belly. Like they were nothing. Years of practice didn't matter. The empire that I had built was crumbling to ash.

I let out a furious scream and grabbed onto Silvio’s collar, separating him from the now-bleeding Martina, who fell to the floor like a crumbling statue, clinging to her stomach.

I snarled in his face, "You’ve destroyed everything!"

Then I swung a metal bat into the side of his head. It came crashing down with a wicked thud, and he fell, blood flowing from his temple. Still conscious. Still gritting his goddamn teeth. I hit him again. This time I swung the bat across his back.

"You drew a team of monsters!" I spat. "You think love and loyalty will keep you alive? They'll kill you!"

I crashed his head on the marble floor, blood spewing in a disgusting arc across the tile. He didn't yell. He just grunted low and hard, teeth clenched, body jerking. He was too out of it to fight, but too stubborn to die.

Then I could feel something.

Hands.

Fingers.

Digging into my face.

"Let go of him! Let go of him now!"

Martina.

Her fingers gouged into the edge of my eye, blinding me for an instant. I howled in pain, striking back as she clung to me fiercely like a mother guarding her child. I threw her off, and her head struck the ground with a sickening crunch. Her body went slack. Blood began to pool.

Silvio's POV

All was leaden.

My head was spinning. The blood loss. The electrocution. The broken ribs. It was as if my soul ached to escape this body and run. I couldn't move. My arms and legs were heavy with water. My eyes were blurring, blackness closing in around the edges.

But.

A gun.

A few inches from my face.

I heard Nicholas shouting once more, brandishing that bat wildly like a madman, defending himself against whoever came near. I stretched out, hands trembling.

Martina.

She wasn't moving.

I had to scream, but I couldn't. A wheeze of air. My hand crawled like a dying spider across the floor towards the weapon. Inches. Inches. I felt it with my fingers. I wrapped my fingers around the grip.

Nicholas shoved Seraphina off him like a ragdoll and threw her aside. Her head smashed into the floor with a thud. She didn't move again.

Breathe.

Don't panic.

Don't panic, Silvio.

Focus.

My vision swirled. But my hand steadied.

"Goodbye. uncle."

I raised the gun. The thing was too heavy. But I did. The barrel hit the side of his head. For the first time, Nicholas stopped moving.

And then I shot.

Clean shot.

His skull jerked back, and he dropped to his knees first. Then forward. His body fell to the ground next to me, blood spilling out beneath him.

The silence after was louder than the gunshot.

I remained there, eyes open, fighting to breathe, fighting to live. My entire body was surrendering, but my hand would not let go of the pistol. I slowly, inch by inch, turned my head to look at Martina.

Still.

Bleeding.

Her lips were open, trembling. Her chest rose and fell in shallow gasps. She still lived.

"Martina."

Nothing. Only a whimper.

I dragged my broken body towards her. My bones were screaming. My muscles were spasming. I had blood in my mouth. But I was moving. I reached her and pressed my forehead against hers.

"Please. Stay with me. Please. Stay with me."

Behind us, I heard Antonio shouting orders. Knights stirring. More gunshots. Wails.

But all I saw was her.

All I heard was her breathing.

All I felt was her cold skin.

Martina.

I had saved her.

But what had it cost?

All was ch
arred.

All was ash.

I didn't even know if I was living.

The room blacked out.

Or maybe it was just my eyes closing.