Chapter 121 No choice – Arianna

  It had been a week since her imprisonment.

  A week of eating breakfast and dinner with a monster wearing human skin. A week of studying an evil device that should not exist. A week of planning how to escape.

  And a week in which Keith had been pushing for more intimacy.

  A casual touch here. A stroll while holding hands. A kiss on the cheek. And tonight…

  Tonight he had demanded a kiss on the mouth.

  He’d just brought her to her room after dinner, like every evening. Then he’d come closer, held on to her waist, tipped up her chin and kissed her. And Arianna, she had been frozen. There was nothing she could have done. Any fight, any refusal would make things worse for her.

  And then she wouldn’t be able to escape. She had to endure.

  But for how long could she? He was escalating, playing at dating her in a game where he held all the power.

  When he’d let her go, she ran into her room directly towards the toilet. There she vomited up all the food she had forced into her stomach this evening.

  She was bent over the toilet, violently throwing up dinner, when a warm hand started rubbing her back, gently holding her hair away from her face. A short glance to her side confirmed that it was Dan.

  Arianna had gotten into the habit of leaving the window open so he could slip in whenever he needed. It made planning so much easier.

  When she finally stopped retching, he handed her a glass of water. He didn’t say a word.

  He just looked at her with quiet pity.

  She was still wearing the baby-blue cocktail dress Keith had insisted on for dinner. Her lipstick was smeared from Keith’s forceful kiss. Her eyes were red.

  She had to look miserable.

  Still shaking, she took out her privacy sphere. Only after it was activated did Dan finally speak the words she had been waiting for.

  “Tomorrow,” he said. “We have an opportunity tomorrow.”

  Arianna nodded. “Good.”

  Dan helped her up, then placed her toothbrush in her hand. She quietly brushed her teeth, trying to wash the taste of vomit, and Keith, out of her mouth. When she finished, she looked at Dan again.

  He had been a quiet support these past few days. And there was pain in his eyes when he looked at her. She didn’t think it was just pity for her. Maybe she was being nosy, but she wanted something else to think about.

  “Did you do the same for Faith’s mother?” she asked.

  He looked at her sharply, the pity fading from his face until he was back to the controlled but warm man she had come to know. She could almost see him calculating how much to tell her. How much would make her feel more sympathy for them, and how much would be too much, giving her some kind of power in this situation?

  She couldn’t blame him. Not after seeing how he and Faith lived in this villa. She had only endured Keith for a week. Faith and Dan had endured him for three decades. That would twist anyone.

  Finally, Dan made his decision. “Yes. I loved Miriam. But Keith wanted her. So I could only take care of her like this.”

  So few words. No emotion. A wound that went too deep to touch.

  It was strange how well Arianna now knew Dan Bryce. He had come by every evening this past week to plan their escape, and he had told her bits and pieces about Faith’s childhood. Arianna knew what he was doing, trying to make Faith more of a victim in her eyes, so Arianna wouldn’t take revenge once her collar was gone.

  And she had to admit… it was working.

  Arianna didn’t hate Faith anymore. She was still hurt. The Faith she had known was just a fa?ade, carefully crafted to draw her in. But Arianna could understand her choices.

  If Faith turned over a new leaf after escaping this place, Arianna wouldn’t stand in her way. She would wish Faith, Dan, and Shari all the best.

  But she couldn’t stay friends with her. Her trust had been broken.

  Some things, once broken, could not be repaired.

  Once Bryce was gone, Arianna activated the patron–avatar chat.

  She still couldn’t contact Cassis through her phone; that restriction was still in place. But the order that prevented her from escaping had been lifted by Faith. Otherwise, she never could have coordinated with Bryce in the first place.

  “Cassis. It’s going to be tomorrow. Here’s the plan…”

  Arianna was satisfied with her preparations for tomorrow. She wouldn’t keep being a victim. She wouldn’t stay passive anymore. Tomorrow she’d take back everything that was taken.

  The next morning, they had breakfast with one small addition: Shari.

  According to what Dan had told her, Faith was allowed to spend one morning a month with her. Arianna curled her lips in disgust. That was so like Keith, dangling rewards in front of Faith just to keep her obedient.

  Of course, there were extra guards too, never letting Shari out of their sight. Every movement was watched, every interaction analysed. Keith knew his control over Faith depended on Shari being in his grasp, so he would never do anything to endanger that.

  What he didn’t know was that Faith’s orders had been rescinded this morning.

  Arianna could use all of her mana again. She could fight. For the first time in a week, she felt like smiling, but, as with so many things in this place, she smothered it. She couldn’t let anything show.

  After breakfast, still silent as ever, they moved out into the garden for “relaxation and play time.” Keith sat down on a wooden bench and gestured for Arianna to sit beside him. Faith and Shari settled into one of the hanging chairs, Faith reading aloud to her. Dan stood with the other servants.

  Arianna hated the scene: a carefully constructed family picture, broken only by the guards surrounding Shari. But Dan had told her he would deal with that. Her only job was to raise a water barrier as soon as the signal came.

  Keith took her hand, idly playing with her fingers. Cassis sometimes did that too, but what was tender and comforting with Cassis felt like a violation with Keith.

  She waited.

  Finally, an explosion tore through the villa.

  Dan had planted explosives in the lab. If they were lucky, the research data, Dr. Tanner and his people, and maybe even the original slave collar would be destroyed. But at the very least, it was a distraction. Even the best-trained guards would react to the most immediate threat.

  Arianna yanked her hand free and threw up a water barrier around Shari. She sprinted toward the nearest guard, pulling her mace from her inventory and striking him hard. He went down instantly. She didn’t stop to wonder if he was dead. She couldn’t. So she chose to think of them as monsters, not people.

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  There was no room for hesitation. She summoned some water lances and let them fly towards more guards.

  Dan was doing the same, only more efficiently, cutting down guards and servants with the precision of someone used to killing. Faith stayed inside the barrier, letting her wind arrows loose.

  Keith recovered from his surprise and ordered the guards to attack. Earthen projectiles slammed into Arianna’s barrier. They were strong, E-rank magic. She felt it weakening and layered a second barrier beneath it.

  At the same time, she used Vanguard’s Flow, weaving between enemies. They had already taken down over half the guards. Victory felt close.

  Too close, too easy.

  Arianna’s stomach twisted. She looked at Keith.

  He was still sitting on the bench, calmly watching his people die.

  Something was wrong.

  “Let’s go!” she shouted to Dan.

  Dan stopped and followed her gaze. Dread crossed his face. “Yes!”

  They broke for the barrier together. Since it was anchored to Shari, it would move with her. The plan was simple: hide inside and run for the outer wall.

  There was no other choice than an open confrontation. Everything in this villa was controlled by Keith. They had no way to get close to Shari except for this monthly “reward”. It was their only opening.

  And Arianna had a surprise waiting beyond the wall. Cassis and Helen were waiting just inside the first wall. They hadn’t been able to breach the second yet, but the first was easily cleared. And with the distraction taking place now, they’d be able to come to her.

  Arianna slipped through the barrier. Only those designated by Arianna as allies or harmless could step through her barriers. The guards couldn’t enter, but their attacks grew heavier.

  Where was Dan?

  She turned and saw the barrier surrounded by at least thirty black-clad guards, far stronger than the others, probably E-rank.

  Her heart dropped. Keith had known.

  “Faith.”

  His voice sent ice down her spine.

  Dan was on his knees, held by two guards, blood already soaking his clothes. Keith held a knife to his throat.

  “Faith, stop this futile struggle. You’ve always been a disappointment, but…” His gaze slid to Arianna. “You, Arianna—I didn’t expect you to be so foolish.”

  He smiled at Faith. “You have a choice. Watch Dan Bryce die, or order Arianna to obey me.”

  Arianna hesitated.

  That was her mistake.

  “Stop, Arianna. That’s an order.” Faith was faster. And she didn’t hesitate to sacrifice her for a loved one.

  Arianna’s body froze. The barrier fizzled out.

  Keith smiled.

  In that moment, fire lances and arrows rained down on him, but he snapped, “Arianna, water barrier around me.” Her mana obeyed against her will.

  When the attack ended, Keith was untouched.

  He walked up to her and placed the knife in her hand. “You should know better, Faith,” he said lightly. “Involving my future wife like this.” He stroked Arianna’s cheek. “Now, be a dear. Hold this to your throat.”

  Her arm moved.

  “Come out, or she dies.”

  Cassis and Helen emerged at once and let the guards capture them.

  Keith smiled wider. “Perfect.”

  He caressed her cheek. “It’s my own fault. I left him alive for you, but that only made you confused about your feelings. I’ll rectify that now.”

  “If Cassis moves,” he said loudly, “you stab yourself.”

  Cassis immediately froze, not daring to move. The guards didn’t even have to hold him anymore. Helen, on the other hand, struggled but was still overwhelmed by three guards. She was then dragged towards Keith and forced to kneel, watching the spectacle Keith had designed.

  He gestured towards Faith, who had been held down by guards as soon as the barrier had collapsed. “Come here.” He pointed next to himself, just a bit in front of Arianna. Shari was already restrained by another guard.

  “Dan Bryce,” Keith said. “Kill Cassis Walker.”

  Dan surprised her with his next action. He looked at Keith, full of loathing, then answered in a heated tone. “No.”

  Keith smiled maliciously, then made a small gesture with his hand. A knife was pressed to Shari’s throat.

  Faith broke. “No!”

  Keith looked at her with disgust. “You can’t have both. One of them has to die today.”

  Faith started shaking, looked back at Arianna, a silent apology in her eyes. In that moment, Arianna felt as if all her hopes had turned to ash. She knew what Faith would choose. Tears were streaming down her face, but she still followed Keith’s order.

  “Uncle Dan, kill Cassis,” she whispered. “It’s an order.”

  Like a puppet, Dan picked up his sword and walked toward Cassis, who still hadn’t moved a muscle, choosing Arianna over his own life.

  Helen screamed, “No! Let go! Cassis, move!”

  But he didn’t.

  He watched Dan approach, then lifted his eyes to Arianna. There was so much love in that gaze that she started crying. Even now, facing death, he was trying to reassure her.

  Why?

  Even if she survived this, what kind of life would be waiting for her?

  She begged him with her eyes. Move. Please, move.

  He didn’t. He just kept looking at her.

  Then his gaze shifted to his arm.

  What was he…?

  The tattoo. The phoenix blessing.

  Of course.

  They could still salvage this. He would die and come back, and in that moment of shock, they might be able to turn things around.

  Dan was finally in front of him. He had been walking deliberately slowly. Faith hadn’t ordered him to kill Cassis quickly. This was his own quiet resistance, buying them time.

  That desperate gamble was all they had.

  Cassis looked at Arianna again. She prayed the blessing would work. It had to.

  Even so, it still tore her apart when Dan drove the sword into Cassis’s heart and twisted it to make sure the blow was fatal.

  There was only a faint grunt from Cassis, no scream, no movement. He kept looking at her as the light slowly drained from his eyes.

  Then Dan tore his sword free, and Cassis collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

  Inside, Arianna was screaming, but outside no sound escaped her. She couldn’t. At least Helen was crying out for both of them. The rest of the garden was eerily silent.

  Keith turned toward her, but Arianna couldn’t stop staring at Cassis’s body.

  Please work. Please work. Please work.

  Strong fingers suddenly gripped her chin and forced her to look up.

  Keith studied her, then murmured, almost disappointed, “Not as devastated as I expected.”

  His gaze slid back to Cassis. “Could it be…?”

  Then he nodded to himself. “That makes more sense. It would be stupid to sacrifice his life for a woman.”

  Arianna’s blood ran cold.

  No. He couldn’t have seen through that, too, could he?

  Keith’s smile widened. “Yes. I think he has a way to revive.”

  Faith stiffened.

  “How delightful,” Keith said softly. “Then I can show you how he dies twice. Faith, order Dan Bryce to kill Cassis again the moment he revives.”

  Faith gave the order.

  Arianna’s world shattered.

  How did he know? No one but her and Cassis knew about the effects of the phoenix blessing. Had she given it away? She hadn’t moved. He couldn’t have read her face.

  Then another thought crept in. Had his patron told him?

  It didn’t matter.

  Dan was standing over Cassis’s body, ready to strike again the moment he moved. Keith had already turned away, eager to watch. Faith stood with her back to Arianna.

  Any second now, Cassis would revive, only to die for real.

  Her heart pounded so hard it drowned out everything else. This was it. No more Cassis. No more second chances.

  No.

  She wouldn’t let it happen.

  But how?

  Helen was restrained. Shari was just a child. Dan was controlled. Faith was terrified. And Arianna herself couldn’t move.

  Unless…

  She had one last thing.

  For a week, she had worked on it in her mind, again and again. She had never practised it. It might fail. It might even kill her.

  But it was her only chance.

  She needed control over her mana. Just for an instant.

  And then a voice whispered in the back of her mind: Kill Faith.

  Arianna couldn’t believe she had even had that thought.

  Kill Faith.

  But she remembered Trickster’s words, how to free herself. There had to be another way.

  Then her eyes snagged on Cassis’s body.

  Fire mana was beginning to radiate from him. Not enough for anyone else to notice, but she could see it clearly. He would revive soon.

  And she still had no solution.

  Kill Faith.

  There had to be another way. Could she even do it?

  The fire mana in Cassis’s body thickened, knitting flesh, repairing what had been destroyed. Any second now…

  Kill Faith.

  No. She wasn’t that kind of person.

  But then her thoughts sharpened into something brutally simple.

  Cassis or Faith.

  There had never been a choice.

  Arianna braced herself for the agony. She cast a silence curse on Faith so she wouldn’t be able to order her to heal herself at the last moment.

  Then, through the pain tearing through her mind, Arianna tightened her grip on the blade still held to her own throat. Keith had never ordered her to let go.

  The mana inside Cassis pulsed.

  Now.

  Blinding pain consumed her as she hurled herself forward, driving the knife straight into Faith’s throat and ripping it free. They both collapsed to the ground.

  Arianna was shattered by pain. She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, only that unbearable ringing.

  Then, suddenly, everything stopped.

  She was free.

  From the ground, Arianna saw Dan throw down his sword and sprint toward them.

  Cassis took a breath.

  Keith stared down at her in surprise.

  Arianna didn’t wait. No more hesitating.

  She activated her full mana pattern, drawing in mana in a forceful rush. Keith’s eyes widened as he turned and ran, but it wouldn’t save him.

  Arianna held the power for a heartbeat longer, pushing it higher. The violent currents inside her mana stream were threatening to spiral out of control, but she still held on.

  Her necklace burned against her skin as more mana poured in. Her grandfather was helping in the only way he could.

  Then, when the tidal wave inside her surged, she let go.

  Water mana exploded outward in a devastating wave, swallowing everything. The guards, servants, and even the furniture were caught in the mana’s violent waves. She could feel one life after another being extinguished. Some drowned, others were thrown against objects or each other in the powerful current.

  Too bad she couldn’t sense individual mana signatures right now, not with the overload happening to her right now. Otherwise, she’d be able to feel Keith suffer. Drowning was not a great way to die, and she wanted him to suffer as much as possible.

  Only Helen, Shari, Cassis, and Dan were spared. Arianna had thrown a water barrier around them just before the blast.

  But she couldn’t keep the attack up for much longer. Already, the pain in her mana stream was replaced by cold and sleepiness. She managed a last surge, making sure most of the guards were dead.

  Finally, when the last of the mana ripped free from her body, Arianna collapsed into darkness.