Evie
I hold in any sounds of pain as I hold my hands over my stomach, and lie on the floor, watching my apparent sister step over me and walk over to where Azi is being held. The two men holding him are strangers to me, but they look familiar. They look like Azi, and I would bet on them being his brothers. One has black hair that reaches his feet, and it covers most of his face and a skinny body in an expensive suit. The other is massive, with a bald head and a face covered in tattoos. He also wears an expensive suit, his eyes never leaving Erica as it’s clear he desires her.
“You have done your part, and you have your prize. Leave,” she waves a hand at them, and they both bow, turning with a still unconscious Azi in their arms, and walk to the back of the room. A flash of light fills the room suddenly, and then they are gone. There must be a portal there. I only need to get to it. There is a silence in the room as Erica just stares at me, and me at her. She is my sister. And that means Emily and Esther were, too. I’ve always looked for my family, and the first one I find alive, stabs me in the back. Literally. I would laugh, but any movement makes the room spin and pain shoot through every part of my body like a wave. Erica pushes her waist-length black hair over her shoulder, picking up a black cloak off the ground and clipping it on. The same cloaks Esther and Emily were buried in. They have the four runes embroidered down the sides. Two on each side. I try to focus on anything else; anything but the pain and the knowledge that I’m going to die. There is no point calling my healing rune, I could never heal this myself. I glance at the dagger near me, wondering if I could just grab it and throw it at Erica. Make her go into death with me.
“Don’t think about it,” Erica says, walking over, and picking up the dagger. She leans over me, pulling out my purple sword and checking me for any weapons. I want to fight her off, but when I try to lift my hand, it only shakily moves.
“Erica?” Trex’s confused voice comes over to us as I turn my head slightly, the movement shooting pain through me, but I can see Trex as he stares at me. Erica spins my sword in the air, and then throws it across the room.
“That’s a piece of crap,”
“Like you,” I cough out, but she ignores me to turn to Trex. Bitch.
“Trex, hunny, I’m so glad you’re awake,” she says sweetly, and I mentally roll my eyes. Erica is nothing sweet at all. She is clearly a good fucking liar. Trex looks at her for a second, then his eyes go over to me, and widen.
“What the fuck did you do to Evie? She came to save you with us!” Trex says, and he stands up, only to not be able to come to me as the rope tied to them all is tried to the wall behind them. “Why the fuck am I tied up?”
“I will untie you once my sister, Evie, is dead,” Erica replies simply, and I hear Trex gasp.
“Your what?” he asks, shaking his head and staring at me. His eyes running over my wounds and back to my eyes.
“Well, seeing as we have time until she dies. I might as well go over a little royal history lesson,” Erica says, spinning the dagger she stabbed me with in her hand and leaning down, tilting her head to the side as she looks at me. I hear Connor waking up, coughing and talking to Trex, but the words seem to blur, and I can only focus on Erica. The crazy bitch.
“Our mother was a little bit of a slut once a upon a time, after she had me and my sisters that is. We were perfect, but never enough, and neither was my father, apparently,” she says, tutting. “She had an affair, and pop, you were born. We are only a year apart, you know? She couldn’t wait long to cheat and have a creature like you.” I try to listen to her story, only hearing that my mother was the queen of the Protectors, and she had three other children. I had a family and, apparently, my father wasn’t the king. So . . . who was he? And what went wrong, so I ended up on the streets?
“Lies!” Connor shouts, and Erica laughs, standing up and kicking me in the stomach. The pain almost threatens to make me black out as I roll across the floor and land on my back with a groan, hearing Connor shouting in the distance as Erica walks over and stands above me, looking down in disgust.
“My father left me notes, a note with your name, and where to find you before he died. He wanted me to help you, bring you into the family because you are a part of my mother. All I saw was a disgusting secret, and one that needed to be destroyed,” she spits out, glaring at me.
“You-you hunted me all this time because you were jealous? Are you really that fucking crazy!” I ask, coughing and feeling warm blood drip down my cheek. She narrows her eyes at me before kicking me once more in stomach, and I roll across the floor again, facing the protectors this time and also closer to them this time.
“Evie! Get up and fight!” I hear and see Nix shout at me. I want to say yes, do as he asks, but I can’t. Erica leans down right in front of me and places her cold hand on my cheek.
“Dear sister, I’ve wanted you dead since I was a child. I was five when I sent the first protector after you, and they failed. Every single one failed to kill you, and I knew I had to do something before the trials for the new queen started. I couldn’t risk fighting you in them, and it was about time you died,” she says, almost soothing, like she wants me to agree with her crazy plan.
“You killed your sisters, didn’t you?” I manage to cough out.
“Our sisters, don’t forget, and yes I did. They were smart, fast, and good fighters. I couldn’t risk not winning the throne, I need it for the future and what needs to happen,” she says, still stroking my cheek. I have the feeling she killed my sisters before they were even kidnapped by her demon friends.
“You fucking bitch, Erica! The keepers will never give you throne if they knew what you did!” Trex growls out, and I hear him struggling against his bindings, trying to escape and help me.
“That’s what makes this all perfect, they will never know. Everyone that knows, is here, and will soon be dead or exiled from the Protectors for failing to save their princesses,” Erica laughs. She has planned this all, and we have walked straight into her trap. My sister is smart, but it’s a shame she is fucking crazy, too.
“We know! And we won’t stay quiet. You kill her, Erica, and I swear I will hunt you down and finish you,” Trex threatens, and I’m surprised to find I believe him. I didn’t think the asshole liked me.
“No one would believe you, and you have no proof. Our engagement is over, not that it was anything other than words, anyway,” Erica smiles sweetly at an angry-looking Trex, who keeps his eyes on me. Erica looks back down at me as everything goes black in the corners, and the pain starts to disappear into a feeling of emptiness.
“Good bye, sister, shame you’re not the deadly assassin I always feared you would be. You were too easy to kill,” she whispers to me as she grins and leans down, stabbing the dagger straight into my heart.
“May death guide you on your way, may angels save your soul, and may you be reborn true. We bless your death in the light of the Protectors who fell before you,” I hear all three of my Protectors say with sorrow lacing their words, and then everything fades into darkness.