Survive or die

~Lyrielle~

"Father," I cried out as I watched him fall to his knees, one moment standing, the next his head rolling on the ground. Why was I back here? This had happened before, yet I found myself returning to the time when my family had died, just standing there watching them perish. "Kale, Mother," I tried to move forward as the neck hung them, but I couldn’t. My body refused to move on its own, and all I could do was bite my hand to silence my sobs.

I shouldn’t be back here, I thought as I looked around and saw no one else. It was just me and my family. They pointed their fingers towards me when I turned back to face them. "You killed us, Lyrielle. This is all your fault."

"No," I tried to say, covering my ears and closing my eyes, telling myself it was a dream. "I shouldn’t be here," I screamed, and then suddenly, a torrent of icy water slammed into my face, ripping me from the haunting memory. I fluttered my eyes open, expecting to see my family in front of me, but instead, I was on a bed, soaking wet. Water cascaded down my cheeks, plastering my hair to my bandaged neck and face. "Father, Mother, Kale," I shouted their names as I looked around. "Where am I?" I asked as my chest heaved, lungs burning as I sucked in shallow, frantic breaths that sent shivers deep into my bones.

I blinked and looked at the room, realizing I was back in the abandoned building where I had woken up the first time. The first thought was how I shouldn’t be there because I remembered Arineth pushing me off the cliff. But instead of dying, I was back in the room, sprawled on the creaking bed. Looming over me was Arineth, a broad grin on his face. My heart started pounding fast, dreading what he could do to me. His presence in the room was intimidating, like a weight pressed against my chest. “Surprised you’re alive, Lyrielle?” he sneered. He leaned closer until I could feel his breath on my face.

“Did you think I’d let you die so easily? No, you are not dying yet!” He straightened and laughed like a maniac. The sound was so wild it ricocheted off the stone walls, filling the space with its menace and sending vibrations through my bones. “You’re mine now. my little pawn in this bloody fight. I went back to the hall and gave Eiraeth a note. You should’ve seen Eiraeth. the terror when he read my note! They think they’re safe, dancing and drinking, but they have no idea!” I stopped pacing and faced her. “And you—you’ll help me, won’t you? You’ll rise with me. Together, we will rip them apart, make them scream like we’ve screamed!” I crouched beside her, my eyes boring into hers. “Say it, Lyrielle—say you’re with me, or I’ll toss you back off that cliff myself!”

I glared up at him, my hands trembling but clenched into fists, nails digging into my palms until I felt the sting of blood. My voice shook with fury as I grew tired of him playing mind games with me. “You pushed me off that cliff!” I spat, the words dripping with loathing. I could still remember how it felt as I fell down the cliff—it was terrifying, and then my body was set on fire.

He smirked and leaned closer again. “And yet here you are, breathing, whining—pathetic, clinging to life like a rat scrabbling in filth. You could have given up on life when I pushed you down the cliff.”

“That was not the deal. You already agreed to help me, so why are you doing this to me?”

“Because I had to show you how weak you are,” he said, pointing a finger at me. “You’re hungry for revenge, yet you’re nothing but a wisp I could snap with a flick of my wrist.”

“Why torment me then?” I shot back. “I told you I’d fight with you—avenge my family, tear them apart! What more do you want from me? Why drag me through this hell?”

He laughed again, a brutal, cold sound that raked over my skin like claws. I had heard rumors about his ruthlessness and how he treated his enemies. Prince Arineth was also known as the Ice Prince, having slain countless rogues without mercy. I never expected he would be crazier than they had described him.

“You want to fight alongside me? What could a lady who’s been sheltered all her life do?” he asked, but I didn’t know how to respond because he was right. “You’re a burden, a fragile shell that will shatter under the first blow. You want their blood? You’d choke on it before you draw a drop!” He pulled back and headed toward the window, staring outside. “To win this battle, you need to be someone else, someone stronger—not the weak woman everyone knows you to be. Show them you can be strong, Lyrielle.” He turned around to face me with a frown. “If you want to fight alongside me, prepare for the worst because it’s not going to be easy,” he said, his voice serious and powerful, making me shift on the bed. “You’re still weak, Lyrielle.”

Tears welled in my eyes, and I tried to hold them back, but they spilled down my cheeks. My chest convulsed with sobs. I couldn’t choke down as I remembered everything that had happened. My family’s death was etched in my mind, the betrayal I felt when I saw the royal family unscathed. “I’m not weak!” I cried. “Like you said, I will become stronger because I have nothing else to lose. That’s why I’m begging you—please help me. I’ll pay any price to see them burn, to hear them scream the way my family did before they died.”

He moved closer and grabbed my chin, his fingers digging into my flesh until it hurt, but then it suddenly turned to pleasure. The instant he touched me, I felt tingles—sharp, electric currents racing through my veins. My breath hitched as our eyes met, and my heart pounded fast.

I felt it.

It was the mate bond I had rejected and shattered when I turned him down years ago. It was unbelievable that I could still feel it, alive and thrumming beneath my skin like a heartbeat I couldn’t silence. It wasn’t supposed to be possible unless he hadn’t fully rejected me.

“His touch sends shivers down my spine,” Cara cried out in my head. “I can feel it.”

“Crying won’t fix a damn thing!” Arineth suddenly shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Stop it—stop it now. Tears are for the weak, not someone trying to rise to the top and crush their enemies.” He grabbed my chin, shoved it away, and stepped back, staring out the window again. “Prove yourself—show me you’ve got strength, and I’ll show you a new world. A world where you’ll grind your enemies into the dirt, where they’ll crumble at your feet, groveling for mercy you won’t give! But you’ve got to earn it—every drop of it.” He turned around and leaned in again. “Are you ready, Lyrielle? Are you ready to become something they’ll fear?”

I shouted in response, “Yes, I’m ready!” I raised my clenched fists for him to see. “I’ll do anything to rise to the top.”

Arineth grinned, grabbed my fist, and rubbed it gently before letting go. “Since you’re ready to reach the top, I’ll give you what you want,” he declared, clapping his hands.

The door burst open, and three masked figures walked in, their cloaks dark and heavy. They joined a masked woman already lurking in the corner and bowed their heads to Arineth.

My heart pounded in my chest as they turned to face me. “Begin!” Arineth commanded.

Fear spiked through me as they moved closer to the bed. “What do you mean by that?” I demanded.

Arineth chuckled and headed toward the door but stopped at the entrance, turning back to face me with a smirk. “Survive this, and I’ll return,” he said, smiling. “Die and meet yourself in hell where you belong.” He grabbed the doorknob and stepped out, shouting as he walked down the hallway, “I hope you don’t die, Lyrielle.”

“Prince Arineth!” I roared, thrashing against the bed. The damp blanket tangled around my legs like chains, binding me as I kicked and twisted.

The four masked women surrounded me. One grabbed the blanket and pulled it off. “What are you doing?” I shouted. “Let go of me!” I thrashed, but it was useless—they were much stronger than I was.

When they started peeling the bandages from my burnt scars, I let out a deafening scream. The fabric, crusted with blood and ash, stuck to my raw, blistered flesh, and each peel sent a jolt of pain through me.

“Relax, child,” one of them said, her voice soft, almost tender. “We mean no harm. We’re here to heal you.”That should have made me feel relaxed, but I wasn’t.

As they began peeling the charred skin from my body, it felt like I was being set on fire again. I screamed once more, my voice resounding through the room.