Chapter 5— Lilith POV
"Time to rise, bitch." A familiar voice roused me from sleep. I slowly opened my eyes, blinking away the grogginess as Scarlett's face appeared. She was sitting across from my bed, playing with two knives in her hand. Her lips pulled into a small grin.
I rose up from bed, slowly extending my limbs. How was Scarlett here? How did she get past the guards to meet me?
But as I turned around, and inspected my surroundings, I recognised my room.
"You're dreaming." She stood up.
I got out of bed. Dreaming was another way of communication with hunters, especially when the message was important. Only powerful hunters could summon one when dreaming. Seeing Scarlett in my room could only mean one thing — our mother, Morgan, had called for me.
"Get the fuck out of my room." I growled at her.
She smiled. "You know, I should have taken a bet to demonstrate your inability for this task, and that you'll let everyone down."
I glared at her.
"Even though you've walked this world for centuries, you're still as absurd as an inexperienced hunter," she said. "Why the hell would you attack the Lycan King when Mother forewarned you?"
"I believed I could kill him." I grabbed the sandwich on her dish and masticated it. I was fucking hungry. How many days have gone without food?
"You believed you could kill him?" She scoffed. "Now tell me, where did your belief land you? Cuffed like a hound."
The sunlight cast a light glow on her warm brown skin. While Scarlett liked to braid her hair, I preferred to hang mine in curls. She was the reflection of me — with full lips, a sharp jawline, and siren eyes that had men swaying at the sight of her.
"Where is Morgan?" I walked toward her.
She smirked. "If only I'd been there to watch you defeated."
"I almost killed him." I bit the inside of my cheek. "Nearly killed him." If it hadn't been for his bitch who had shot an arrow at my back, I would have been celebrating with the Lycan King's head by now. But I failed. I rarely failed, and that brought rage to me. What would Morgan think of this?
"Where the fuck is she?"
"I'm right here." The door opened, and the tall, slim figure strolled in. But she wasn't alone. She was with two male hunters.
"Queen Mother." I quickly dropped to my knees and bowed.
"You have incredibly disappointed me, Lilith of Blackheart," she said with a shake of her head.
Before I could speak, the two brawny males approached me. The seriousness on their faces and the way they grabbed my arms told me everything I needed to know. Morgan planned to punish me for failing the task.
"Get the fuck away from me!" I barked at the guards and prepared to fight back.
"Don't resist. It would only make things worse for you," she said.
At her words, my hands fell back, and I allowed the guards to drag me away. They pulled me into a dark room, and my skin shivered at the memories that threatened to surface. But I swiftly buried them deep. They forced me to my knees, and two women stepped forward, peeling the clothes from my skin. Cool air rushed through the single window near the ceiling, brushing my back.
The guards then proceeded to handcuff my hands against the platform. Scarlett's scent drifted into my nostrils, and I clamped my lips shut as she took the whip from the giant bowl of salt water. It was something Morgan always did. When one of us did wrong, she would send the other to punish us — knowing how much hatred we harbored for each other.
When Scarlett smirked, I gave her the middle finger, and her grin widen.
Barbs lined along the whip ready to shred your flesh the moment it made contact. The salt water intensified the pain, making sure the punishment served as a reminder for next time.
When the first strike of the whip kissed my skin, sweat broke out across my body.
"My instructions were clear. Do not attack the Lycan King," Morgan's voice drifted from the other side of the room. "But you disobeyed me."
I squeezed my ears, trying to silence her voice in my head.
"Even I, the Queen of Hunters, avoid the Lycan King during hunt," she continued. "Why did you think you could defeat him?"
"Or maybe he's not as powerful as you claim," I snapped. "I was so close to killing him."
"For hunters, there is no such thing as 'so close.' What I need to hear are your victories," she barked.
A strike on my back silenced every word I was about to say.
"Look what you've gotten yourself into," she said. "You're lucky he hasn't killed you yet."
My entire body jerked as another strike landed on my back. Another — and my lips trembled to make a sound. I quickly braced myself.
I will not show weakness in front of them.
Skin burning from another strike, I felt the rush of blood leak down my wounds. The salt on the wounds felt like acid poured over my skin. And when the cool air brushed my back, I wanted to scream. No — I wanted to break loose and rip Scarlett's throat out.
I didn't know how much time passed, but at some point, when the sound of my breath was the only reminder that I was still alive, Morgan waved her hand, and Scarlett backed off. The moment I was pulled away from the table, I swiftly moved forward, prepared to strike Scarlett, when the guards pulled me to the floor. I landed with a small sob.
"Now," Morgan took a step forward. "Where did we stop?"
"The part where Scarlett dies."
Scarlett began to approach me when Morgan raised her hand to stop her. Her gaze was colder than the salt on my wounds.
"Lucky for you, loyalty still has some uses." She took a step forward. "Or rather, the usefulness you are to Blackheart."
"What do you want now?"
"The Lycan King, now that he's in the picture, needs to be removed. Not through force. Not now when you've already failed. He is a cunning, old, and powerful Lycan. If we strike him again, it would definitely ignite a war that would drown us. He believes he's smart, but we need to be smarter — through art."
"What art?"
"The art of seduction." She lowered herself to the ground until she was eye level with me. "I know of the mating bond between you two. I sensed it the moment I summoned you here. You are not going to be useless to me again."
She took a white handkerchief and slowly wiped the sweat from my forehead.
"You will return to him. Gain his trust. Make him think he holds you. Submit your body, mind, and soul to him. Make him fall in love with you. Put the bond to good use. Make him a blind, pathetic man. When he believes you're no longer a threat to him, when you have him wrapped around your finger like the fool he is — then kill him."
She leaned closer and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Remember this, Lilith of Blackheart. You're doing this because you disobeyed your Queen. You will do this because you owe me. You will do this because you'd not want your sister to claim the throne from you."
I drew a sharp breath.
"Considering what happened last time, you're given only thirty days. Thirty days to seduce, and kill the Lycan king. If you fail this time, Scarlett would be named heir in your place."
"What if she fails again?" Scarlett asked.
Morgan glanced over her shoulder before turning to me. "She will not fail."
And then, with another kiss planted on my forehead, dizziness washed through me. As I closed my eyes briefly, the sound of a door opening and heavy footsteps approaching pulled my eyes open. There was blood everywhere. The white sheets were soaked with blood. And when I tried to pull myself from the bed, I felt a cold fire spreading through my back. The sunlight that kissed my face felt like needles in my eyes. I winced.
Strong arms lifted me from the bed. Maverick. I was in pain. All I could do was lean on him as everything around me faded until there was only darkness.