IV || my regret

LOCATION UNKNOWN
Day 6

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"Iva, where have you gone to while you're asleep?"

"Nowhere," I lied blatantly but Pelleas was not going to let me off so easily. A corner of his lips tipped up into a sinister smile and he pointed towards the bouquet of asphodel in my hand while raising his brows in amusement. I only gripped harder onto the stalks, almost bending those ghostly flowers out of shape.

Pelleas stood from where he sat and bunched onto the blankets covering me. When he threw it aside to reveal my dust-covered feet, he questioned, "Interesting, isn't it? It seemed like you paid a visit to Persephone's Garden?"

I jolted up to a sitting position and shuffled towards the corner of the bed when Pelleas neared, he got so close that our noses were almost touching. Those ocean blue eyes bore through mine, and I felt weird all of a sudden — lightheaded and unsure. Pelleas asked again, "Tell me, how did you do that?"

"I just—" I was about to say something but quickly shook off the feeling when I realised that he was using a mind spell on me. Fighting against him, I forced my gaze away from him and pushed my leg in an attempt to kick him. That would've been a brutal kick if not for his insane reflexes to catch my leg and threw them aside. Then, he caught the side of my face against his palm and crashed it against the panel above the headboard.

The Titan spat, "I can be nice, but my patience is wearing extremely thin with you, darling. Answer the damned question."

"You promised that you won't hurt her." A familiar voice that disgusted me sounded from the opened door.

Pelleas only exhaled a dry laugh, "Did you see me hurting her, Sebastian? She would've pulverised into nonexistence if I wanted her gone."

"Let go of her," Sebastian said again, as though he had the power to command Pelleas.

To my utter surprise, Pelleas really released his hold of me and warned, "Sebastian, boy, you're only pardoned because you're useful to me. Talk to me as such again and we'll see what happens to you."

"My loyalty is exchanged with kept promises. The deal is gone if you were to go against your words," Sebastian responded curtly.

Without any more words, Pelleas left the ward and all that was left was a poisonous mix of toxic fury and vile vehemence. My back remained facing Sebastian as I couldn't face him without wanting to slit his throat open and take his life in exchange for the disappointment that crawled and gnawed beneath my skin. He dared to call my name, my birth name, "Isabel."

When a felt a hand neared my shoulder, I flinched and spoke through gritted teeth, "Touch me and I can't promise I won't kill you."

Sebastian ignored my warning and landed his hand on my shoulder. The anger rose so quickly within my chest, and I went feral. Pushing the glass of water from the bedside cabinet, it fell to the ground and shattered with a deafening crash. 

I disregarded the shards that littered the ground nor the piercing edges of the glass as I gripped onto the sharpest piece I could find and swung it at Sebastian. I didn't have much strength in me, so everything that powered my limbs was my sheer will to bring this heartless, ungrateful scum down. 

He veered to the side to avoid my strike, but I was a determined hunter. The broken chips from the glass pierced through my bare feet but I didn't care about the pain, I was too dull to realise that sensation. Scarlet smeared across the ground and filled the room with the pungent metallic stench — just like how all my senses were painted red.

"Iva!" Sebastian shouted my name, but I wouldn't stop.

The guilt that scorched my insides wouldn't allow me to stop. All those grievances burned into anger and violent tendencies. I was no longer the Iva he knew because that tender-hearted, soft girl had died with him five years ago. 

Tackling him from the side, he fell onto the ground as I straddled him and pointed the sharp end against the tender skin of his neck. He gripped hard onto my wrist and prevented me from piercing right through his skin. I forced against his strength, and he snapped. Flipping me around, he overpowered me, and my back was against the ground while smaller shards of glass pierced through my back, and I coughed out in pain.

The kindness in those dark brown eyes vanished in an instant, anger danced within them so dangerously when he swung his palm into the right side of my face. The back of my head impacted the ground, forcing a grimace from me. In all the years I ever knew Sebastian, he had not once flared up at me, but it was all different now. 

Sebastian held crushingly onto my jaw and shouted, "Wake the fuck up, Isabel! How long are you going to take to understand that being here is better than in Elysium? Don't only regret when you lose your life for people that aren't worth it!"

I jerked my shoulder, trying to free myself from his hold but he had pressed onto me with his full weight, and I couldn't fight back in my state. The stung from his hit heated like the boiling rage simmering within me, I spoke icily, "My only regret is you, Henry."

My constant provocation would never work in my favour because the next thing I knew, his hand moved to grasp onto my throat tightly, throttling me. My hands shot up reflexively, trying to pull his hands off but I didn't have the strength in me to win over him and neither do I have the will to — at this point, maybe I really wished the taste of oblivion.

My body struggled helplessly underneath him, and my legs kicked when my lungs started to ache from the lack of air and black spots appeared in my vision.

A sudden slam to the doors and Sebastian's weight was lifted off me immediately. I heaved and coughed as I inhaled sharply. My lungs hurt from the sudden influx of air supply and my limbs were too weak to even move. My vision blurred and I couldn't make out the people who held Sebastian back from killing me. At this point, I laughed out dryly and said hoarsely, "Don't you know that if he ends me, it will also end my misery?" 

"You can't die, not now." A lady's voice sounded as she cupped her palms on my cheeks to check on me. I couldn't make out her face, but the shade of her eyes and her hair looked incredibly familiar. 

Honey-brown.

Struggling with the last bit of consciousness, I mumbled weakly, "Thea?"

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I lost consciousness far too often in this wretched place.

The next moment my eyes peeled themselves open, I recognised the person who entered my room for the colour of her eyes and hair resembled so much to the child I adored with the whole of my heart. Except that, I didn't share the same merriment meeting this lady right ahead of me. She walked close and lowered her voice as she said, "Looks like you recognise me."

"Of course, I do," I nearly couldn't hold my voice down as I tightened my hands into fists and my muscles clenched to the point of snapping the veins in my arms. I added, "You have to also understand how much my hatred urged to crawl out of my fucking skin and murder you in this instance."

"Iva, what you see may not always be what it is," she responded, impassive. "And I'm not obliged to answer to you."

"Well, Olivia," I scoffed. "I'm sure you had some explanations to do to your five-year-old."

At that mention, her grip tightened painfully on my bruised shoulder, and it forced out an audible wince from me. Olivia was looking at me with genuine fear reflected in her honey-brown eyes and her face paled. Her voice hardened and I noticed how her lips trembled when she pleaded, "Don't tell me that she's brought into Elysium. Please, Iva, please tell me that Estelle is not there—"

"Why do you care?" I retorted, testing her with my resentment as I pitied the poor child who had lived under the knowledge that her parents were up above watching over her when in fact, they were in this wretched place together with beings that belonged in the fiery pits of hell.

"Iva!" Olivia breathed harshly, shaking violently on my shoulders as she demanded an answer from me.

I hated to witness the helplessness and desperation this lady was reacting to my words as though she genuinely cared for Thea. She also called Thea as Estelle, which meant that she had named her before they disappeared from her life. But if they had loved the child, why did they leave her and come to this place? 

If this place was much better than Elysium, why hadn't they brought her here?

"Let's make a deal, Olivia," I dared. "If you would help me, I'll tell you everything about Thea."

"Fine," Olivia spoke through gritted teeth.

"Find my locket necklace and my bracelet for me."

"That's all?"

"Well, of course, if you could get me out of here then thank fucking you," I rolled my eyes and exhaled sarcastically.

"Both of your things are with Isaiah," Olivia mentioned. "I'll get them for you, or I'll get him to return them to you personally."

"What—" I let out a ridiculous laugh. "You guys are out to surprise me, aren't you all? Every goddamned person is here! If you might as well tell Thea's father to also be here so that I could shame you pair of disappointing parents altogether."

"Rhys isn't here," Olivia said in a dangerously low voice. "I've already told you that what you see may not always be what it is. As for Isaiah, I'll let him explain everything about himself to you."

Just then, the door behind clicked opened and Pelleas appeared right through. He mentioned, "Seems like Olivia fits your taste, darling? You didn't chase her away, in the same manner, you did for every other attendant?"

I faked an expression of disgust as I pushed her away forcefully and laughed mirthlessly towards the Titan, "Really? I reckon that Olivia won't last two days with me, considering how annoying I had been to everyone in this darned place."

"Nope, you wouldn't last one day with her because you're coming with us," Pelleas laughed.

I felt fear travelling up my veins, but I made sure it never made it to my face. I knew that my complexion was paling, but my eyes remained steadily fixed on the Titan. His ocean blue eyes flecked with amusement and when he moved closer into the room, two other men followed behind him. At first glance, I knew my legs had started to tremble beneath the thin blanket which did nothing to provide me with warmth. One of them looked towards me with his pale gold eyes and asked, "Brother, this is the girl?"

"Definitely, my brothers. Come close and meet the precious one I've captured," Pelleas smirked. "She's the one who will banish the twelve up above and overthrow the rest down below. Am I right, Diavgís?"

"Who the hell are you calling?" I shuddered.

"You, my darling," Pelleas smiled sinisterly. "You are the Goddess of Dreams and the beloved daughter of Morpheus, aren't you?"

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