Page 84 of Ruinous Need
Tension coils through my muscles. If it weren’t for this damn chain, I would be at his throat right now.
“I thought you might like to see the proof,” he says.
Semyon pulls up a photo of Lisette. She’s wearing a white dress in what looks like a bridal shop, beaming at the camera with her arms thrown above her head.
Like she’s overjoyed to be engaged to him.
I try not to react, but my whole body seizes up. I can’t stop staring at the photo.
Rarely have I seen Lisette look that happy. Only when she thought she would not have to marry him and that weight lifted off her chest. Was it all an act? It felt so real.
I zoom in, looking for defects, signs that it was edited or forged, somehow. But it seems real. I even recognize the pattern of freckles across her pale skin.
Semyon takes his phone back with a flourish. “You see? I think I can make her very happy after all.”
The smug look on his face is what does it.
My hands and legs might be chained together, but I have the element of surprise.
I use the chair to push off and launch myself at Semyon‘s face swinging my hands and legs simultaneously as hard as I can. My fist catches his nose and I’m satisfied to see the stream of blood that spews forth, even as I hurtle towards the ground with no way to catch my landing. I land awkwardly on one ankle.
Semyon’s blue eyes burn with rage. He wipes his sleeve across his face, the white fabric staining crimson, and shoves me to the ground, where he lands a kick to my guts. I curl in on myself, the breath gone from my lungs.
Semyon spits a mouthful of blood down on me.
“You always did have a nasty temper, Viktor. I thought you could be controlled, a useful weapon to me, but I suppose not. I think I’ll make sure the guards torture you for another few weeks before your death. And don’t worry.” He laughs, a harsh barking sound. “It’ll be so much worse than before.”
CHAPTER 36
LISETTE
“EVERYONE IN THAT hall is going to know I don’t want to do this.”
I spit the words at Daria.
She pins my hands behind my back while another woman, who looks terrified at my rage, applies makeup.
My hair is in a braided updo, curling around my head in a crown, that took them hours to complete while I struggled and fought.
This is their third attempt at doing my makeup after my tears washed the previous ones away.
“You might be able to force me onto that altar, but you can’t force me to look happy about it.” My voice is hoarse from crying.
“But we can, Lisette. Your family will be seated in the front row. Behind them will be a row of guards with loaded guns. If you don’t go through with this,witha smile on your face, that’s a death sentence for all of them.”
“That’s not part of the deal.”
“With your family’s lives in his hands, Semyon can negotiate any deal he wants with you.” Her face cracks into a cruel smile, like she’s proud of him for doing this to me.
Daria, who I thought I knew, has turned out to be one of my cruel captors. It turns out that the whole time I thought she was nervous about my safety, she was texting Semyon, feeding him information that he used to find us. She talks about Semyon like he’s some great genius for thinking up this plan to spark a war over me and seize control of the city.
I think she’s ridiculous.
I don’t know what she thinks she’s getting out of this, but she seems to relish in my suffering. I guess the times when I thought she was my friend were just an act.
She mocks me for being lazy when the ongoing effects of hypothermia make it hard to stay awake or move around. I still get bouts of shivering which I can’t control.
“So, this is the lovely bride? Hello and congratulations, dear.”
