Page 43 of Reign of Betrayal

“Help me! Help me! Please—anybody!” I beg.

“7296. What a surprise.” Big Al’s voice is mocking as he unlocks the door, letting me through. He shuts it behind me and locks it once again. I collapse onto the stone, gasping for breath. My heart thunders, and my stomach heaves. I vomit again, the sour bile stinging my throat.

Big Al laughs, his voice booming. “Oh, 7296, you should know by now—that won’t get you out of this.” He takes a swig from his flask, his eyes gleaming with wicked amusement. “Turn her over,” he orders.

Two guards appear, flipping me onto my stomach. They pin me down, and I hear the whip before it tears into my back. I lose count of the lashes, each one slicing through my flesh. The pain is blinding, relentless. Then, horror strikes me as I realize what comes next. The guards strip me of my prison gray pants and watch while Big Al takes me against the cold stone floor, now soaked in my blood.

Looking up, a hall appears, and at the end of it I see Vanna. She holds a tiny beating heart in her hand, blood dripping down her arm as she gazes into a mirror. Her laughter is cruel, echoing, as she bites into the heart, blood staining her mouth. I turn away, unable to bear the sight.

I see another doorway. In the shadowy depths of the doorway, while Big Al is still on top of me, I notice a hooded figure with piercing green eyes staring at me. They are beautiful yet terrifying—familiar yet not. Before I can fully comprehend the sight, he throws a palm stone blade, and it pierces my throat.

Panicked, I glance around for help, but I am alone. How? Big Al was just on me. I realize, I am sitting up with the blade protruding from my throat. I yank it out and a waterfall of crimson rains out from the wound. The hooded figure approaches, his boots echoing in the suffocating silence, each thud amplifying the terror coursing through my veins

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The man closes the distance, shadows clinging to him like a second skin. My heart races in a frenzy, and just as his eyes meet mine, a voice cuts through the terror. “That’s enough.”

A surge of freezing water slams down over my head, dragging me back to reality. I choke on my breath, sucking in the damp, stifling air. I’m back in the dark cave, the lone candle still flickering weakly in the shadows. My body trembles, the nightmares still clinging to me, refusing to let go.

The guard laughs, a cruel rumble echoing around me. “Those were some pretty interesting nightmares you had.” My mind struggles to reconcile what I’ve experienced. Nightmares. That’s right—the trials. “Let’s make some of them a reality,” he sneers, flipping me onto my stomach and pressing my face into the unforgiving stone floor. My body tenses as he reaches to strip away the last of my defenses.

Suddenly, a wet, gurgling sound erupts, and the crushing weight of the guard vanishes from my back. I lie there, stunned, heart hammering in confusion. My bindings fall away, sliced cleanly. I sit up, dazed and sore, as silence blankets the room. A new cloaked figure stands over me, much larger, more imposing. Shadows seem to writhe around them, and the aura they exude is suffocating—powerful, dangerous, deadly.

The figure points silently to the exit. I search for the first cloaked figure, the cruel guard, but they are gone, as if erased from existence. “Did... Did I pass the trial?” I stammer, my voice fragile. The figure nods, a simple yet life-altering gesture.

Tears prick my eyes, a flood of emotions threatening to spill over. I did it. I limp toward the exit, every aching step bringing me closer to freedom, to the revenge that fuels me. One step closer to winning this fight, to reclaiming my destiny.

From the shadows, I watch. Concealed in the back of the room, I observe as Reign drinks the blood-tinged potion. Dola, my blood wielder, ensured everything was prepared for her trial, including disguising her voice.

I shouldn’t be here. I know that. But I needed to see for myself—what haunts her dreams? What torments her heart?

A royal guard, one under Vanna’s command, drags Reign into the chamber. She’s bloody and beaten, her body slack with exhaustion. A tick clenches in my jaw at the sight of her. Dola works quickly, mixing a potion that shimmers with dark intent. Once Reign drinks it, the guard guides her to the ground.

A puff of vapor trickles out of her mouth, forming above her head, appearing as a cloud with images. From the shadows, I watch—silent, concealed, and cloaked. Only Dola knows I’m here, and I intend to keep it that way.

The nightmare begins.

In the swirling mist, I see her stumble toward Elm and Larah, her expression contorted with pure terror. When she finds Elm’s lifeless body, the sound of her guttural scream shakes me. Something stirs—an ache I refuse to acknowledge. It’s not real. It’s just a nightmare, I remind myself. Yet, the agony on her face feels too raw.

The vision shifts, showing Larah, sprawled and lifeless. Reign collapses beside her, retching uncontrollably. Then she turns toward two more figures laid on stone slabs. Her parents, maybe. I am unsure. The way she clings to the male corpse tightens something in my chest. I grind my teeth as the woman beside him sits up, her corpse growing talons. When the man she embraces scratches down her back, Reign’s pain is palpable, her terror a blade against my senses.

She runs, desperate, until she encounters a familiar face—Big Al. He welcomes her with a whip and worse. My fists clench. I wonder if this is more than a nightmare.

Then Vanna appears in the mist, blood-soaked and grotesque, gnawing on a heart. Why would Reign dream of Vanna? What nightmare has she become in Reign’s mind?

The image shifts once more. And there, in the darkness, she sees me—my eyes glowing like soulless emeralds, watching from the shadows. Her fear crystallizes. In her nightmare, I am the one who kills her.

I actually terrify the girl. I am a nightmare for most people. I guess it’s better this way, that she sees me as the monster I am. Before my face was completely revealed, I signal Dola. She orders the guard to wake Reign. A bucket of water slams her back to reality, washing away the mist with brutal efficiency. I send Dola out of the back of the room so she isn’t discovered.

Reign gasps, coughing as the guard flips her onto her stomach. I hear his vile muttering as he grabs the waistband of her pants, ready to make her nightmare real.

Not today.

A shadow spear slices through the air, piercing the guard’s back and erupting through his chest. Blood bubbles from his lips as I lift his lifeless body and swallow it into the shadows.

---