Chapter 206: Reckless But Necessary
[Trigger warning: Violence ahead. Please note this author does not glorify or support abuse. This scene is important for the story ahead but readers are advised to read at their own discretion. No Rape]
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[Music recommendation: Eternal Eclipse - Forgotten Odes]
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Suddenly, Eve felt her pulse quicken...her breathing grew slightly harsher as her jaw began to tighten. Beads of sweat formed at the back of her neck, and her throat constricted little by little.
’It’s starting...’ she whispered inwardly, fully aware of exactly what was happening to her. Yet her expression didn’t show anything. She maintained her calm façade because she needed to keep this conversation going just long enough for it to take full effect.
"Well," she said in a low voice, "it is your birthday, after all. I thought I should at least make tonight...special."
Her face was beginning to flush, a warm pink blooming across her cheeks. The wine was taking effect, along with the substance she had slipped into it, but Valen, of course, assumed it was because of him.
And now that he had a closer look at her, she did seem exhausted...her posture slightly weaker, the shadows beneath her eyes darker. For a moment, he wondered if the bracelet she wore was draining her strength; after all, he knew exactly what that artefact was capable of. The idea of her being weakened and vulnerable sent a disturbing thrill through him.
To Valen, it felt like the perfect opportunity, a perfect moment! The ball could wait, the guest would wait, the entire world could burn for all he cared. She was finally within his grasp like a gift placed on a silver platter just for him, and he had no intention of wasting another second.
Valen’s pupils dilated, and hunger stirred in his pale green eyes as he leaned in even closer, practically cornering her against the sofa. "Oh, Princess," he breathed, "you have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say something like that."
Eve clenched her teeth so tightly she feared they might shatter from the sheer cringe he was forcing her to endure. She subtly leaned back, trying to reclaim even a fraction of space from the man who seemed hell-bent on invading every inch of it.
"And what do you think I meant by that?" she asked, her voice dipping into a breathy whisper, not out of seduction, but to mask the strain building in her throat and muscles.
But Valen’s lust-fogged mind couldn’t interpret anything beyond his own twisted fantasies. He had promised himself that tonight he would cross every line she had ever drawn between them. And now, in his deluded mind, he believed she was finally letting him.
"I think you know exactly what I mean," he murmured, leaning in even closer, letting his breath ghost across her skin.
Just then, a golden chain slipped forward from beneath his white jacket, and Evelyn’s eyes locked onto the key hanging from it. The metal caught the light, gleaming like a beacon, like her cue to end this farce.
Valen followed her gaze and, like a fool, mistook it for desire. His voice dropped into a deep, seductive drawl, "Looking at something you like, Princess?"
Evelyn’s eyes snapped back to his, her lips curling into a small smirk. "Yes..." she breathed. She lifted her hand, her fingertip gliding slowly from his collarbone down to his chest, making Valen swallow hard in anticipation.
Just as her fingers reached the key, her gaze turned frost–sharp. "This," she whispered, voice trembling with strain, "is what I’ve been waiting for."
In one swift movement, her fingers closed around the chain, and she ripped it from his neck and in the same breath, she folded her leg and drove her knee into his solar plexus with every ounce of strength she had left.
Valen felt the air getting knocked out of his lungs from the force of her attack. He doubled over, collapsing back into the sofa, and a low, guttural groan tore from Valen’s throat. His eyes widened as reality slammed into him....she had played him.
Evelyn scrambled off the sofa, desperate to put distance between them, but the paralysing substance had already sunk deep into her bloodstream. Her muscles stiffened, her knees buckled beneath her, and she crashed to the floor with a sharp gasp.
"You!!" Valen roared, fury crackling through his voice.
He pushed himself upright, intending to grab her, but the same poison now raced through his veins. A wave of numbness surged up his limbs as soon as he stood up and lost his balance. He toppled forward, hitting the ground as both wine glasses shattered beside them, crystal exploding across the floor in bright splinters.
The room rang with the violent crack of breaking glass.
"You bitch!" he snarled, fingers clawing at the floor, shaking with rage as the paralysis climbed. "What did you give me?!"
But Eve didn’t waste her breath answering him. Instead, she dug her trembling fingers into the floor, dragging her weakening body forward one strained inch at a time in an attempt to put distance between herself and the deranged prince before she could run.
But Valen wasn’t about to let her go!
With a final burst of fury-driven strength, he lunged for her. His fingers managed to hook around her ankle, and he yanked her back with all the force he had left.
"Ugh!" A sharp cry tore from her throat as her body scraped across the floor, her skin slicing against scattered shards of broken glass that dug into her palms, her arms, her side, leaving a thin trail of red in their wake.
He flipped her over with brutal force, and Evelyn found herself staring directly into his eyes that dripped with violent madness. Before she could gasp, his hand whipped across her face, the sound echoing sharply through the room. Her vision exploded into white, and stars blurred her sight as hot blood welled from the split at the corner of her lips.
"Let me teach you what happens to those who dare to screw with me!" he snarled, voice dripping with malice as he swung one leg over and straddled her, pinning her beneath his weight.
Eve groaned from the impact, her head still ringing, but she did not break. Even with her muscles weakening and her limbs trembling under the paralysing poison spreading through her veins, she fought, clawing at him, twisting beneath him, refusing to surrender.
Valen’s hands then clamped onto the fabric of her dress, and with a savage yank, he tore it open, ripping the gown up to expose one side of her thigh. A shocked gasp broke through Eve’s lips, but it was quickly swallowed by the surge of fury that roared through her veins.
"You demon!" she screamed, but the word only fed the maddening grin stretching across Valen’s lips. He gripped one of her hands with iron force, while his other clamped around her jaw so tightly she felt the bones strain beneath his fingers. He leaned down, intent on claiming her lips.
But just before he could, Evelyn’s trembling hand dragged across the floor, searching blindly....until her fingers brushed a shard of broken glass.
With the last of her strength, she clenched it and drove it across his cheek!
A sharp cry tore from Valen’s throat as blood streaked down his pale skin. He recoiled, but his grip didn’t fully loosen.
Evelyn’s body screamed in protest, with her powers drained from shattering Solan’s barrier, her muscles burning from exertion, her limbs heavy with the paralysing agent still tightening in her veins....she was weaker than she had ever been.
Every movement felt like tearing herself open from the inside. But she couldn’t stop....she wouldn’t! Not when she had already come this far.
There was only one force left pushing her forward. Only one reason she continued to fight through agony instead of collapsing into it....Ivan.
She had to reach him; she had to free him from the vipers coiling around his life. This was her only chance!
With the shard embedded in Valen’s cheek, he instinctively loosened his grip, and Evelyn seized the moment. Summoning every ounce of strength she had left, she kicked him hard in the groin, forcing him to roll off her and curl on the floor in agony.
"F*ck!" he spat, one hand clutching his face while the other guarding the pain between his legs.
Eve took the opportunity to crawl farther away from him; her lungs burned as she panted from the effort she had already spent. Her shaky hand reached up, grasping the sharp hairpin that held her styled hair in place.
With one swift pull, her hair fell loose behind her in a dark cascade, and then she drove the pin right into her exposed thigh.
A strangled cry clawed up her throat, but she bit it back, making her jaw tremble. Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
It was so reckless but necessary!
He warned her that it was reckless!
A memory from the previous night flashed through her mind:
She had been sitting on the edge of her bed in a room swallowed by darkness, the stone walls of the palace closing in like a silent tomb. The windows were left open, allowing the wind to howl through, with the curtains billowing them like ghostly figures in the night.
No light touched the chamber, yet Evelyn had found comfort in that darkness...because it felt like home....
