Chapter 142: A Fate Worse than death

Another scream ripped from her throat as the flames climbed higher along Della’s body. She twisted violently, instinctively trying to escape them, but the movement only made the chains swing.

The metal dug deeper into her wrists, and Della’s vision blurred with tears.

I have to get down. I have to fight through the burn, no matter how painful it is.

She looked at her hands, where the chains were wrapped tightly around her wrists. Her breathing came in short, broken gasps, desperation merging into her bones till she was pretty sure it had taken over the blood in her veins.

She grabbed the chain with both hands and pulled.

Nothing.

The flames crawled higher, and her skin kept paying the price. "Please..." She pulled again even harder, and pain exploded in her wrists again.

She screamed, but didn’t stop. She twisted both hands desperately, forcing her thumbs against the metal restraint.

Her body shook violently, vehemently, and her vision blurred wickedly. Then, it finally popped.

Both thumbs slipped painfully out of its joint, and she screamed again, both from fire and the pain it brought. But she didn’t stop. She didn’t dare stop.

She pulled harder, twisting her palm sideways till her hands slipped through completely.

Then gravity took over.

Della’s body dropped forward, and she crashed toward the stone floor, but her legs were still secured above her.

Her body jerked violently against the remaining restraints, leaving her hanging at an awkward angle, one hand dangling uselessly while her feet remained trapped.

The flames immediately reached her back and face, and Della screamed again as they began eating more of her skin.

She reached desperately for her leg restraints, with her fingers barely working anymore. Hell, she could hardly feel them.

But she forced them around the chain. She twisted, pulled and pulled.

Nothing.

The fire burned hotter, and Della could literally feel her skin melting now. The pain was indescribable, and she just wanted to give the hell up and let herself die.

But she kept going.

"Come on!" She managed to scream, pulling with everything she had. Her wrist, fingers and shoulders screamed along with her.

Every broken part of her body protested, but she didn’t stop.

The metal that was fixed into the wall began to creak under her relentlessness, and after what felt like eternity, it finally popped out of the wall.

Her body heaved, and her legs hit the ground too. She lay there for a moment, coughing and shaking while flames continued consuming her.

Move, Della!

Move!!

You can’t die here!!

Don’t let yourself die here.

You have to live for those that died.

You have to make them all fucking pay!!

With a wrenching cry, she forced herself onto all fours and began dragging herself through the fire. It seemed to have swallowed her, eating away at her everything, but she didn’t stop.

She would not!!

She refused to give up.

She refused to die!!

She finally through the space where the fire was blazing hot, although it was still roaring and consuming everything.

Her skin was looking charred, and her clothes were gone. Smoke curled around her naked body as her fingers curled around the bottom of the door.

She pushed at first, and it didn’t move.

She pushed again.

Nothing.

Then, she gathered whatever remained of her strength and pushed one final time.

The door creaked open, and the cold air outside only seemed to sting more of her burnt flesh, making her hiss in pain.

Della dragged herself through the opening and collapsed just outside. For several seconds, she couldn’t do anything except breathe.

Her body was shaking.

Her skin screamed.

Her lungs burned.

Her hands were useless.

Her legs barely felt like they belonged to her.

She could barely see a thing.

She didn’t know where she was.

She didn’t know where she would go.

She didn’t know if she could survive another minute.

But she knew one thing.

She had to get away.

And so, with tears silently streaming down her face, Della continued to crawl.

She crawled and crawled till she was far away from the burning house. Her burnt skin dragged against the ground, and everything that pierced it felt like fire itself was still eating up her flesh.

It didn’t stop her.

She just kept going.

Kept calling into her wolf as she had always done.

Praying for a miracle to happen like it did during the Ceremony of Servitude.

The darkness around her seemed to shift. At first, Della thought it was another hallucination.

Her mind had been drifting in and out for what felt like hours, and she could no longer tell what was real anymore. The trees around her blurred into one another, their branches stretching like crooked fingers beneath the moonlight.

She kept moving anyway.

Her fingers dug into the earth.

Pull.

Drag.

Breathe.

Pull.

Drag.

Breathe.

Then, a shadow fell across her.

She didn’t even notice at first till she wanted to crawl forward and saw a pair of legs standing in front of her. Her entire body went rigid, and for one terrifying second, she wondered if Selene had returned.

Had Selene returned to see if she was now ashes and had found out that she had escaped?

She tried to move faster, but that was the moment her arms decided they had had enough and gave out beneath her.

Della collapsed against the ground, cheek pressed into the cold soil as her chest heaved desperately.

The person was still standing directly in front of her, and she couldn’t make out the face.

Not yet.

Her vision was too clouded.

Della blinked repeatedly, trying to force her eyes to focus. The figure didn’t move or speak, but she could feel its gaze on her.

Della’s heart began pounding, and her voice barely existed now, "Please..."

Whoever it was they remained still.

She tried to drag her body around the person with her inactive limb that had done so much for her already, but then the figure stepped sideways, blocking her path again.

She tried another direction, but the figure followed again.

She was trapped.

Slowly, she lifted her head to see who it was. The moonlight finally illuminated the person’s face, and the Moon Goddess be cursed...!!!

Della wished she had died back there.

"No..." Her voice cracked, and then her face slumped down again.

"Oh sister," Beatrice cooed softly, before she crouched down, "That looks so painful. Would you like me to get you out of your misery?"