Everyone had a destiny. Selen believed hers was to become empress, to rule alongside her husband the emperor, to manage the affairs of the palace and politics, and finally to give the kingdom heirs. That was her ultimate goal. Everything was supposed to happen that way, so what went wrong? Why had her life turned into a nightmare?
"Don't cry so much, Selen. You were perfect," Damian whispered before getting up.
"I think you need to give her another dose. She was wriggling the whole time."
Selen then realized that Light had been there the whole time, and she felt as if a sledgehammer had fallen on her. She managed to move her toes and tried with all her might to free herself from the handcuffs. She heard the door close and realized that her brother had just left.
"There's no point in trying to escape. The handcuffs were designed to restrict your powers."
Light sat on the bed with his back to her. She wanted to jump on him and hit him with all her might. She knew she was capable of killing with her powers, but he was right, she had lost control.
"Everything would have been easier if it hadn't been you. The powers of the saint should have manifested themselves in a poor girl from the people, as always. It would have been easier... I can't do it... No, it's beyond my strength."
Once again, Selen didn't understand anything. If only he could at least explain it to her, but he did nothing of the sort. Instead, he undressed himself and climbed on top of her. Was even her own husband going to rape her? she wondered. The effect of the anesthetic began to wear off, and she managed to kick him.
"W...why…why »
She couldn't even speak properly, yet Light got off the bed to look for a new syringe.
"It's better if you don't understand."
Selen couldn't see the expression on his face, but she wanted to see it, look him in the eyes and remember his face at that precise moment forever.
She had never really known what hatred was. She had always told herself that going so far as to hate someone enough to kill them was excessive, yet at that precise moment, if she had had the strength, she would have killed the prince, her brother, and the priest—and not just them. There had to be more people who knew about it, but who? Who were her enemies? She had no allies and was trapped in a room, handcuffed and unable to use her powers.
"Don't move," Light said before administering another dose of the strange substance.
As if I could, you bastard, she thought.
"I'm doing this for the kingdom, Selen. As a saint, I'm sure you'll understand one day."
How could being kidnapped and violated help the kingdom, you dirty bastard? Selen wondered.
What was certain was that no one was going to answer her.
Two weeks passed in this way. The head priest had come to see her several times, accompanied by several other priests. She was constantly under anesthesia, but she recognized his voice. He conducted experiments on her for days on end, and despite the anesthetics, she felt the pain.
They cut off pièces of her and then waited to see how long it would take her body to heal. Sometimes they took so much blood that she fainted. Not to mention Damian and Light, who visited her at night.
"She's here"
"She looks a little skinny to me, but she'll do."
Mother, yes, it's Mother's voice, she won't leave me like this, will she? Selen thought. Why was she here? Why didn't she come and untie her, and why was she talking to her calmly when her own daughter was chained up and treated like a lab rat? So many questions, but never any answers.
Her mother finally faced her, and the moment their eyes met, she knew she wouldn't help her. For the umpteenth time, Selen cried. She didn't even know if it was tears or blood she was shedding.
She noticed a woman next to her mother, who climbed onto the bed and sat down opposite her. A voice she recognized as belonging to the priest was talking to her mother, but she couldn't understand what they were saying.
At one point, the young woman sitting on the bed took a glass handed to her by the priest and drank in front of Selen. She then witnessed the woman's transformation into herself. She had read about alchemy, that with enough magical power, people could take on the appearance of another person, but how could something as rare as alchemy be practiced by a simple woman? Selen wondered.
"Yes, she'll do."
"The people are calling for the saint. We'll have to make do with her."
Two more days passed, and while she was unconscious from bleeding all day, she was awakened by noises that seemed to come from outside the room. Suddenly, the door opened and the last person she expected to see stood before her.
"So the great Selen Ravenhurt is here," said the Empress's voice. "I knew you would be in a pitiful state, but is it really this bad?"
She walked around the bed and then returned to stand in front of her.
"To think that people take you for a saint. Your praises are heard everywhere. Our savior, they say. It's true, thanks to you, the kingdom prospers, but I will not let you take my son with you to your grave."
But what is this old hag talking about, Selen wondered. Your bastard son violated me every night, but he's the victim?
"The empire will survive without you. I won't sacrifice my son for this damn country. He's a shadow of his former self. You wanted so badly to be his empress, which means you loved him, right?"
Selen was fed up with this crazy woman's babbling and would have given anything to rip out the mouth that was giving her such a headache. Then, against all odds, the empress did what Selen prayed for every night. She took a dagger from her sleeve and, with a trembling hand, looked her in the eyes.
"I've read all the books about you. The ones carefully hidden from the general public, of course, and I know that the only way to kill you is to stab you right in the heart. So forgive me and please die."
Selen cried, but for the first time it was tears of joy. She was finally going to die. She closed her eyes, waiting for sweet deliverance, but instead she heard a scream. She opened her eyes and looked directly into the lifeless eyes of the Empress. A magic arrow had pierced her heart. She collapsed on top of Selen as Damian climbed onto the bed.
"My new powers are pretty cool, aren't they? So what should we do with this old witch? I need to go tell the priest that this crazy woman tried to kill you. To think I came here to tell you about my promotion to captain of the holy guard."
Selen was at her wit's end. To think that deliverance was so close and that her bastard brother had ruined everything. She was so tired, her eyelids were closing, and the last thing she saw before falling asleep was the lifeless body of the empress being carried out of bed.
She regained consciousness days later. She sensed a presence in the room, even though she didn't know who it could be. She saw a priest's robe pass in front of her. She didn't even have the strength to lift her head to see who it was. Whether it was the chief priest or one of his assistants, she didn't care.
"Selen..."
"Selen..." For God's sake, listen to me...
Arie? No, impossible. What would she be doing here? Selen wondered. Her too? Did she know?
"I've come to free you. We don't have much time. The priest has decreed that you will rest today, so we must hurry before another priest comes to take his place."
Selen felt her inject something into her, and she immediately felt her strength returning.
"I'll explain later," Arie said. "We have to leave quickly. I'll remove one handcuff because it would take too long to remove both. We'll have to carry the chains with the handcuffs."
Selen was too tired to ask for explanations, so she followed Arie, and when they left the room, Selen felt as if she were coming back to life. She prayed that it wasn't a trick of her mind and that she was really escaping.
"Let's take this hallway. There's a secret passage we can use to get out."
"Oh my God," exclaimed a maid who had taken the hallway.
Selen didn't hesitate for a second. She created a magic sword that pierced the maid through and through. Arie took her hand and they ran through the maze of corridors in the castle until they reached a room where paintings were on display. On their way, Selen had killed everyone they came across.
Arie detached a painting, performed a few manipulations, and a door leading to a tunnel opened. They rushed inside without hesitation. After running for a good thirty minutes, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Let's stop for a bit," said Arie. "You must be exhausted."
"I... I don't understand. How do you know about this secret passage, and how did you get here? Did you know what they did to me?"
"Let's walk slowly, and I'll explain as we go."
Selen agreed, and they continued their journey through the dark tunnel.
"You remember when I told you that my mother and I tried to kill ourselves, don't you? I didn't tell you why, but since it's necessary, I'll tell you everything."
Selen said nothing. For once, someone was going to answer her questions.
"My mother had been blessed with magic. She could see the future. I don't know how she came to be involved with the duke, but what is certain is that it was thanks to her blessing. She quickly found herself imprisoned and abused by the duke. She became pregnant with me, and I also inherited her blessing. The problem with this power is that you can't predict what you want to see."
"So you knew what was going to happen to me?" Selen exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me? You could have..."
Arie laughed sarcastically.
"And you would have believed me? I didn't see everything. I just saw you chained up, I saw the prince and your brother. I had visions every night and there was nothing I could do. You were preparing for your wedding and you had become a saint, so I thought maybe my visions were wrong."
"Why are you here, then?"
"I met your double at the temple. I became a devoted servant of the temple so that I could be close to you and confirm my suspicions. It was thanks to this that I was able to heal my leg. The priest tells everyone that you make potions that cure all illnesses and he distributes them to anyone who wants to treat themselves. Magic has returned to the empire and everyone is happy."
Selen felt bile rising so violently that she stopped to vomit. So everyone was happy? Everyone? Except her?
"I had a vision when I touched him. I immediately understood that you were somewhere suffering, so I began to have much more precise visions of where you were. So I came up with this whole plan. I desguised myself as a priest and I decided to come and save you."
"Does Dad know about your power?"
"Yes, he knows. That's why he adopted me. Why else would he bother with a disabled person?"
"You know that if we get caught, you could..."
"I know, but I couldn't just sit back and do nothing. My mother went through the same thing right before my eyes, and I wasn't strong enough to save her. I don't want to make the same mistakes."
"They're here," they heard someone shout behind them.
"They've already caught up with us. We have to run, Selen."
They were almost at the end of the tunnel. Selen could see the light. It was over, maybe soon all of this would be nothing more than bad memories. She cried with fear and joy. Was it finally over?
She should have learned her lesson, though: hope was a dangerous thing that hurt even more than despair.
Instead of the blue sky she expected to see, the first thing she saw was the priest's robe. Before she could even blink, she saw Arie being killed by a magic arrow. Once again, it was that bastard Damian.
She then created a dozen of magic swords and directed them at the priests.
"It's no use trying to kill us, little sister."
"We'll see about that. Go to hell, you dirty bastard," Selen shouted, directing a magic sword at Damian.
To Selen's great surprise, not only did the sword not pierce him, but she was the one who felt the pain.
Damian approached her as she lay bleeding on the ground and pulled her hair violently.
"So you were ready to kill your own brother? Naughty Selen. I'll teach you something. Your powers don't work on me or the crown prince, and even less so on the priest, so stop your childishness and let's go back to the palace."
One more thing she didn't know. All these things, all these people here knew more about her than she did herself.
Selen turned to Arie's lifeless body. She had ruined her life for her, when she herself would probably never have done the same. She didn't want to see any more people die because of her, and now that she knew her power wouldn't allow her to take revenge, she knew what she had to do.
"Quick, Damian, put the other handcuff on her," shouted the priest from the other side of the tunnel.
It was already too late. Selen had already pierced her heart with a magic sword. The last thing she saw was Damian's horrified face, and then a gentle warmth spread through her. Her last thought was that at least it's was over.
"See you in hell , brother"