Penny lost balance and slipped down the interwoven branches, breaking some of them. Before she thought she would hit the ground, a strong pair of hands came and scooped her.
The moment the first one leapt at her, it was caught by its neck and thrown away. The remaining was killed ferociously as his claws penetrated their neck and he ripped their heads off their bodies. Penny watched the entire scene with so much horror in her eyes that she felt like puking. She scrambled away, her body getting covered with all the grit and began to run in the direction she was heading. She ran as fast as possible. She intended to be as far away as possible.
Ludwig was out of breath while exercising restraint. It had been a long time since he had slaked off. He refrained from it when he had pinned her beneath him, but now that she was this close to him, so quiet, her scent overwhelmed his sensations. “Zoe! Ah Gods!”
Penny hoped that he wouldn’t return early. The sound of water gurgling in the creek was inviting. She was very thirsty - her lips were dry and throat parched like a desert. Eager to drink water and wash the grit off her skin and hair, she stepped down the boulder and walked to the brook, removing the jacket along the way. She walked till the bank and put one leg in water. The water was so warm that she immediately put her second leg inside. The warm water swirled around her ankles and seemed to wash away her tensions. She bent down and drank water from her cupped hands and rinsed
Castle Alnor was perfect in every sense. An exquisite uncut gem, rough, yet strongly built just like its king, Ludwig.As he walked inside with Penny following him, th
Ludwig smiled. He had dressed in black pants and a white shirt. He had combed his freshly gelled hair back and looked regal. Quickly, he wore his boots and went out of his chamber to receive his betrothed.
But Zoe ignored his request. “After months and months of search you found a trail that would have finally led you to the Necklace of Dorza, a talisman so steeped with immeasurable power, and look what you did? You lost that chance, the only chance to retrieve it.” Fury rose in her chest. She picked up the vase from a side table and flung it to the ground. How could he do this? She was waiting for him to finish the mission and was dying to wear the necklace. The two hundred year old antique piece shattered just like that but Ludwig looked at it with nonchalance. “Don&r
At first Penny explored her new house. The place was bigger than her own place in the village. She wondered what the city must be like outside this kingdom. When she looked out from the window of her bedroom, she saw the black castle. Immediately, she drew the curtains out of hatred for him. He wanted her to be his slave, but Penny was looking for the first opportunity to escape.
“What?” he said in a disgusting tone. Angered he caught her wrist. How dare she suggest this solution? Wasn’t she a wee bit jealous to share her mate? “I am a male in my prime Zoe. Mind it, I may just take the offer. It’s either you are the human slave.”
The Royal Labor RoomCastle AlnorFive weeks laterPenny had felt the first constriction seven hours back. They were sleeping and Penny was very uncomfortable. She was sleeping on her back and wanted to turn towards Ludwig, but her tummy was so huge that turning to any side was an issue. Understanding her predicament, Ludwig turned to her and draped her in his arms. She nestled her face in his neck and went off to sleep. She woke up with a pain on the sides of her tummy. Clenching her teeth, she muffled her groan so that Ludwig wouldn’t wake up. He had been working non-stop with his kingdom’s vicegerents since the new year was approaching and they had assessed the economy and trade for levying taxes and allocating budgets. It was only after midnight that the man got to sleep.So she simply pressed her face in his neck
Ludwig looked at Tova and then at Penny. He held her hand and squeezed it lightly. “We have to let him go Penny…” They saw him getting up and going to the railing of the terrace where he leaned over and gazed into the night and beyond. Soft, chilly breeze carried the scent of roses.Ludwig turned his attention to Penny. He placed his hand to her heart and she gasped. Her heart was beating. What might have looked like a lewd gesture to the world was nothing but a constant reminder for him that she survived that day. She fought the battles and she was alive, not dead. Her beating heart was the proof that she didn’t lay there lifeless. Because that day Tova had said that she might die. He shuddered at the thought.He remembered how after bringing Nestefel, how very pale she looked. Ludwig was surprised that she was lying there with her eye
Desperate to get her back, he squeezed her tightly in her arms, too tightly. She whimpered.“Penny!” he sounded excited even at her whimper. That meant she responded to him. He wanted to embrace her tightly again in his arms, but he stopped himself because he knew that he would crush her. “My baby…” she called her back. “I can’t— I can’t—” he swallowed his saliva but he choked on his words. I can’t live without you—he meant to say.Darkness again.“It is the fourth day and she is still not awake!” Ludwig was shouting at Tova. “What kind of a healer are you?”Tova popped his ear and scowled at him. Not answering him, he looked at his thick journal
The tendrils of gray smoke whirled ferociously around her and they extended like whips. Penny walked towards Haley. A storm of ice and wind and debris swirled making it impossible for anyone to stand near her. She was consumed with so much hatred for the witch that she didn’t where it began—from the fact that she showed Zoe dreams of gaining Goddess-hood or from the fact that she made Zoe a tool for her means. And Zoe—she became a menace in their lives. Her ambitions surpassed her logic. She couldn’t think of anything beyond herself and the toxicity she threw towards her or at Ludwig was fed by this witch. Haley was the root of the menace, she was the root of all evil.The smoky tendrils lashed out.“Penny!” Brishor shouted when he saw her. “You must control!”
The gray tendrils coiled around her and whirled and whirled until she became invisible behind them. She thought she was being lifted and then suddenly she was falling… falling. She screamed. “Ludwig!”“NOOO!”Penny heard Haley shrieking with fury as she lunged at her. She could feel a tug at her dress. Was she dreaming? Where was the swirl taking her? Did she do right to ask to take her away? She didn’t even know the destination. She didn’t have the time to tell it to take her to Renada. The need to escape overpowered her rationality. As the darkness cleared, cold winds gusted around and slapped her cheeks and her body. She landed softly on something so cold that her body shuddered. When the tendril receded, she looked around. She whirled around on her hands and knees and saw that she was on ice—a vas
Penny sagged down the door. His head was in a tizzy. What just happened? She couldn’t wrap her mind around the events that took place. Haley told her that she was going to take her to Ludwig, instead she found herself in a bloody dark chamber. Terror added to her already hyper emotions. Bile rose in her throat.At first Penny couldn’t see properly in the darkness, but she adjusted her vision and realized that she was in a small cell, which was barely ten by ten feet. There wasn’t a single window in it. She was sitting over a hard concrete floor that was cold and damp. Her body shuddered. She played all the memories in her mind, which were concerned with Haley. She closed her eyes and kept thinking again and again as to where did the woman lack, or where was it that she left a loophole in making her think that she was a potent danger. And to her surprise, there wasn’t a thing w
“It’s getting late!” said one of the witches who was sitting right beside the first portal. “I have already given you fifteen minutes extra and I need to wrap this up!” She was too impatient to close the portal.The guard standing near the portal grunted at her. “You have taken a lot of money for this portal. It won’t harm you if you keep it open for another fifteen minutes. Can’t you see more soldiers are coming?”“Hey! Don’t talk to me like that. The deal was done and it was agreed that the portal would remain open for the money. Your king isn’t doing a charity, nor am I asking!” she said and got up from the log of wood she was perched on. Angrily, she walked into the portal and it shrank as soon as she left. The guard looked at her with fury and threw his spear at her b
Over the next four hours, Brishor had called his warriors whom he split into two. Ha’daz was ready with his soldiers on the northern side.The portals which Tova had bought from the witches of the black market, were supposed to stay open for four days. Lykae soldiers were employed on both the sides to make sure that no one except the army walked through them. Even the witches who had created the portals were standing over there, guarding them and keeping a watch on all.Knowing that Brishor’s dragons would take care of Maxim and his rogues, Ludwig concentrated on Keplin. His target was Zoe. If she fell, then Keplin would also weaken.“Why don’t you use the weapons I have crafted, Ludwig? I have been able to craft half of your order and it is waiting in the inventory,”
“Haley is a witch. She can open portals, Ludwig. And she is a good friend. I am sure she will help us,” said Penny with urgency in her voice. Over the days Haley had been extremely sweet and supportive to her. She had traveled in various realms and gathered cute things for Penny and her baby. Her gestures were warm.Ludwig narrowed his eyes. He looked away and scratched his chin. “I don’t think we need her help at the moment Penny. You just focus on getting Brishor here.”“I will do that,” she said. “But who has attacked us? And why? Is it Keplin?” Suddenly her skin was lined with goose bumps and she thought air whooshed out of her lungs. What if Zoe was also with Keplin?Ludwig didn’t want to give her the details. “Don’t worry