Chapter 271
Chapter 271
-Ava’s POV-
The wind roared around us, tearing at my hair, filling the air with the sharp scent of salt. The ship rocked beneath my feet, the waves slamming against the steel hull as if the ocean itself could sense the battle unfolding between us.
The night sky stretched endlessly above, dark and unforgiving, mirroring the darkness Dylan carried and the words had barely left his lips before he shoved me.
Hard.
I didn’t even have time to scream.
My body crashed against the floor, the impact sending a sharp, brutal pain tearing through me. A cry burst from my lips as I clutched my stomach, my fingers trembling against my skin. My breath came in ragged gasps, my pulse pounding in my
ears.
But something was wrong because I had healed from the beating he gave me before.
My wounds should have closed, my body should have recovered–but the pain was still there, sharp and searing, as if something was holding it in place even after I had healed.
Dylan crouched beside me, his smirk deepening. His voice was soft, almost amused like he could read my mind, “It’s a spell to induce pain and keep it in place.”
A spell.
My mind reeled, my thoughts spiraling back to the moment in the car–when he had moved his fingers and there was residue of magic.
I forced myself to meet his gaze. My voice came out hoarse, “How… how can you do magic?”
Dylan tilted his head, watching me like a predator watches its prey. “My mother was obsessed with it,” He said lazily. “She passed it down to me. There are dark objects that help channel magic. You just have to know the right words.”
A sick feeling twisted in my stomach, The right words?”
He smiled. “That’s what I used to make you believe you were my mate.”
“Why?” The question ripped from my throat, thick with anger before I could think twice about it even though I think he would me this time, “Why did you do it? What did I ever do to you to make you hate me this much?”
Dylan exhaled, rising to his feet, his movements slow, deliberate. The moonlight cast shadows across his face, highlighting the sharp edge of his jaw, the cold glint in his eyes.
“Hate?” He mused. “No, Ava. This was never about hate.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, my mind racing. I needed to get up. Needed to think.
Keep him talking.
“Then what the hell was it about?” I forced myself to ask.
Dylan’s gaze flickered toward the ocean, the vast stretch of dark water that surrounded us. No land. No escape. Just the endless abyss waiting below.
“You tricked me,” I continued, my voice tight. “Made me believe I was your mate. Made me-” I bit down on the words,
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forcing myself to steady my breathing. “Why? What was the point? What did you gain from it?”
He turned back to me, his expression calm, controlled. Then he stepped forward, closing the distance between us in a single movement, “Well now that I think of it was but not my hate of you. That came later when I realized you had been a waste of my time. It was my hate of the Blackwoods.”
I forced myself to breathe, ignoring the sharp pain twisting in my body.
He let out a slow breath, his gaze drifting to the restless ocean beyond us again, “My father was never one to show emotions,” He continued, his voice almost distant. “The only person who ever loved me was my mother. And she was taken from me.”
His jaw clenched.
“She was killed,” He said, his voice sharp as a blade. “Because of Grayson’s father. A madman who should have been put down. But the realm–the mighty, pathetic realm–was too afraid of the Blackwoods to act. They let him live. Let him win.”
I clenched my fists against the cold steel floor. I knew this story. Knew what had happened to Dylan’s mother. It wasn’t a secret. But I didn’t know Grayson’s father was directly connected.
He went on, “But I told myself I wouldn’t be like the rest of them. I wouldn’t be a coward. I would get revenge on the Blackwoods for what they did. But I had no plan. No real direction.”
He paused, then let out a dark chuckle. “And then I overhead a conversation from my dear uncle-” his voice dripped with venom “–who always hated me, who put on such a good facade to hide the monster he was, and that conversation changed everything.”
“I learned about the curse of the Blackwoods,” Dylan said, his smirk returning. “And how you–the perfect, untouchable princess of the Pierce–were tied to it.”
I forced myself to stay still, but my heart slammed against my ribs.
“So I went after you,” He continued, his tone turning mocking. “I thought I would find something useful. Something powerful. But as it turned out, you had no clue about any of it. You were just some stuck–up, irritating, wolfless girl who had no power at all.” He sneered. “Weak. Useless. And I hated you for it.”
My nails dug into my palms.
“I thought I had failed,” Dylan admitted. “But then Crystal came into the pack.”
At the mention of her name, a cold wave of rage swept through me.
“At first, I didn’t know who she really was,” He said. “But Damien brought her, so I knew she had to be important. And to my surprise, I actually liked her.” He laughed, shaking his head slightly. “You know what that’s like, right? The whole rem has heard of your epic love with Grayson Blackwood.”
The mocking edge in his voice sent fury coursing through my veins.
He was trying to get under my skin. Trying to make me react.
I refused to give him the satisfaction.
His expression darkened, his amusement fading. “And then you had to ruin everything,” He muttered, his vo. “When you pulled that stupid stunt and Grayson took you.”
cold now.
“You almost ruined everything.” He hissed. “But that moment made me realize something. Playing the fool could work in my favor. And Crystal–smart Crystal–told me to let Damien do all the dirty work. Let him weaken the realm. Let him make Grayson Blackwood vulnerable.”
His gaze flickered with something dark, something dangerous.
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“And that,” He said, voice smooth, confident, “led us to this moment.”
Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.
The waves crashed against the ship.
The wind howled.
I swallowed hard, keeping my breathing steady. I had known most of this but hearing it come from Dylan’s own mouth made my stomach turn.
Hearing the sheer hatred in his voice.
Hearing how I had been nothing more than a pawn in his twisted little game.
I met his gaze, my fists tightening at my sides. “So that’s it?” I asked, my voice calm, steady. “You toyed with my life because of your pathetic little revenge story?”
Dylan’s eyes flashed, “You think it’s pathetic?”
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“I think it’s pathetic that you blame Grayson for what his father did,” I shot back. “He didn’t kill your mother, Dylan. And you know that and Grsyson suffered just as much in his hands.”
He didn’t say anything but before I could react, before I could think, he moved and grabbed the edge of my dress and hauled me to my feet like I weighed nothing.
I gasped, my hands flying to his wrist, but his grip was unrelenting.
“Dylan stop it-”
He didn’t let me finish.
His grip tightened, dragging me toward the railing.
Panic surged through me. The ship rocked violently beneath us, the ocean roaring below. The waves crashed against the steel, dark and merciless. The abyss stretched out in every direction.
“The only pathetic one here is you,” Dylan said, his voice steady.
Then he shoved me.
The world spun.
For a moment, everything slowed. The wind roared in my ears, my pulse a deafening drumbeat. My body tilted, weightless, my arms flailing as I plummeted backward and then I hit the water.
The cold swallowed me whole, a thousand knives slicing through me all at once. The salt burned my skin, filled my mouth, stole the breath from my lungs. Darkness surrounded me, pulling me down, deeper and deeper.
Silence.
Pressure.
All at once and a single thought ripped through my mind, louder than the ocean, louder than the pain:
I was going to die here.
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