THE PLACE OF SKULLS
CHAPTER TENWith her shoulders back and chin up, Dahlia tried her best to present herself as collected and unruffled. Her attempts at appearing calm were to no avail as her eyes were darting anxiously between the demons in the Grand Hall. Beside her stood Caliban whose shoulders were back and chin was up arrogantly. With the Infernal Court's support, as well as Sabrina Spellman's entire family present, Caliban naturally felt he had the upper hand. Dahlia felt sorry for the Spellman girl, wishing she could warn her about the large, intimidating group that awaited her in the Grand Hall.
She glanced at Caliban and shifted in her spot when all he gave her was a confident, sly smirk. She turned to Sabrina's aunts, hoping to get some sign of reassurance from them that they would support their niece, but their cold expressions said otherwise. They stood with frowns upon their face, raising Dahlia's heartbeat as she wondered whether Sabrina would be able to handle the increased pressure.
On cue, Sabrina Spellman's soft footsteps approached the room with Lilith walking beside her. "You brought them all here?" Sabrina asked Lilith in disbelief.
"Now everyone knows that you, Sabrina, are Queen of Hell." Lilith stated. Sabrina looked between the cold faces that stared at her, her heart palpitating under their rough glares. Dahlia, although tempted to give the blonde a reassuring smile, refrained out of worry that Caliban would catch on to their secret alliance.
"By Infernal Law, we hereby declare that the next contest of the Unholy Regalia shall commence. The Morningstar and her challenger, Caliban, must seek and retrieve the second of our most unholy artifacts... Pontius Pilate's bowl." The members of the Infernal Court, with their green and red skin and porous holes in their faces growled and cheered quietly in the background.
"What do you say, princess? Ready for round two?" Caliban challenged, stepping forward toward Sabrina. His nickname for Sabrina made the brunette raise her eyebrows in suspicion, but the intensity of the conversation was too high for Dahlia to focus on such a minor detail. She pursed her lips and watched in silence despite her wandering thoughts.
"Sorry, but I can't. Not right now," Sabrina declared, her voice firm and certain. The entire court growled and hissed in their unearthly voices, raising goosebumps on the back of Dahlia's neck.
"Sabrina, by not accepting the challenge, you threaten the very existence of your coven... your friends and family. And do you know why the balance of the cosmos has tipped? The arrival of the pagans? Your coven's loss of power? It's all a direct result of your refusal to claim, absolutely, the throne." Lilith was harsh, stepping close to Sabrina as she spoke with a dark glare. Dahlia felt that the blonde would break under her cold stare any minute, but she was proven wrong when the girl remained under her glare without making a sound. "Don't you see, Sabrina? All of this... suffering... it's your fault." Sabrina's lips parted at the last sentence and her eyes watered at the cruel words that left her mentor's mouth. She didn't expect less from Lilith, but being blamed for all the problems she and her coven were facing was something Sabrina hadn't expected. Her heart tightened at the words that left Lilith's mouth and the lack of support her coven was giving her.
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Darkest Desires → Caliban [CAOS]
Fanfiction❝All of us are devils in the skin of men, but it had been an unimaginable idea, an unrealistic event, for a devil to ever struggle in choosing between his lifelong desire, and one confined to a bottle, powerless in his hand.❞ For Centuries, Dahlia's...