Purest Corruption - The Darkling [General Kirigan]

• Chapter 24 •

Song of the chapter: listen before i go: Billie Eilish

Play when you see the **

TW: violence

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"Kirigan!" I almost flung myself towards him, but then I felt the tip of a dagger press against my lower spine. Elijah's face moved to my ear, "Don't move, princess. If you do, you'll never be able to walk again."

My breath caught in my throat, and I looked straight at Kirigan, eyes wide with fear. He nodded at me with a wink, then slowly moved his hands together. I knew what he was going to do. He was going to make this room pitch black.

When he did that, I'd get away from Elijah quickly so he wouldn't be able to harm me. I held my breath until everything went dark. Then, I ran to where I thought Kirigan had been, only to find the space empty.

The darkness began receding, causing me to squint. As my eyes adjusted, I saw Kirigan holding Elijah by the throat. Before I knew what was happening, Elijah's body was on the ground, his head in Kirigan's hand.

My stomach lurched at the sight of blood pooling out of the stump that used to be a neck. Elijah's head fell to the ground with a heavy thud as Kirigan released his grip and turned to me.

"We need to go. Now," he said, nodding his head towards the door I'd come through with Elijah just a few minutes ago. Taking a deep breath, I followed Kirigan out into the hallway.

We made our way to the fork, and Kirigan led me down the path Elijah hadn't taken me through. Kirigan seemed unconcerned about running into Fjerdans, which made me realize he and his men had probably dealt with them all before he got to me.

After walking down countless corridors, turning right and left, we finally made it to a door. As Kirigan pushed it open, a cold wind hit me. He ushered me outside, and we jogged down to a dock that had a ship tied to it. My heart swelled with joy when we got to it, knowing I was about to go home.

We both walked onto the wooden boat, and as soon as we were in the clear, I hugged Kirigan with all the strength I had. His arms wrapped around my weak frame, and he held me close to him; only something felt off.

I pulled back to look at his face, reaching my hand up to run my fingers across his cheek. As my skin made contact with his, a realization hit me.

I couldn't feel him.

"Kirigan, why can't I feel you?" My voice came out hesitantly as I asked him the question.

A smirk appeared on his lips, "Come on now, princess. Did you really think he would be able to save you?"

The world began to spin, and the next thing I knew, I was back in the experimentation room, strapped down to a metal slap that held me upright. A strap of leather covered my mouth; however, my muffled cries of confusion made their way through.

I could only breathe through my nose, so hot air cascaded downwards onto my chin as I struggled to regain my composure. Because of this, the room echoed with the sounds of my labored breaths.

Elijah and another man were staring at me; the man I'd never seen before had a triumphant grin on his weathered face.

"We've been working on something special to torment Grisha from the inside instead of out. You were our first test subject, and obviously, it was a success." Elijah chuckled lowly. I struggled against my restraints even though I knew it was a lost cause.

I wanted Elijah to see how much fight I had left.

He came over to me, raising his hand to brush away a stray piece of hair that had fallen in front of my eye. I flinched away from his touch, my breath becoming heavy again. The rise and fall of my chest made his eyes lower, and I cringed.