Chapter 26: Fear *

Nothing.

At first there was only darkness, thick and absolute, as if every sense had been switched off. He could not tell whether his eyes were open or closed. He did not know where he was, what had happened, or why his body felt so heavy and distant.

A dull throb began to spread through his skull, slow and persistent. His fingers twitched against cold stone. The surface beneath him was slick in places.

Sounds returned next, hazy at first, then sharper. Liquid dripped somewhere nearby, each drop striking the floor with a soft, wet slap. A thick metallic smell coated the back of his throat. His own breathing reached his ears—ragged, uneven, too loud in the silence.

His eyes opened.

Everything was red.

Blood covered the floor in a wide, dark pool that crept slowly toward his boots. The sight alone made him shiver. He kept his head still. Some instinct warned him that turning would only show him something worse.

He tried to push himself away from the spreading blood. His arms would not move. Something bit painfully into his wrists. He pulled harder. The restraints only tightened. Rope. His ankles were bound the same way. No matter how he strained, there was almost no room to shift.

A new sound reached him—wet, rhythmic, unmistakably the sound of someone chewing something soft.

He forced his head to turn. The movement made the world tilt. His vision swam, then cleared enough to lock onto a figure a few paces away.

A woman with long red hair sat among the blood. She was not looking at him. Her attention was fixed on the open skull in her lap. One hand reached inside, fingers disappearing into the wet cavity. She pulled free a pale, glistening mass and brought it to her mouth. She chewed slowly. Blood ran from the corner of her lips in a thin line, dripped from her chin, and fell to the floor in steady drops.

Rael’s gaze slid down to the body she held.

Nathia.

The same Nathia who had stood at his back only minutes earlier, who had spent the last of her mana to save them both. Her face was slack, eyes open and empty. The top of her skull had been cracked open like a shell.

His vision widened against his will. Beyond her, stacked against the far wall, lay bodies. Dozens of them. Some were missing heads. Others had long strips of flesh torn away. Limbs lay at impossible angles. The pile rose higher than a man, a silent monument of ruin.

The smell hit him fully then—blood, open flesh, and something sweeter and rotten underneath. His stomach clenched. He turned his head as far as the ropes allowed and vomited hard onto the stone. His body kept heaving long after nothing remained. He could not wipe his mouth. When he looked back, the scene had not changed. If anything, it looked clearer, sharper, worse.

The red-haired woman paused. She lifted her head and met his eyes.

Something cold crawled up Rael’s spine and settled at the base of his skull. Every instinct screamed at him to run, but his legs were useless. His breath came in short, broken pulls. He could only watch as she smiled, lips and teeth painted red.

She was beautiful. Even now the fact was undeniable. Yet all he felt was pure, animal fear.

She tossed Nathia’s body aside the way someone discards an empty plate. It landed with a heavy, wet sound. Then she stood and walked toward him. Each step was slow, deliberate, strangely loud in the dripping silence. She stopped so close he could smell the blood on her breath.

"Rael Blackthorn," she said. The smile never left her face. "The star. The future of Solaria. The unparalleled genius." She leaned down until her eyes were level with his. "Tied up and shivering like a little girl."

Her fingers traced the line of his cheek, leaving a sticky path. "Such a beautiful face. Before, I could only dream of touching it."

Rael jerked his head away as much as the ropes allowed. "Why?"

She tilted her head. "What do you want to know?"

"Why kill so many people, Suzy?"

A soft laugh. "Oh. At least you recognise me even in this form. The Solaria genius’s brain is still working."

"Tell me why."

She shrugged, the motion almost careless. "Why not? If I can do it, why not?"

There was no hesitation in the answer. No flicker of doubt. Rael swallowed hard.

"Who are you?"

Her smile faded. Anger rose behind her eyes like a sudden flame. She drove one long nail into the soft skin of his cheek. Pain flared bright and sharp.

"Was I that insignificant to you?" she hissed. "That you don’t even remember me? Was I not worthy enough to be remembered by Rael Blackthorn?"

He gritted his teeth against the pain. "How do you know my name?"

She stopped pressing the nail deeper but did not pull it free. Her voice dropped to a near whisper, almost tender.

"Who wouldn’t remember the star of Blackthorn?"

"How can I forget you..."

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