Chapter Two : The Price of Failure

Serafine POV

"Ugh," I groaned. My body ached everywhere. I forced my eyes open. A harsh light overhead blinded me. The smell of damp mildew filled the air. Gray concrete walls on every side. I looked down. Handcuffs on my wrists.

A narrow metal bed bolted to the wall on my left. I pushed myself upright with a sharp hiss, pain shooting through me.

"Assassin princess is awake."

My head snapped toward the voice. Zavier Ventura stepped into the cell, unhurried, and stood over me with cold eyes. One of his men dragged a chair in behind him. He sat, shoulders squared, the kind of presence that filled a room without trying. His lips curved into a slow, menacing smile, the kind meant to rattle people. I kept my face blank.

"You killed my father." Not a question. A verdict.

"Yes," I said.

His gaze hardened.

"I wish I could have killed you too, asshole," I said. One of his men stepped forward, ready to strike.

"Stand down." Zavier didn't even look at him. The man froze and stepped back. Zavier's eyes returned to me. His hand closed around my jaw, rough and deliberate.

"Your life is in my hands, assassin princess." His grip tightened. My already bruised face flared with pain.

"Provoke me," he said, his voice dropping low, "and you sign your own death."

"Then kill me," I said through clenched teeth. His eyes went colder, if that was even possible.

"Of course," he murmured, something almost bitter in it. "An assassin princess isn't afraid to die." He leaned closer. "That makes two of us." A complete sadist.

"My only regret," I said, my voice shaking with anger I couldn't swallow, "is not killing you when I had the chance."

"Repeating your regrets won't change anything," he said. I shoved his hand away and swung. His men caught me before I landed a single hit.

"Let go of me!" I kicked at them, fighting every grip.

"Ease." His voice cut through the room like ice. His men backed off immediately.

I glared at him, pouring every ounce of hatred I had into it.

"You're a rookie, aren't you?" he asked. I said nothing.

"Figured." The single word landed with quiet contempt. I bit down on my lip and forced myself to stay still. The image of my parents' lifeless eyes burned behind mine. It kept the anger alive. It kept me alive.

"Go ahead, demon. Kill me," I said. I'd rather die and join them. Kael would finish this. Part of me already knew I'd failed. The mission was over.

His gaze burned into me, intense and unrelenting. I didn't look away. Slowly his expression shifted, something dark curling at the corner of his mouth. It scared me for seconds before I pulled myself together.

"Uncuff her," Zavier ordered.

The handcuffs clicked open. I pushed myself up despite the pain screaming through my legs and took my stance. His men tensed.

Before I could move, his hand wrapped around my throat.

"You're going to marry me, assassin princess."

I stared at him.

"Fuck no," I said, and spat right in his face. With his free hand, he wiped it off. Calm. Unbothered.

"I'd rather die than be your wife." His dark eyes were unreadable.

"You don't get a say in this. I need a wife. You fit."

I shoved his hand off me.

"If you don't follow my commands, Princess—" His voice dropped lower. He snapped his fingers. One of his men brought over a tablet. My heart dropped. Kael was covered in bruises and tied to a chair; he lost consciousness.

"Kael," I whispered. Kael never failed. He was the best assassin the Academy had. And I had dragged him straight into my mess.

Guilt twisted through me like a blade.

"Think carefully," Zavier said, tilting his head. "Do you want him to die?"

Cruel. Calculated. I should have seen this coming.

He had caught me off guard, and Kael was paying for it.

"So what will it be, assassin princess?" He let the question sit. "Marry me, and he stays alive. Fed. Breathing. Safe in my basement. Or I tell my men to put a bullet in him."

I swallowed.

"I'll marry you." My eyes stayed on the screen. Kael is barely conscious.

"Good choice." His gaze dragged over me, slow and assessing, like I was something he'd just acquired. My skin crawled.

"Remember this, demon," I said. "There are ground rules."

His brow lifted slightly.

"You don't touch me. You don't come near me. This is a public act and nothing more."

"As you say, assassin princess," he replied with ease.

I didn't believe a word of it. The Ventura’s never kept their word.

"Take her to the queen suite," Zavier ordered.

The bodyguard from before shot me a look of quiet hatred before masking it. I followed. As we moved through the corridors, I scanned every cell we passed, searching for any sign of Kael. All I found were others. Men. Women. Some of them had the look of assassins. So many enemies. So many failed attempts to bring down Zavier and his father.

The footsteps behind me grew heavier. Then we stepped into the open, and the space transformed entirely. A penthouse. Chandeliers. Red carpet. Rare antiques and expensive art lining every wall. Zavier's taste. Just like his father, he is obsessed with wealth, power, and control. I followed the bodyguard up the staircase toward the top floor.

At some point, the footsteps behind me stopped. Turning around to find. Zavier stood at the base of the stairs, phone to his ear, murmuring. But his eyes were still on me. Watching. Amused. He seemed to be entertained by every second of this. That amusement wouldn't last. I would be the one to erase it when I finally put him in the ground. Until then, that promise was the only thing keeping me moving through this hell.