Villainous [Wattys 2021 Shortlist]

3: Beginnings

Something hot and metallic trickled down her arm. Hawk had a light but long slash along his torso – his enraged eyes met hers as she pinned him down – but then all the men in the courtyard went silent.

Hawk paused and Delilah reluctantly refrained from plunging her knife into his eye. Panting, she looked up.

The massive rock walls around them were stippled with arched windows. They were all empty but for one lone figure, his pale face seeming to float in the distance, black eyes fixed on them.

Delilah climbed off Hawk and he shoved himself to his feet, swearing, glaring at her. Had she won? Dante had distracted everyone.

Delilah gave the small figure a rude hand gesture, ignoring the way the other men hissed and gasped.

Dante simply smiled back, and Delilah would have killed to know what was going through his mind at that moment.

*

Her cave-room was in darkness. The servants had extinguished the lamps when Delilah announced she wished to retire early. Despite the rough walls and craggy ceiling, Dante had given her a lovely chamber. When she had first arrived at the mountain catacombs, she had viewed the magnificent entrance hallway, carved to perfection with glowing floors, a vaulted ceiling and pillars carved with vines and animals, and had been amazed at the way Vale's people had adapted to living underground. They had turned it into a thing of beauty.

After three months of living under Dante's rule, however, she had realised only parts of the underground citadel were so refined and glamorous. The chambers which were meant to receive visitors and impress, such as the council rooms, his throne room, his own private chambers. Most of the subterranean city was rough and half-finished, some of the tunnels little more than mine shafts.

Much of the people's work was still focused on making the caves habitable, and Delilah had heard that many had died through cave-ins or noxious gases. Dante seemed to be pulling as many away from the menial work as he could, however, to rebuild his army – which seemed pitifully small, although she didn't know whether Dante was hiding the true extent of his forces from her.

From what she had seen of the catacombs so far, Dante had given her luxurious furnishings: a four-poster bed draped with green hangings, a wardrobe and an elegant three-piece suite that sat by a roughly carved fireplace. The lamps on the walls were green – Dante seemed to favour green or purple lights, Delilah which made everything look eerie – and the rock floor was smooth as glass.

Delilah sprawled on her bed, the sheets tangled around her, and gazed into the darkness. She had been dozing fitfully for hours now, and sleep kept dragging her eyelids down. Part of her wanted to stay awake, but her head sank back onto a pillow.

The door crashed open and she sat bolt upright, snatching the sheets to her chin as Dante stomped in with his cloak billowing around him.

He halted when Delilah threw a pillow at him. "Get. Out." She was seething, and slightly mortified.

He didn't budge. "Up. Now. We're leaving for Pelenu."

When she did not move and only glared more fiercely, he marched forwards and grabbed her ankle. She screeched as he dragged her out from under the duvet and flung her onto the icy floor.

Delilah scrambled to pull her nightgown down as far as it would go, desperately praying it was too dark for him to see her flush of embarrassment. "Get out while I change, or I'll bash your teeth down your throat."

He looked at her impassively. "You have two minutes. If you're not ready, I'll break the door down." He slammed it shut on his way out.

Bastard. Delilah swore viciously, but darted to her wardrobe and began dressing herself, fingers trembling from shock. When she had donned the travelling attire, ensuring that every single type of weapon she owned was strapped to her or hidden in convenient pockets, she swept a heavy cloak around her shoulders and flung the door open – almost running headlong into Dante, who had indeed been about to smash the door from its hinges.