Chapter 87: Take It Or Leave It
"Beautiful." Anders whispered to himself.
He turned to Lars, who stood to the side with his usual blank expression. "Did you see that?!" He cried out.
The rain began slowing to a stop as he burst into laughter, his eyes twinkling in delight. "That was beautiful!" He crowed. "The power! The destruction! The everything! Beyond beautiful!"
He turned back to stare at the destruction in the distance, watching as his soldiers escorted Lilith away.
"She did something. Something we couldn’t see. And she saved her fiance!" He turned back to Lars. "Can you imagine?! The power to bring someone back to life! Beautiful!"
"I was right." A voice rang out, interrupting him. Anders turned to Octavian who stood with his arms crossed, staring at Lilith and the soldiers as they made their way back to the palace.
Anders had invited the Underwood heir to watch the show with him. The three of them stood on a rooftop at one of the higher tiers, watching everything from a few streets away.
The owners of this particular house were currently in the palace, enjoying Anders’ hospitality.
Together, Anders, Octavian, and Lars, had watched as the Butcher had killed Ren and in turn, had been killed by Lilith. Which was why Anders was currently confused. "What do you mean?" He asked.
"I was right." Octavian repeated. "Lilith is weak. What I see here today possesses not a single ounce of control or discipline. She’s a disgrace to the Underwood family name."
"I disagree." Anders chuckled. "You’re too blinded by your… bias, Octavian, that you refuse to see past your own nose."
Octavian frowned.
"Are you offended?" Anders smirked, turning fully to face Octavian. "Then take a swing at me. Attack me. But know that if you allow your pride to rule over you, you’re even worse than you think Lilith is."
He turned back to the view of the crater, watching as the two guards, one of them carrying Ren’s body, began their trek to the Underwood manor.
"You think Lilith had no control or discipline? I disagree." Anders said. "She might have used an attack that destroyed the whole street but the attack itself was perfectly controlled. No, she didn’t destroy the street because she didn’t have control. She destroyed it because she was angry."
"And as for discipline, the fact that the palace soldiers are not yet dead is enough to confirm that she has enough of both discipline to control her emotions. She wants to be with her fiance but is complying with authority. She has more discipline in her pinky than some Knights."
There was a few seconds of silence before Octavian chuckled. Anders turned to him as the chuckle turned into a full blown laugh.
He stood there, an amused smile on his lips as he waited for Octavian to get the laughter out of his system.
"You call that control?!" Octavian asked. He chuckled a few more times before turning serious. "The next time her fiance scabs his toe, who knows what she’ll destroy again? The whole city?"
He scoffed. "I don’t care what you think, Penny Prince. I hired you for a reason. Now do it. Kill Lilith. She is of no use to me."
Octavian turned to leave but was stopped by Anders’ voice. "That’s unfortunate, Octavian. Because she serves more purpose to me alive than dead."
Octavian paused, before slowly turning to look at Anders. His eyes were cold and hard, his fists clenched beside him. "What?" He said, voice low and dangerous.
"You heard me." Anders said confidently, even as Lars prepared himself, hand already on his weapon. "I won’t be killing Lilith."
"We had a deal." Octavian hissed.
"A deal that has been completed." Anders replied. "You hired Fuchsia in order to send an assassin after Lilith. An assassin that you never expected to be able to kill her."
"Remember your own words? You knew the assassin would fail. You only wanted to know if she could still be controlled by you."
Anders stepped forward until he was in front of Octavian, tilted his head and held his gaze. "The deal is over, Octavian. I sent an assassin like you requested. We never had an agreement on whether Fuchsia had to finish the job after."
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There was silence as Octavian glared at Anders. His jaw clenched, and for a moment, Anders was looking forward to Octavian’s attack.
Then, the man nodded. "I see."
Anders stepped back with a chuckle. "I thought you were gonna attack me. You’re no fun."
Lars still kept his hand on his weapon, watching Octavian like a hawk.
"Anyways," Anders said, "if you want Lilith dead, you’ll need another deal."
Octavian stepped forward confidently. "What do you want?"
"The king." Anders stared at Octavian, his expression serious. "I want the king."
"What?" Octavian’s eye twitched.
"An eye for an eye, a life for a life." Anders said. "Assassinate the king and I’ll kill Lilith."
Octavian stood there like a statue, staring at Anders. "No."
"No? I think you’ve forgotten that I have Lilith in my hands, Octavian." Anders smirked, turning back to look at the destroyed street. "If you don’t take this deal, I’ll use her."
"Whatever shred of control you think she doesn’t have, I’ll fashion it to my will. I’ll turn her against the Underwood family and arm her with enough resources to make an army choke in fear."
Then, he turned to Octavian, a dark smile on his face. "Then, I’ll let her lose on the Underwood family. I’ll turn her into the beast you’ve always feared she was. It wouldn’t be that hard, would it? You know that as well as I do."
"Yes, you might be able to kill her. But not before she destroys everything that makes you so proud. And if she doesn’t finish the job, I’ll do the rest myself. I’ll bring down the wrath of Albion and erase the Underwood name from the kingdom."
"That’s your option, Underwood. Kill the king or lose everything that belongs to you."
Octavian said nothing, staring at the smug smile on Anders’ face. His hand curled into fists and uncurled as he took a deep breath.
"If you’re confident in your ability to get away with it, strike me down now, Octavian." Anders stretched his arms out like he was giving access to his body. "Strike me down if you dare."
Octavian wasn’t stupid. He knew he was strong. He also knew he could kill Anders. But Anders had an artifact that would let him leave. Something that would let him go toe to toe or even escape Octavian’s grasp.
If he attacked, he wouldn’t be able to kill him.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He spoke through gritted teeth. "Are you sure you want to threaten me like this, Anders?"
"You finally called me by my name." Anders chuckled. "And yes, I’m sure. This is the deal, Octavian. Take it or leave it."
Octavian glared with a clenched jaw for half a minute before he exhaled. "The name really does fit you, Penny Prince." He spat. "I get to risk everything I have but my reward is a penny."
"So, you’ll do it?" Anders asked.
"I will." Octavian said through gritted teeth.
"Good." Anders clapped. "Oh, and one more thing."
Octavian raised a brow.
"Whatever you do, do not touch Terence Ross." Anders grinned. "Don’t go to the Underwood manor. Keep ignoring them like you’ve always done."
"That kid is way too interesting to be snuffed out by you."
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