Chapter 9: UNWELCOMED CONFRONTATION

With Cove's icy rejection still fresh in Morrigana’s memory, Morrigana was furious as she exited the big hall. She was angry because Cove was becoming more and more fixated with the so called thief, Lycia. His sudden obsession with the thief, Lycia, was growing by the day, and it made her more infuriated. She couldn’t understand what made this girl so special or why Cove seemed to be so reluctant to deal with her as he would any other intruder. She was baffled by the girl’s ability to stir something in Cove, something that made him hesitant, something that Morrigana had never seen before. It wasn’t just Lycia’s skill or her audacity; there was something about Lycia that had thrown Cove off balance, and Morrigana hated it. To her, Lycia was nothing but a distraction to her plans, a frightened thief. Yet somehow, she had managed to wedge herself into a place no one else had dared to occupy, one she has been trying to occupy for years.

As she stalked through the dark hallways, her boots echoed against the stone floors, the thought swirled in her head like a wind, one she had lost controll over. Before she could realize herself, she was already standing outside Lycia's door

She let out a short breath and pushed the door open without knocking. Inside, Lycia was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking relaxed. But as soon as she walked in, Lycia's head snapped up in shock, clearly surprised by her sudden appearance.

"You," Morrigana remarked in a flat but contemptuous tone. Lycia blinked and hastily covered her astonishment with a frown.

"I assume you don’t know how to knock?” Lycia shot back.

Morrigana took another step further into the room, letting the door close behind her.

"I don't waste courtesy on people I don't respect.". With her keen eyes scanning Lycia as if assessing or sizing her up, she declared plainly,

She came to a stop just in front of Lycia, her presence overwhelming. The silence between them stretched painfully long, and Morrigana leaned down, her face inches from Lycia’s, too close for comfort, and with a look that was almost predatory, she spoke softly,.

“You have been a thorn in my side for far a while now," she whispered her breath cold on Lycia’s skin. "But it’s time you learned your place."

Lycia’s pulse quickened, fear began creeping in with each second Morrigana took staying close to her face. The room felt colder now, as if the very air had turned hostile. Morrigana’s eyes were filled with something dark, something dangerous, and Lycia’s throat tightened with the weight of it all. She wanted to scream, to demand why this was happening, but the words were caught in her chest.

Before Lycia could react, Morrigana reached out, gripping her wrist with surprising strength, twisting it painfully until Lycia gasped.

"I could break you in an instant, but today, I'm going to enjoy every moment," Morrigana said, her voice low and filled with dark amusement. She tightened her grip, watching as Lycia winced, and her breathing shallow.

With a cruel smile, Morrigana released her wrist, only to bring a sharp slap to the side of Lycia’s face. The sting left Lycia’s cheek burning, her eyes tearing up from both pain and frustration, but Morrigana wasn’t done. She grabbed a fistful of Lycia’s hair, pulling her head back roughly, forcing her to look up at her.

Lycia was already in so much pain,when Morrigana grabbed her throat with a brutal force with her other hand, applying pressure and restricting her breathe. Lycia cried out, the pain slicing through her like a hot knife. Her breath became ragged as Morrigana leaned in closer, her voice low and chilling.

“I want you to understand something, Cove might not want to teach you your place, but that doesn’t mean I won’t. You’re nothing more than a thief, and when we are done with you, you’d wish you’d never tried to steal from us in the first place, that’s if you’re lucky. But for now, I want to you to suffer.”

Lycia’s eyes welled with tears, her body shaking with both the pain and the overwhelming sense of helplessness.

“Do you think I want this?” she screamed, her voice raw and desperate, her words filled with anguish. Her chest heaved with each labored breath, and she tried to pull away, but Morrigana held her firmly in place.

Morrigana’s lips curled into a cruel smile. Without warning, she delivered a sharp slap again to Lycia’s face, sending her head snapping to the side. Lycia’s vision blurred with tears, but Morrigana wasn’t done. She gripped Lycia’s hair yet again roughly, pulling her head back until Lycia could feel the strain in her neck.

“Bold words for someone chained to a bed, Lycia,” Morrigana growled, her voice dripping with a darker amusement.

Lycia's cries grew louder, each sob racking her body as the pain intensified. But beneath the surface of her despair, something began to stir. A warmth, something deep inside her, began to flare up. It was as though a long-forgotten part of her was waking, something powerful, something she hadn’t known she possessed.

Tears streamed down her face, but this time, they weren’t just tears of pain. They were tears of something far deeper, raw untapped power. Her vision blurred, her hands trembling, and suddenly, a surge of energy grew from within her. The air in the room grew thick, the temperature rising with the intensity of the energy she could no longer control.

“No,” she gasped, her voice trembling with shock. “I won’t... I won’t let you…”

Before she could finish, the power surged again, and her screams grew louder, the force of it filling the room like a storm. Then, with an audible snap, the chains broke apart. Morrigana stumbled back, eyes wide with a mix of shock and excitement.

“What is this?” she hissed, her grip loosening as Lycia’s energy grew stronger.

Lycia’s eyes flashed with a sudden realization, she wasn’t as helpless as they thought. Morrigana froze, her jaw tightening as she stared at the broken shackles lying on the floor, disbelief written all over her face.

“How…how did you do that?” Morrigana whispered, her voice laced with astonishment and a flicker of fear.

Lycia, still gasping for breath, stood unsteadily, her entire form trembling but no longer restrained. She looked at the shattered chains on the ground, and for the first time, a spark of something other than fear flickered within her, strength.

But before things could escalate further, the door flew open with a violent crash. Cove, his face etched with concern and fear, rushed into the room.

“Enough!”