Chapter 4 Her world

Third Person POV

Maelis felt like her whole body was sore from all the action that had happened the night before at the gala. She rolled onto her side and looked at the huge glass window of her hotel room.

She couldn’t help but sigh as she heard her phone ringing again. She had been trying to avoid answering the call since the night she left the gala.

She rolled her eyes when she saw the name on the caller ID.

“Hello,” she said in a bored tone.

“I’ve been trying to contact you since last night!” Lorenzo shouted from the other line.

Maelis rolled her eyes again and sighed. “I got busy,” she replied.

“Don’t test my patience, Maelis. You know what I can do,” Lorenzo said in a threatening tone.

Maelis clenched her fist as she heard Lorenzo’s threat. It was always like this—power-tripping monsters. Her father’s stories about the organization had never been like this. He used to tell her how upright it was, how the leaders were reasonable and just.

But right now, she felt like those were nothing more than tales her father had made up. She had never felt the people around her to be reasonable or just. All she ever felt was how they looked down on her, even though they all entered the organization the same way.

“I got busy with your mission. I was able to get close to the Allard heir,” she said.

“Good. You’d better do a good job. And give a report on everything as soon as possible,” Lorenzo said again. “Understand?”

“Yes,” Maelis replied, her heart heavy. She despised this unspeakable human being, yet here she was, forced to hear his voice every day.

Lorenzo tried to speak again. “Good. Also, I need you to drop by—”

Maelis rolled her eyes, ended the call, and threw her phone onto the sofa.

“Drop by your stupid ass,” she muttered as she pushed herself up and walked toward the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror and couldn’t help but sigh in pity. The whip scars on her shoulder, stretching across her back, stared back at her. She gently touched them. These were the results of unfairness and lies from people within the organization—scars she had to endure just to keep her family alive, just to put food on their table every day.

Maelis pressed her eyes shut as memories from the past came rushing back. They were still vivid, especially the day she decided to enter this hell.

Flashback

“Please, Maelis,” her mother, Marsha, pleaded as she held both of her hands. “Don’t do this. Please. There has to be another way. You saw what happened to your father. I can’t go through that again with you.”

Maelis held her mother’s hands and met her eyes. “This is the only way, Mom. The organization isn’t the same as it was during Dad’s time. Anyone who tries to leave—they kill them,” she said, and her mother burst into tears. “I can’t let that happen to you, Dad, or especially my siblings. Please understand. I’m doing this for all of you.”

“But you know what they’ll do to you! You know how cruel they are now!” her mother cried.

Maelis sighed and nodded. “But we don’t have a choice. We need the money for your medication and Dad’s. This is the only way I can provide that and keep you safe—at least somehow.”

Her father, Fablo, entered the living room in his wheelchair. “Maelis, you don’t have to do this for us. You can run away with your siblings. Go far away. We still have a little money—enough to support you for a while. Just leave and live your life.”

Maelis chuckled bitterly. “That’s easy to say, Dad. But you know what those animals are capable of. I’m not leaving you and Mom behind. I don’t care how many scars I get or how many times they burn me—I won’t let them hurt you again, especially my siblings.”

Her mother sobbed uncontrollably.

“This is my fate,” Maelis added quietly. “I just have to live with it.”

“I’m sorry for putting you all in this mess,” her father said as tears escaped his eyes.

“You did everything you could to protect us, Dad. Now it’s my turn,” she said, smiling at them. “We can’t do anything about this, Mom, Dad. We just have to survive and endure… in silence.”

Maelis Ardent POV

I could feel the heat as I entered the tunnel. Screams echoed as I continued walking toward the sound. I couldn’t tell if they belonged to a man or a woman.

I stopped in front of a steel door and knocked.

“Maelis!” I shouted.

“Oh, you’re here. Come in.” A man wearing a long-sleeved shirt soaked in blood and sweat gestured to me. “Have a seat. The parcel will be here any second.”

My eyes widened as I finally noticed someone slumped in the corner of the room. I quickly looked away when the man turned to me and smirked. I had seen this scene many times, yet it still shook me every time.

“This one gambled the org’s money,” he said, laughing. “Can you believe it? How stupid, right?”

“That’s life,” I replied with a sigh.

In our world, stupidity is not an option. Every move you make, you have to remember that half of your body is already buried. One wrong step and you end up six feet under—dead or alive. Emotion is weakness. You forget how to feel happiness, sadness, fear—especially love. There is no room for those in Arcana. Having any of them is a flaw that leads to your end.

“Want a drink?” the man asked. “I’m Theo, by the way.”

“Maelis,” I said, shaking his hand.

“Want to try?” he asked, raising a flaming metal rod in front of my face. I could feel the heat.

“No. I just got back from a mission. I’m too tired,” I replied with a smirk.

“So you’re a big shot,” he muttered, turning away. “I’ve been here for years and still haven’t gotten one. It’s getting on my nerves.”

“You look like you enjoy your job,” I said, glancing at the person trembling in the corner.

There is no place for pity, Maelis.

“Do you think this is fun?” Theo snapped, grabbing the rod again. The end bore Arcana’s symbol—a flame.

“N-no… please… no more,” the person begged as Theo approached.

I swallowed and looked away. I knew the pain too well.

The scream that followed tore through the room as flesh sizzled beneath the burning metal.

“Theo!” I shouted.

“Oh, are you—”

“Where the fuck is the package?” I cut in. “Do you think making Lorenzo wait is a good idea?”

He froze.

“Maybe you want to be the one in his place,” I added, nodding toward the writhing man.

Fear flashed across Theo’s face.

I grabbed the rod and swung it into his back, sending him crashing to the floor.

“I did that so Lorenzo won’t have to torture you for being stupid,” I said coldly.

“I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Make sure you do it first,” I replied with a laugh.