A Deadly Choice

Emma~

My neck burns from the knife pressed against it, and whatever he fed me is making me feel so weak that I can barely stand. It feels like we’ve been waiting for hours, and I’m long past the point of being able to call out.

Orion is here now though. I can see him now through my tear-stained eyes, and I hate how terrified he seems. I’ve never seen him so afraid, and I can see now that he truly cares about me. My partner cares about me, and what a nice thought that is.

But does he care about me enough to sacrifice his family? Not likely.

I won’t hold it against him though, for that I never could. I love these people, and as their leader, it’s his responsibility to protect them. This man is clearly unstable, and to hand them over to such a person would be suicide.

I’m going to die tonight, and everything is starting to make sense now. The reason fate paired me with him and the reason I’m here. I’ve been put on this earth as a sacrifice, and I only hope my death serves to point Orion further in the right direction.

He was getting there anyway, slowly but surely he was improving, and I have hope for him yet. I just regret that I won’t be around to see it for myself.

I close my eyes to try and prepare myself for what is to come. Will it hurt? I mean, it already hurts now, but will it get much worse before this is all over? I hope the drugs in my system can dull it for me, as I don’t want to scream. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s caused me pain until the end.

I have no idea who this man is, but whatever his vendetta, it’s enough to make him take it out on an innocent woman, and for that, I hope he burns in hell. Orion might have been evil, but I can’t imagine him doing anything like this.

A roar shakes the room, and my lids fly open to see Orion’s eyes locked on mine. His face is more angry than I have ever seen it, and for some reason, it’s as if he’s directing it to me.

What have I done but accept my fate? I want to make this easier for him, so that he doesn’t see me in pain when I go.

My captor laughs. “Frustrated, Orion? That’s exactly how I felt before you separated my brother’s head from his shoulders.”

At that, I feel sick. Utterly sick to my stomach when hearing this, and would rather he just get it over with than tell me about Orion’s past. I have to keep reminding myself that that’s not who he is anymore, he’s better now, and he can’t go back to that.

I won’t let him. Hell, I’ll even haunt him if I have to. What’s a couple of years in purgatory to be able to help the greater good?

I can’t hear any more of this though, it’s just too much, and I refuse to have to listen. Does this villain have any mercy?

“Shut...Up.” I squeeze out through my contracted windpipe, and the laughing stops abruptly. The pressure on my neck increases, and I feel the flow of blood run faster down my body.

Is this it?

“You need to train her better, Orion, that is if you ever get the chance.” He’s teasing him now, and I can feel the tension in the room building. “Don’t worry though, I can help you out there.”

Those are the last words I hear before the knife leaves my neck for a second and enters my side. Fire-like pain erupts inside of me, and I can’t hold back the scream that follows.

I want to curl up around myself, but he only removes the knife and places it back into its original position. Orion is yelling obscenities so fiercely now, but it’s no use.

I can barely see through the haze that is building, and wish that someone would bring me some water to put out this fire. Is it normal for these things to burn so much, or was the knife covered in poison as well? I’ll be dead with any more of the stuff after what he gave me earlier, and it’s been held against my neck for a while now.

“Time’s running out, Orion. If I hit something vital, she could only have minutes to live. What’s it going to be? Wife... or Legacy?”

My breathing quickens, and I have to warn him, have to say something to make him act.

I stand no chance now, but I can still help his people. Our people? What if he lunges at Orion after killing me? Poison is unpredictable, and there have been cases of people falling victim to even a dash of the stuff. I can’t let him hurt Orion.

“Po-” I cough up what feels like blood. “Poison.” I choke out.

The next few seconds erupt around me so fast, it’s as if standing under a firework show. The glass behind us shatters, and the grip around me drops, making me fall to my knees with a hard blow.

Before my head can hit the floor, I’m caught up again, and now know myself to be inside of Orion’s arms. He’s saying something, but I can’t hear anymore.

It feels as if I’ve fallen underwater, and it’s only a matter of time before the poison takes me fully. The pain is easing though, that’s good. I was worried about the pain.