Soul Ties

Chapter 69: The Final Chapter

I step forward. The dread in my soul makes my legs heavy. It makes my fingers feel like they're not there. It makes my head throb so hard I don't know if the hum in my ears will ever go away. I stand before them, the love of my life and my soul tie. My vision swims with each pound of my heart beat, the slow drum of it no longer pulsing with fear.

The only thing keeping me alive, kept me breathing, was these two. But I couldn't do the same for them. Not anymore. Demien wouldn't let us leave without my choice. I would lose them both if I didn't utter a name. All I hoped for would be forgiveness.

My throat dries completely, dehydration on the rise the longer I drag this out. Seren's head stops bobbing, Scorpius growing still. His lids have completely stopped twitching, but I can see his chest still rising with his small inhales. They didn't have much time.

"I-"

Glass shattering whips my head to the windows. A loud thud hits the tiled floor, two more windows being broken. Demien doesn't hesitate and pulls me to his chest, one hand gripping my throat. He traps my wrists behind me, two of his arms constricting against my stomach so tightly I feel like I might throw up. Pivoting us to where the commotion is, he moves us back towards his throne.

If I had any tears left in me they would be flowing freely down my face. The air leaves my lungs and for the first time since I woke up in this retched place, I feel hope again. Three bodies begin to stand and I don't have to see the face of the first to know who it belongs to. I would recognize that giant Pharon anywhere.

"Ogmellos." I breathe with such relief it makes Demien squeeze me tighter.

Ogmellos stands there, his eyes squinting at Demien behind me. A look of disgust and pure fury seeps out of his obsidian eyes. Caelum brushes off shards of glass from his arms, Barlow doing the same. They both look around at everyone chained and bound to the walls, their expression twisting in pain. Ogmellos is the only one with his steady gaze fixed on us.

I watch Caelum spot Scorpius, his body moving before he can even process what he's looking at.

"Take another step and I'll have the pleasure of taking Ms. Corai's life." Demien says. Caelum freezes. I can tell he's torn between me and his son. He battles with the thought of my life, but then stands upright facing me and Demien.

Barlow's eyes widen when he takes in Seren's wounds, his jaw flexing just like his fists. Ogmellos strides forward but Demien moves us back, his fingers deepening into my throat.

"We already have so much reason to kill you, Crypt. If you try to kill her, nothing would stop me from torturing you slower than I already have planned." Ogmellos says, his voice dripping with repulsion.

"You can't take all three of us." Barlow adds.

"Not if you want to get out of here unscathed." Caelum says.

Demien pulls us back, Ogmellos and Barlow taking another step in our direction. "She's not leaving here without giving me her answer." He says. He constricts his arms around my torso, his skin flaming and boiling against my stomach. I let out a scream, the nausea making my head spin. The aches inside me are growing the more Demien presses his arms into me. Even his grip around my neck is too much.

"Let her go!" Ogmellos' voice booms from every corner of the room. His eyes are full of worry, his exposed muscles completely glowing inside him as his veins bulge and swirl. He's obviously ready for a fight. And from the tenseness of Barlow's jaw, so is he. I knew he wasn't here for me. He was here to defend the honor of his friend. To get Demien back for the unnecessary death that he did.

I look over at Estella, her eyes just as concerned as Ogmellos but her gaze isnt on me. She's staring at Seren and when I look over I can see why. Her body has collapsed onto the floor, her chest no longer moving as she lays lifeless across the room. My mind goes into a panic as I thrash and twist in Demien's grasp trying to get him to let me go.