Page 128 of Bloodborn Prince

Lena lifted her gaze, her glacial eyes meeting mine with unabashed fury, as sharp and cunning as ever. Her meekness transformed into defiance before my very eyes.

“You needed a reason for war. And now you have one.”

“Azrael will break him,” I howled at her in anguish and fury.

“He has to understand what we’re up against. To know Azrael’s cruelty firsthand. The Parousia cannot be weak.”

You were never weak, only kind and good. She would let Azrael destroy you, so that she could rebuild you in her vision, as she’d done to me and Lucian both. She wanted us to be as ruthless as her, to win by any means necessary and commit unconscionable acts. And so, Azrael and Lena had conspired together, two game masters trading in fates and lives. And I’d delivered you right into their clutches.

“You sold your own son to a fiend,” I spat.

“I paid in blood, Andronicus. I spent twenty years in that mine because you were too spineless to disobey yourmaster. I’m done suffering for your folly. Now, I must gather our allies. War is coming.”

“War is here already.” I swore at her through gritted teeth and raised my sword. She asked and I’d answer. With her head.

“Henri.” Lucian stepped between us, using his body to shield her and his mudra to prevent me from delivering the death blow she justly deserved.

Her expression remained stony as she dared look me in the eye with the command of a queen. “We all must make sacrifices, Andronicus.”

“Says the serpent to the mouse as she bares her cruel fangs.”

“We’ll get him back, I promise you.”

“Your promises mean nothing to me, you vile, selfish conniver. When Vincent found you in the mine, I should have kicked the skull off your corpse and kept walking.”

She stared at me, impassive. “When all of this is over, you’ll understand why I did it.”

“You’re as delusional as ever.” I lowered my sword, picked up a fistful of sand, and let it sift through my fingers. “Here is your Parousia.”

I surveyed the desert surrounding us, burning like the rage within my chest. If I must raze the entire human realm and the Imperium along with it to get you back, I would.

Redemption through the blood.

VINCENT

EPILOGUE

Iawoke in a gray metal box. Everything was gray—the plastic foam mattress, the cold, concrete floor, the toilet and sink. Even my clothing was gray, made more drab by the dull lighting. I almost didn’t notice the door, because the only thing to distinguish it was a seam and two hinges.

The air was cold—frigid, but there were no vents that I could see. There was a metal tray beside the door and on it, a scoop of what looked like mashed potatoes—no utensils, cups, or bowls. But there was a large rust-colored pill, the only spot of color in the entire room.

“Hello?” I said and my voice died in the small space, strangely muted. “Is anybody there?”

Nothing—no sound whatsoever. Not even distant footfalls or the random clunk of machinery. I went to the sink and activated the motion sensor. The water ran for five seconds before it shut off and wouldn’t turn on again.

I sat down at the edge of my bed pad and stared at my hands, which were clean. My whole body had been scrubbed and swabbed with something medicinal. I reached up to my hair, shorn to a buzz cut, and that’s when I saw it. The skin of my forearm was raised and paler than the rest, bearing the brand of two overlapping diamonds—the mark of an Imperium slave.

To be captured is a fate worse than death.

I hadn’t understood the truth behind your warning, but I soon would.