Page 72 of Heiress of Fire

“If it bleeds, then it can die.” Davina smirked, holding high the long blade with Raven’s black blood dripping from its edges.

“Fine, let’s play it that way,” Raven spat.

Raven aligned her palms before a large dark sword appeared between her palms. Raven wasted not a single second to slice her black sword at Davina as if trying to cut off her head with one single swipe. Davina ducked and took the opportunity to land a harsh kick over her stomach. Davina pulled out her other sword and used the blades as shields against Raven’s black sword. As Raven’s sword collided with Davina’s, her hands violently vibrated. Davina hissed as her hands quivered against the hilt of her blades.

“Getting scared there, Vivi?” Raven taunted.

That angered her even more.

“Not even a little bit,” the Captain chuckled.

Davina pushed against Raven’s strength, using the heels of her feet to give her support. Davina was quick to kick the sword out of Raven’s grip causing her to stumble but then quickly regaining her step. “Is that all you’re capable of?”

Davina’s eyes continued to flare with fire.

“That was nothing,” she muttered.

Raven reached for her silver holster, Davina jumped aside from the daggers that Raven threw at her. She eyed the daggers that landed on the wall, a hole sizzled and melted open. Her eyes widened and turned back to Raven before the Dark Mistress slammed her fist against Davina’s mouth.

Davina jerked to her left, her violet eyes dimming to their usual brown. The splattering of her blood over the wood beneath her echoed into her mind. Raven raised her long legs and kicked Davina’s chest. She coughed as she landed on the creaking floor.

She would not allow herself to be overpowered by Raven. Davina lifted herself from the ground, setting one sword back into its holster on her back.

“Have you finished yet?” Raven chimed.

“No,” Davina replied.

She was going to end this war today, Raven would not terrorize Bellatorm anymore.

Davina slashed her sword, but Raven dodged continuously. Davina slid her foot across the floor, Raven jumped. As she slid back upright, she recovered her step to block Raven’s sword from slicing her open. Davina moved to the left, her sword pushing Raven’s blade away from her. The villainess spun and lifted her leg to land a kick to Davina’s stomach. Davina stumbled back before doing a half spin to land a stab at the witch’s chest, but Raven was quick to slam her sword onto Davina’s back, causing the Aurisan Captain to propel face-first onto the ground.

Heat rushed into Davina’s cheeks as she leaned on her elbows. Raven set her heel over Davina’s spine, scratching her armor, and pushing her onto the floor once again. Davina wheezed from the impact, her sword slipping from between her fingers.

“Poor Vivi,” Raven cooed. “Giving herself over for the people who do nothing but belittle her.”

Raven slammed her heel into Davina’s shoulder, her armor ripped open. Davina shrieked as she felt the tip of a blade piercing her skin mercilessly. Raven pulled Davina’s shoulder with her heel, forcing her to face the busted ceiling, allowing the Captain to gaze upon the dark sky.

As Raven pulled the blade out of her shoulder, Davina wheezed again. “What does it feel like, Davina? To be scorned and rejected by the people you love the most?”

Raven kneeled beside her.

“Doesn’t it feel much like a knife to the heart?” Raven asked.

Davina’s cheek throbbed violently as a deep numbness spread from her shoulder to her wrist, the first lesion that hadn’t been given to her by her parents. Truthfully, it hurt a little less than all the burns she received at home.

Why was she thinking of her parents at a moment like this? Davina questioned herself as Raven pulled out another blade, twirling it between her fingers.

Truthfully, she didn’t understand to a complete extent why she cared so much to fight this war. All she knew was that she had to protect her siblings, and also her parents. Because she hoped that her mother would change and give her the affection Davina prayed daily for. Davina hoped that Nico would finally become the father that she desperately dreamed about. She was fighting for a possible, yet unlikely, better future.

“They don’t deserve your sacrifice, Davina. This is all they’ll do to you.”

Raven raised the blade, aiming for Davina’s chest. Davina quickly grabbed Raven’s forearm, but her lesioned shoulder screamed with pain. The Dark Mistress set the palm of her hands on the hilt of the blade as Davina tried to pry her off. Davina heard the screeching sound of her armor opening. The blade was beginning to reach closer and closer to her skin.

Until there it was.

Blood dove to the surface of her beige skin as the pointy edge of the knife ripped her open. Tears flowed from her eyes, spilling onto the planks below her.

This was nothing, Davina told herself.

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