Shadows of Demise (The Warrior Angels Trilogy - Book 3)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Beatrice gripped the purple cloth as though her sanity depended on it.

Truthfully, it did feel that way.

She used her forefinger to trace over the initials M.S. Before Luc dragged her out of their bedchamber, she snatched this hideous piece of cloth from around Maribel's neck. Then she screamed for the guards to take Maribel's body with them. Maribel didn't deserve to burn. She deserved a proper burial.

"Beatrice, I am so sorry," Luc said as he came up beside her.

Beatrice didn't look up. Then he touched her shoulder, and she turned away.

"I do not need to hear any condolences," she said. "Words will not change anything. Right now, all that matters is that we prepare ourselves and join the others. I need to find Julian..." She curled in her fingers, pressing her nails deep into her skin. "And bring him to ruins!"

"No, not like this."

Beatrice sneered at him. "You will not say no to me. If you prefer to stay here, then so be it! I will not leave my soldiers out there where Julian can easily hurt them."

The door swung open. Beatrice whirled around, finding her parents storming inside. While her mother halted and folded her arms across her chest, her father rushed over.

"I've heard about what happened," he said, reaching out to her.

Beatrice glanced down at his hands, then up at his face. "Are you certain you want to get close, Father?"

He lowered his arms. "My sweet—"

"No. What right do you have to speak to me like that now?" Beatrice felt her eyes water, and she lifted her chin higher. "You've kept your distance for years. Do you truly believe I'm going to forget how lonely I felt? How you contributed to that?"

Her mother snickered. "You've become so much worse with the dramatics."

"And you will never quit belittling me, Mother."

"How could I not? I've given you five years to prove yourself, and all you have done is disappoint me."

Beatrice side-eyed her father, who appeared equally confused by her mother's statement. He turned to her and asked her to clarify herself.

"I would rather not take the attention from the man who is better suited to explain," she said. Then she moved aside, revealing Dr. Caldwell behind her.

"What is this?" Beatrice demanded. She pointed at him and narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Proving to your people how weak you are," her mother answered. The corners of her lips rose.

Beatrice couldn't even recall the last time she saw her smile. She held Maribel's purple rag to her chest and swallowed hard. "What is happening here?" she demanded.

"Oh, I'd rather tell you what will be happening next," Dr. Caldwell said as he stepped forward.

Both her father and Luc shielded Beatrice with their bodies. Caldwell laughed at this, halting in front of them.

"There is no need for this," he said. Then he waved his hands, and Beatrice gasped as Luc was flung toward the right wall while her father was flung to the left. Luc crashed into a small shelf, knocking it and the trinkets it held off the wall. He landed on the floor with a grunt.

Her father hit the wall headfirst, and Beatrice screamed as he immediately went unconscious. She tried going toward him, but an unseen force lifted her up into the air. She hovered above Caldwell and glared down at him. He grinned in response before dropping his fist, and she collapsed in front of him. Caldwell leaned down and snatched Maribel's rag from her.