They may defeat you, burn you, insult you, injure you, and abandon you,
but they will not, shall not, and cannot
destroy you, for you, like Rome, were built on ashes, and you, like a phoenix,
know how to resurrect. -Nikita Gill

-----❅-----

- Victorine -

-----❅-----

It took only a pathetically short time for me to sink to my knees.

Cephas had punched me in the face until my skin felt numb. Then he had continued with my stomach until I had spat blood. Finally, he had grabbed the dagger stuck in my thigh and twisted it further through the flesh until I simply could not stand.

As I squatted on the floor, the torture stopped for a moment. I knew this was because Cephas was feasting on the sight of me.

My insides ached. The place in my leg where the dagger was stuck felt like a thousand sharp pinpricks. I pressed the flat palms of my hands on the dirty stone floor. The chains around my wrists rattled. Bloody saliva ran from my mouth and dripped onto the floor between my hands.

Nevertheless, I forced myself to lift my head and look Cephas in the eye. The latter stared at me almost expressionlessly, while I signaled him unmistakably that I would not bend.

In the end, it was only pain in my body. My spirit he could not break.

"Please stop it, Cephas."

The voice I heard was not my own. It came from the woman who had suddenly stood in the entrance to the dungeon cell, seemingly silently approaching the scene. The red hem of her dress streaked across the stony floor. The beautiful, gentle face flickered in the light of a torch.

No matter what she had done. For a brief moment it did good to see her again. She was almost the only family I had left. And I loved Crescentia. I probably always would.

"Crescentia," Cephas said now, tilting his head a little as if respectfully acknowledging her presence. He took a long, elegant step aside so that my sister could see me better. She looked at me, her full, curved lips pressed together thoughtfully.

"It won't do any good like this, my love. My sister is strong where her body is concerned. If you want to inflict pain on her, you should try her weak mind."

I stared up at her in disbelief. Crescentia had not come to free me. She had come to inflict more suffering on me.

Without being able to stop it, I had to squirm under her cold gaze.

"Cres," I whispered in a harsh tone. "I know our parents didn't treat you right. But you mustn't forget: I'm not Mother. I didn't want to do all this to you. I was just a child after all. And I regret it so much."

Crescentia's gaze didn't change a bit. The fire of the torches was reflected in her eyes, so that her look was less icy and more blazing after all. "That's good for you, Victorine. I, on the contrary, could never be one. A child."

As I pondered the best way to reply, I took a short, hissing breath. My upper body ached even more when I took too deep a breath. "I'm sorry, Crescentia," was all I could think of in the end. "I want to make it up to you, honestly. Just tell me how."

"This is already a good first start."

Crescentia took a step back and, with that, disappeared from the light of the torches. Standing in the darkness, her dark silhouette could be seen, probably still perfectly in view of me.

"Hold her," Cephas finally spoke from the side. He nodded in my direction, keeping eye contact with the two soldiers. They instantly strode up to me, stepped behind me, squatted down, and each painfully pulled one of my arms back so that they twisted. The soldiers clutched me as tightly as if their lives depended on it. And maybe it did. Damn it.

Cephas now approached me and encircled my jaw with the hard grip of his right hand. My heart pounded even faster. No. Not my mind. I could guess what Cephas was about to do now, and it was the worst thing I could even imagine.

I wanted to raise both hands and rip his cursed hand from my face. Wanted to pound his larynx with my fist until all he did was rattle. Wanted to scratch his eyes out with my fingernails. I would do almost anything to prevent what was coming.

But Cephas just grinned at me, making me feel sick. This was one of the most frustrating moments of my life. I was so close to Cephas. And yet I couldn't do anything to him.

"Look me in the eye," the king commanded, which of course I did not do. I was afraid. Panic-stricken fear, so that even in the cold of this cellar I broke out in a sweat. I felt it forming droplets in my armpits, on my back, above my upper lip, and on my forehead.

I had been able to look Cephas in the eye without any problems so far. But if he would consciously open his mind to me, that was another matter.

Breathing quickly, I tried to gather enough willpower and strength to control my ability while averting my gaze from Cephas' eyes.

"That's very rude, Victorine, do you know that?" the king asked, bringing his face closer to mine until I could feel his disgusting breath on me. With a steady gaze, I stared at the small scar that was to the right of his nose.

"Didn't your mother teach you to look people in the eye when they talk to you?" he now asked, laughing at the ambiguity of his statement. Alluding to the fact that my mother had taught me to use my ability on others.

Cephas was coming much closer now, so that he would soon force his eyes into my field of vision. I squeezed my eyelids shut and hoped the darkness would stay.

Then I felt his breath on my lips. I felt blinks against my own eyelashes as well. My heartbeat was now racing uncontrollably as I squinted my eyes harder than ever.

I winced as cold fingers gripped my face. With strength, I tried to pull my face to the side, but Cephas' grip held me tight. Likewise, I felt the soldiers behind me now helping to hold me in place.

Cepha's thumb tip rested on my eyelid and applied pressure. I wanted to scream and squirm, to lift my head and bite his damn finger off. But I couldn't move a bit.

My eyelid was now being pushed up with pressure, without me being able to do anything about it. Then I caught Cepha's icy iris in my eye.

"Let's start easy," I heard his voice from somewhere as I was pulled into Cepha's mind. I hadn't had the slightest chance to resist. It was like that time in the witch's lair with Nicolas' soul. Although I had not wanted to learn more, I was simply sucked in.

My body felt heavy. No, Cepha's body. His heavy armor dragged down his shoulders and arms. Cephas looked straight ahead past his soldiers, who had positioned themselves with their backs to him. In front of them I spotted two men, my sword fighting instructor and my father. The rest of my father's bodyguards had already been defeated and were lying lifeless on the marble floor. A pool of blood had formed around some of the corpses.

Cephas' gaze now fell to my father's head and to the crown of Spero that was enthroned there.

I sensed that something was bothering him. That the queen had not worn her crown and was nowhere to be found.

No wonder. My mother had given me her crown when she had pushed me into the secret passage and thus saved my life.

So at the time of this memory, my mother was already dead. I felt my body tense up somewhere in the dungeon of Tenebris. On the other hand, my own body also felt so distant.

The enemy soldiers were now attacking my sword fighting teacher. My father's cousin. But even he was no match for the half dozen. And behind Cephas there were surely more soldiers waiting and backing him up.

My father, trapped with no way out, turned to the window as his cousin was forced to his knees. While the man was being beheaded by Cepha's soldiers, my father looked down at the village. I wondered if he was praying. Or what his last thoughts were. My father had always been a good king. I had learned a lot from him about solidarity and responsibility.

I wondered if he was thinking about his people. What would happen to all those people after his death. Whether they would be enslaved or murdered. Maybe he was also thinking about his wife and children. Actually, it didn't matter what he thought about last. I would never be able to know anyway.

Cephas' soldiers now walked up to Spero's king, held him, and turned him around so that he was facing Cephas and me.

My father was crying. The tears ran silently down his cheeks into his beard. His last thoughts must have been very sad.

I felt my body tense even more as Cephas strode forward.

Cephas drew his handy short sword and did not hesitate before plunging it into my father's chest. I felt his euphoria and the sick feeling of power in his body, while I felt the nausea of my own.

My father's brown, moist eyes were wide open. Cepha's hands turned the sword firmly to the side until the eyes became lifeless and the eyelashes stopped moving to blink. The body obviously became heavier for the soldiers who held my dead father. Slowly they set him down on the ground while Cephas took the crown off his head.

A space flashed in Cephas' mind.

But suddenly I found myself back in my own body. Breathing was difficult and ached in my chest. Tears stood in my eyes and I bent over to retch. Cephas' pleasure in killing my father made me sick. I felt sick to my stomach. My body trembled, whether from disgust or the bitter cold I did not know.

"You were right, dearest," I heard Cepha's deviant voice from the side. "This is really getting to her."

The shadow-covered silhouette of Crescentia laughed. "Maybe this is fate's punishment for spying on other people all your life. Constantly, you've blithely used this for your own purposes. And now it's all coming back on you."

Crescentia had no idea. My ability had almost never brought me joy. Almost every time I had used my ability, I had seen only suffering. Probably that was why I was so eager to make this world a better place.

However, I did not answer aloud, but remained silent. Secretly, I fervently hoped that they would soon lose their interest in me.

But Cephas wasn't done with me yet. "I have one more beautiful thing for you," he said as he approached me again and forced his spirit upon me once more.

This time I found myself in a tower room. The one in which I had had my last conversation with my mother.

On the floor lay dead people in the armor of Spero. The queen was the only one still alive.

The queen stood in the room facing Cephas. Her eyes bored into his. She was probably trying to find out if her family was still alive.

Fortunately, since my mother had been killed before my father, she could not see his death in Cephas' eyes. Very likely, however, how he had come to our kingdom. Certainly she saw how Crescentia had let the man into our castle.

"Holy King Cephas," a soldier addressed the man whose mind I was in. "The daughter is nowhere to be found. Neither is the crown." Apparently they had searched the entire room.

"So where is your firstborn daughter?", Cephas now asked my mother.

"She received a warning and fled some time ago. You are too late," the queen replied.

Fled. The word threaded through my chest like an arrow.

"So the entire family is pathetically cowardly," Cephas amused himself.

"Victorine is not a coward. She is loyal and strong and kind-hearted. She will make this dark world a better place one day by stopping the right person," my mother replied.

She looked at Cephas so piercingly that I felt looked at. Like she wasn't addressing those words to Cephas, but to me. And maybe she was. Maybe she knew that I would hunt Cephas to get revenge. Maybe she knew that I would eventually look him in the eye and witness that memory.

When Cephas finally walked wordlessly toward my mother, I desperately tried to escape from his mind. I didn't want to witness this. I couldn't.

But I still watched as Cephas put his sword to my mother's neck. With a jerk, he pulled the weapon aside and half-slit my mother's throat. Blood poured from the huge cut as my mother went to her knees, gasping. The red liquid splashed forward and ran down her dress.

Then my mother tipped over in front and lay with her stomach on the floor. Her head was twisted to the side. The open, lifeless eyes stared straight ahead.

When I found myself back in my body, I was hanging forward, retching. Acidic liquid was on the floor and still leaking from my mouth. I hadn't even realized that I had vomited.

Sobbing, I remained bent forward. The soldiers behind me were the only thing still holding me upright and preventing me from falling into my own vomit.

I couldn't remember ever crying like that. My cheeks were soaking wet and my vision was streaming with tears. Snot ran from my nose while my body shook from howling.

Cephas now came down sideways to me on the floor, careful to keep his distance from my vomit. I spotted something shiny between his fingers as he raised a hand. He grabbed my chin with one hand and turned my face toward him. Slowly, he placed the tip of his dagger against my forehead and applied pressure. A sharp pain stretched across each spot where the tip traveled. Firmly, he pressed the dagger into my skin, running it across my forehead to my eyebrow, stopping just shortly over my eyeball with stinging pressure.

"Poor Victorine," Cephas whispered softly. "That must be really awful. Do you wish me to end your suffering? Do you wish me to rid you of your ability forever?"

I tried to find my voice and to breathe calmly. "Rot in hell, you miserable bastard," I whispered. A tiny bit of satisfaction came over me. I knew for a fact that it existed and that he would get there without a doubt.

Cephas put on another fake smile. "I'm not the one who's going to die today. You will be." With each word, his voice had become quieter and more insistent. "Before that, though, I want to know a few things. Where your mother's crown is, for example. And where the witch's lair is."

Stubbornly, I stared straight ahead and refused to answer him.

Cephas then crouched down to me again and twisted the handle of the dagger between his fingers. "Come on, Victorine. We'll play a game. A secret against a secret. I'll start."

I felt pain as I frowned. No wonder. Cephas had slashed my skin there, after all.

One corner of the king's mouth in front of me lifted barely noticeably. "Did Nicolas tell you about the day his parents were murdered?"

Now where did Cephas get that idea? Nicolas hadn't really told me, but yes, I knew about it. Because I had seen and witnessed that moment in his mind.

"Well, I didn't really invade his kingdom," Cephas claimed, dragging out each word. It was as if he enjoyed telling me this. "Nicolas invited me in, you know. He practically begged me to kill his father. He and your sister have such similarities, don't you think?"

My heart tightened in my chest. Although I had no idea whatsoever if Cephas was really telling the truth. But why would he lie to me? He knew I could find out in his mind.

But I didn't dare to look Cephas in the eye again.

And even if I had dared, I would not have the chance now. Cephas had abruptly straightened up. Cautiously, I looked up at him and watched as he stared intently into space.

"That was Xerxa," Cephas now spoke, addressing Crescentia. "There's a problem."

Xerxa, the witch? Had she been communicating with Cephas?

Crescentia did not answer. Instead, she slowly stepped out of the cell, walked toward the exit, and disappeared from my sight without looking at me again. Cephas left the cell as well, followed by the two soldiers who had held me.

The cell door was locked again. And all at once I was all alone.