The Wishing Fallacy (The Vendetta Series: Book One)[COMPLETE]

Chapter Nineteen: Eye of the Storm✔️

American money by BORNS

Nora fidgeted under Luca's cruel smile and dastardly gaze. "See, was that so hard?" He asked her, circling around the table towards her head. He gently placed his hands on either side of her face, stroking her skin softly with his slender fingers. Nora was far too exhausted, beaten down, and afraid to resist his touch any longer.

"My pretty, pretty girl, this could have all been avoided if you would have just told me this from the beginning. I didn't want to hurt you. You forced my hand, and for that, I am sorry." His fingers brushed across her lips and he bent down, replacing them with his own mouth. He kissed her sweetly. So sweetly, that Nora nearly choked on the sugary intent loaded behind his lips.

"Will...will you let me go, now?" She asked, her voice damaged beyond repair from so many days (weeks? months?) of screaming. She didn't understand how anything she had recounted for this creature helped him in the slightest, but she was ready for this nightmare to be over.

Luca gave her a quiet chuckle in response. "No. I can untie you, but, I can never let you leave now, Nora. You'd try to run off and tell Belle, and then he would stop you. You may not believe me, but you're actually safer here with me at the moment."

He was right, Nora didn't believe him. "Who is he?"

Luca's eyes turned darker than usual, which still frightened Nora every time it happened. "A very selfish, conceited, bastard," Luca said, a fake smile tearing at his lips.

"Are you sure you're not speaking about yourself in the third person?" Nora asked bitingly. "I gave you want you wanted. Just let me go!"

Luca sighed, but surprisingly didn't punish Nora for her stupidly quick mouth. "Always so difficult. Look, sweetheart, the minute I let you out of here, he'll come for you and then he'll come for me. He knows that I'm on to him- that I know what he's done and he doesn't like that. He fucked up, forgetting to wipe your memory with the others and he's going to do his damndest to make sure we don't let it slip to his little projects." Luca snarled and tapped his claws agitatedly against the hard surface of the table.

"What are you talking about?" Nora asked. She didn't really know why she bothered, it wasn't as if he normally made sense anyways.

Luca smiled at her ruefully, but his eyes betrayed the fact that he was only half listening to her and was now rambling to himself. The grating rhythm of his claws never ceased as they chipped away at the table. "He's forced nature to bend and we are the abominations left in his wake. He needed us, I don't know exactly what for, though, and most of us were useless. We didn't turn out right, because we were never meant to survive. But, whatever he's after, Armageddon, Ragnarök, the goddamn end of all of the worlds, now he's down to just one playing card because he's screwed everything else up. I'll be damned if he uses us for his little games any longer, so I'm going to have to kill her.

"Again."

+

They sat like that for a long time- Marnie in her lap and laying across her chest while Belle cradled her like they were some kind of lovers. Belle didn't notice when the lack of Marnie's tears allowed her shirt to dry at first, but she did when Marnie finally spoke up, her voice stronger and unwavering, although still raspy.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: you have no sense of self preservation. You should have never made the contract in the first place."

"I needed to save my brother," Belle said quietly. "My body seemed like a small price to pay for his life."

Marnie chuckled dryly. "That's really why you came back, right?"

Belle frowned and tightened her hold on the Djinni. "No. I was scared about what was going to happen to my brother, and I still am, but I came back for you. All of this is my fault anyway," Belle sighed. "I shouldn't have violated such important things. If I would've known about..." Belle swallowed.