Mathias stepped closer, his instruments of agony glinting menacingly in the dim light.“You’ll regret those words.”
But I held his gaze, unflinching.“You’re terrified, Mathias.You and Salvatore both.Because you know when the end comes, Lazarus and I will claim Solaris.And when we do, you’ll be nothing more than a forgotten name in a history of failures.”
His expression darkened, but his voice remained cool, dismissive.“Salvatore is more powerful than Lazarus.You will never defeat him.”
I exhaled, every breath laced with pain, but I refused to let him see weakness.
“We shall see whose power prevails.”
Mathias chuckled, a low, mirthless sound.“Says the man chained to the wall, at my mercy.”
“Mathias,” I spat, the taste of iron thick on my tongue.“You act as if I know nothing.But do you understand why you’ve always despised me?”
The chains rattled as I shifted against the stone, the metal biting into raw flesh.“It’s jealousy in its most elemental form.In Solaris, I was chosen to lead the House of Darkness, to command the Army of Darkness.Me.Not you.”
I let the words hang between us, a blade honed from the truth.
“Zara chose Balthazar over you.And you’ve never recovered from that.You were always the pawn, Mathias—never the mastermind, or leader.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw.Rage flickered deep in his eyes, barely restrained.
I smirked through my pain.“I will find a way to obliterate everything you’ve corrupted.”
Mathias’ face twisted in fury.His hands curled into fists, nails digging into his palms.
“I will kill you myself, Amir,” he seethed.“But not before I let everyone witness your demise.”
His voice rang out like the toll of a funeral bell.Cold.Final.
I exhaled, slowly, a bloody grin lingering on my lips.
“Your arrogance blinds you,” I rasped, my breaths shallow but determined.
“In the end, it is you who will fall.”
Mathias chuckled, the sound hollow and drenched in mockery.“Really?You believe you and Lazarus are a step ahead?”His dark and cruel laughter echoed in the chamber.“The evil queen has been reborn.My daughter, Alina, controls Balthazar.And Queen Isabelle?King Armand?”He leaned in, his breath thick with triumph.“They’re gone.Killed by my hand.And they won’t be returning.Ever again.”
His words should have been a dagger, slicing through my resolve.But instead, I laughed—a brittle, bitter sound that rattled through my broken ribs.As my body screamed in protest, I let the laughter spill forth, mocking.
“You think you have everything figured out,” I grated, spitting blood at his feet.“But in the end, we will prevail.And you…” My gaze locked onto his, unflinching.“You will die.”
Mathias’ expression darkened, twisted by fury.
A storm unleashed.
Pain struck like a whipcrack—his hand moving in a blurred arc, sending fresh agony rippling through my battered frame.I choked on the sensation, my body convulsing against the chains, but I did not break.
And then—the poison.
He administered another dose.A searing fire in my veins promised a torturous descent into oblivion.
I bit down hard, refusing to cry out.
Then—another voice, cutting through the haze.
“Mathias.”
Ice-cold.Commanding.
