Persephone's Point of View
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"Some things aren't supposed to be brought up out loud but to stay buried, Apollo. Some secrets need to be kept well hidden because if they were to become information, the destruction that would come with them would be far too great to comprehend." I spat the words out, my voice sharp with a venom that I couldn't quite keep contained.
The silence that followed felt suffocating, heavy with the weight of truth. I could feel the pressure building inside of me, creeping up my spine, threatening to break through. Apollo's confusion was written all over his face, his innocence about this entire situation grating on my already frayed nerves. But how could he understand? No one could.
They didn't know the depths of what I'd been through, the turmoil I was carrying beneath the surface, hidden in the shadows of my mind, clawing at the walls.
"You think you can just pull this shit out of me? You think it's as simple as spitting it all out, all the blood, all the pain, the suffering, the loss? You really think it's that easy?" My chest tightened as I spoke, the words bitter on my tongue, the frustration building inside me until I thought I might suffocate from it. I forced myself to take a steadying breath, pushing it all back down as I always did, but the anger was relentless, gnawing at me from the inside. "You don't get it, Apollo. You never will."
I had to control myself. I had to. Because if I didn't, if I let this out now, there was no coming back from it. This wasn't just about me anymore. It was about everything I had to protect. It was about the kingdom. It was about my future. It was about taking my revenge without setting the entire world on fire, without causing a catastrophic break that would tear everything to pieces. I couldn't afford to make any more mistakes. Not after everything that had already happened. Not after everything I had lost. Not after watching the people I loved burn.
"Listen," I said, my voice dropping in pitch, still laced with fury. "I'm the future Queen, okay? I have to take my revenge without triggering a full-on war. Do you get that?" I fixed him with a glare, my eyes narrowed into slits. "You don't know what it would do, Apollo. You don't understand what this kingdom is capable of, what they'd do if they found out what's really been going on behind the scenes. They'd destroy everything. And they'd tear each other apart in the process." I paused, watching him, waiting for some flicker of understanding to break through the confusion in his eyes, but it didn't come.
His mouth opened to say something, but I raised my hand sharply, cutting him off. "No. You don't get to talk right now. Just listen," I snapped, my patience stretched thinner than paper. "If my father found out, do you think he'd be able to stay calm? Do you think he'd just sit back and control himself? He's impulsive, Apollo. He's a goddamn vampire. And if he knew that he lost two of his babies, that Mom died because of her..." I felt the words catch in my throat, but I forced them out. "You think he wouldn't lose it? You think he wouldn't destroy everyone and everything in his path if he knew?"
I could feel my breath coming faster now, ragged as the weight of it all pressed down on me.
The tremble in my voice betrayed me, but I pushed through, trying to hold on to the last remnants of control. "I can't be the one to break him even more than he already is. He already blames himself for everything that happened to Mom. For all the mistakes. I can't be the one to push him over the edge. I can't do that to him. He's all I've got left, Apollo. He's all that's left of our family." The weight of my words hit me like a ton of bricks. "Do you really want me to shatter whatever little is left of us? You want me to destroy that for good?"
I was losing it, but I couldn't stop myself. It was all rushing out now, everything I'd kept locked inside for so long, too long. The pressure, the anger, the sorrow. It all poured out in a tidal wave, crashing through every carefully built wall I had up. "So don't you ever tell me to tell him. Don't you ever ask me to do that again. You don't know anything about this. You don't know what I'm carrying. You don't know what it would do." My voice was raw, shaking with emotion, the fury and the sorrow clawing at my insides, threatening to overtake me entirely.
My chest felt tight, suffocating, as if the very air had thickened, made heavier by the weight of my own words. The anger I had unleashed couldn't give me the release I needed, couldn't make this storm inside of me calm.
"They told you it was even again?" Headmaster Diana's voice cut through the tension, her tone shocked but oddly amused, as if she found some dark humor in all this. "Oh boy, they were looking for a fight. Because this..." She paused for a beat, eyeing the situation carefully. "This is anything but even."
The words had the effect of a bucket of cold water, splashing over my burning rage and dragging me out of the spiral I was falling into. It didn't relieve the weight, but it offered a distraction. For a moment, just a moment, I felt something else stir within me—a flicker of irritation mixed with exhaustion.
"Exactly!" I hissed, the frustration rising again, but this time, directed elsewhere. "They never get it, do they? Never fucking get it."
I felt the tension course through me, my entire body shaking with the residual anger that still hadn't dissipated. My hands clenched into fists, and I fought back the urge to lash out at something, anything. "And they even call me stubborn," I muttered bitterly under my breath, the words tinged with more than just irritation—there was a bitterness there too, a quiet resentment.
Pride-Niklaus, sitting there looking like someone had just sucked the life out of him, frowned deeply at my words. "How is it not even?" he asked, his voice laced with confusion, and I could see in his eyes that he truly didn't understand. But of course he didn't. He was one of the privileged few who never had to carry the burdens I did. He had no idea what it was like to live with this kind of weight on your shoulders. To know what had been done, what couldn't be undone.
I turned to him, my lip curling into a sneer. "Ask your slutty mother," I spat, the words leaving my mouth like venom. I swallowed hard, feeling a wave of nausea sweep through me again. I turned back to the Headmasters, struggling to stay focused, struggling to keep my composure. "So, Headmasters," I said, forcing my voice to remain steady, "what exactly are you two doing here? I'm sure you didn't come just to admire my pretty face, right?"
The students behind me gasped, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I didn't care if they thought I was a bitch or if they judged me for being rude. I didn't care if they whispered behind my back or tried to tear me down with their eyes. None of it mattered. Not in this moment. Not when the kingdom was teetering on the edge of destruction, and not when I was holding the fate of everything and everyone in my hands, ready to crack under the pressure of it all.
"As tempting as that is, no," Diana replied with a teasing smile, her eyes flicking toward Headmaster Samuel.
"Go on, then," Samuel muttered, clearly unimpressed, his patience already wearing thin.
"The advanced classes are also meant to mix students who wouldn't normally willingly mix with each other," Diana explained, her voice light, almost too giddy, as though she found some sick joy in this twisted little scheme of hers. My stomach churned with irritation. Was she enjoying this? Was she really having fun?
It was always Samuel who brought the worst news, always him with his passive-aggressive tone and his annoying knack for making everything seem like the end of the world. Every word out of his mouth felt like a slap to my face, but I couldn't show it. I couldn't let them see how much it affected me.
I covered my face with my hands, feeling the anger bubbling up once again, just beneath the surface, threatening to explode. "How the hell is that going to work?" I muttered through my fingers, my voice thick with annoyance and frustration.
Pride-Niklaus echoed my sentiments, his voice tinged with the same level of irritation. "Yeah, how the hell is that supposed to work?" he questioned, his tone dark.
Diana's eyes sparkled with excitement as she explained the next part, clearly relishing the chaos she was about to set loose. "The six on the top three aside, all 47 students will be sorted into duos at random," she said, practically giddy with delight. "The six at the top will be paired between each other. And from now on, you'll stay with those pairs for the rest of the year."
I felt my stomach sink at the thought. "What?" I couldn't help the exasperation that slipped into my voice. The others echoed my disbelief. "Wait, what did you say?"
I couldn't pair with any of them. No way.
I couldn't be with my siblings. That was just too complicated. We couldn't work together. We were already broken in too many ways.
With Lustful Fox—he'd be all over me, hitting on me nonstop, and I'd probably end up killing him.
And I'd definitely kill either Pride-Niklaus or Vain-Dove if they were paired with me. The sheer thought of it made my blood boil. There was no way in hell I was going to sit through that without murdering someone. It'd be an absolute nightmare. We'd all end up trying to kill each other, because I couldn't keep my mouth shut about how much I hated their dear fucking mother.
And they sure as hell wouldn't take kindly to that.
If it was me and Pride… well, that was the worst fucking possible outcome. We would absolutely stab each other again, just like last time. Or worse. Though I refused to even think about that possibility in particular. The thought made my skin crawl.
This year was going to be fucking hell.