Page 51 of Absolved In Death

“If we’re lucky, A-Bomb, both.”

17

DIANA

Mal rubbed soothing circles on my back as the doors of the elevator in the Training Building closed. He had siphoned some of my fear, but I was still skeptical of Desmond’s surprise. Nothing good ever came from a basement. Back in Nonna’s house in Brooklyn, we joked about a ghost haunting our basement because of how crowded it felt like someone was watching me when I went down there, which is why I often avoided it and all basements in general.

Never have I seen a basement in a movie and thought“Wow, something great is going to come out of here!”Usually that’s where the murderer hid in horror movies. And knowing how much of a hard ass Desmond was, this surprise could resemble a B rated horror scene. Or it could be a torture chamber.

“You’re not going to tell me what it is?” I asked Mal a second time.

“No. Desmond’s orders were to escort you here at nightfall.” He pressed the button for the basement and we descended.

“But I’m your Queen, remember? You upgraded me from Princess status. You should take your orders fromme.” The elevator stopped, but the doors didn’t open.

Mal smoothed his thumb over my bottom lip. “Please don’t pout. Trust me, this is going to be a good training exercise, Queen. Afterward I’ll give you the Royal treatment,” he promised with a wink.

You better give me the fucking dynasty treatment after this bullshit.

He pressed another button, opening the doors to a dark, silent space. The only lights were swirls of glowing magic moving throughout the room. The dim lighting showed a maze, with walls that didn’t meet the ceiling.

“A maze?” I asked Mal.

“Yes. You need to reach the center and find the prize. But beware, you have no allies here. We’ll hunt you down, and if we catch you…you’ll wish we hadn’t,” he warned before fading away.

My blood rushed in my veins as I thought about my would-be attackers. The guys were hiding in there…waiting for me so they could hunt me down. This would be ten times more brutal than our daily training sessions, because they had the element of surprise and darkness on their side. but I refused to run around like a chicken with its head chopped off. I’d pass this challenge with flying colors, no matter what.

Oisín’s advice from earlier today flitted through my mind.

Sometimes speed is your best bet, but other times you need to slow down, set the tempo so you’re fighting on your wavelength.

I slowly walked into the maze’s opening, making a right turn and walking down the path. The silence was eerie, setting my teeth on edge.

I dropped into a crouch when I heard a low whizzing sound from behind me, my sore muscles protesting the sudden movement. A bolt of magic whizzed over my head, then hit thewall. Dry, vicious laughter tipped me off as to who was behind me.

“Don’t get on your knees right away, Birdie. We just got started,” Bash quipped.

I sprang up and lobbed a fireball right at his chest, but he blocked it. He blocked my next few attacks too, pressing closer with each one. I weaved my magic into a lasso and casted it over him, pulling until he was only a few steps from me. I imagined a stun gun, willing my magic to course through the lasso like bolts of electricity. He jerked and writhed on the ground, and I wasted no time running to the end of the hall and turning left.

I made a few more turns in random directions, so it was harder for Bash to find me. When I lived in Brooklyn, I rarely used a GPS app and worked off the grid system for my directions. But something told me this maze was going to be difficult. Some of the hallways were curved, while others were straight. Some had openings that bisected to other hallways. I was already losing my way.

A large figure faded in front of me, their face shrouded in darkness. It was tall and broad, with thick horns protruding from its head like a crown of wickedness. Those were Desmond’s horns. I didn’t wait for the roaming lights to illuminate us, attacking him on pure instinct with magical strikes shaped like small daggers. One or two of them hit, but most fizzled out before they hit him.

“Good try, Dollface,” his rasping voice tickled my ear, as if it was trying to burrow into my skull.

Fear sluiced through me, settling in my stomach like sour milk. My anxiety spiked as I was hit with the sudden, intense urge to run…to scream in fear.

“You said you’d never use your emotional manipulation on me,” I reminded him.

“All magic is fair game in war. You need to know how to block psychological attacks better,” he said.

I wanted to slap myself. Between trying not to get lost and anticipating the next attack, I let my mental shields weaken. I tried to force him out, but he held on tight. My heart beat a mile a minute as adrenaline pumped through my veins, and I took off running. I heard his footsteps behind me, gaining on me. He was chasing me, just like he had at the mountain house in New York.

Why was being chased a turn on for me? There was something about running away from my men and having them try to catch me that got my blood pumping and my pussy super wet. I’d save the psychoanalyzing for after I escaped.

“Hey, where are you going?!” he cackled.

I felt a burning hot bolt of magic hit my back, and my steps faltered.Fuck!His footsteps got closer, and I could hear his heavy breathing behind me.

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