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Chapter 35
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2024-10-29 19:42:56A cool breeze blew through the windows of the castle making hollow sounds along the walls. The night was not cold, it was just pleasantly cool enough that all the occupants of the palace, except the guards, were fast asleep. The night was dark and there was no moon to cast its light against the stone walls. The only sounds heard were the dogs sniffing out rats in the kitchen and the rustle of dried leaves on the stone floors. Even though the night was peaceful sleep of Barigo was anything but peaceful. In his bed, he tossed and turned beneath the large embroidered fur covers as his dreams haunted him. It was a dream he had many nights and those dreams were the reason he had ordered that Merea sleeps in the room down the halls away from him to prevent her from hearing the sounds of his groans and scream.
He clutched the sheets of his bed as though he was drowning but in truth, that action was a reenactment of how his brother has died at his hands. He could see himself holding
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The seer offered Barigo a stool to sit on. The seer’s house was simple, just a small space with a sleeping pallet, above the pallet, was a small collection of clothes hanging on hooks, a small earthen stove was built into the wall, there was a washbasin at a corner of the room where he washed before going to the temples for consultations. Lastly, at the center of the room was a fire that caused the smoke. Barigo sat beside the flame and buried his head in his hands as his dreams still haunted him. This was not the first time he had the dream nor the second but never once in his dream had Jumi or Merea or even Herentik and Phoenix appeared in his dream. When he raised his head he saw that the seer was watching him through bushy eyebrows. “I need your help, seer, if you keep holding the past against me I fear I may have no one else to run to.” The seer took a stool for himself. “I don’t see how I can be if any use to a murderer.” Barigo hit his thigh wi
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The sun was high in the sky but the wind that blew was cool and it successfully reduced the intensity of the sun on her skin. Phoenix was aware that from where Basten sat, watching her hang the queen’s clothes to dry he was seething at her refusal of his help. He could not understand why she refused to let him do any of her house chores for her. He was always careful not to allow any of the other servants to see him but Phoenix was still worried that one day one of the servants would see them talking and separate them and may even forbid them from seeing each other again. Phoenix did not want that to happen, he was her only friend, after all, the only one she could trust. He had come in that morning with the promise of teaching her how to handle a sword and dagger around anyone who wants to assault her. The previous day he had taught her how to balance the sword and what stance would make it easier for her to handle the weight of it. She was a fast learner and was already looking fo
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“Who says there is nothing to fear?” One of the boys scoffed. He came out of the water. He wore nothing but his loincloths that was wrapped loosely around his waist. “This is our fishing spot which means you will have to find somewhere else to fish.” He saw Phoenix coming out from behind the trees and a wolfish smile appeared on his lips. He hit his companion who was still beneath the water oblivious to what was going on lightly on the shoulder. “He brought his poulus back,” he laughed. Basten raised his sword and approached him again with the tip of his sword aimed at his neck. “I have told you, she is not a poulus.” The boy's eyes widened as the cold metal of the sword pressed against his skin. But his companion was not so intimidated, he moved quickly and was back with a dagger that was angled at Basten’s throat. “If you harm my brother I will slit your throat,” he said in a cold voice. Phoenix ran down the bank of the stream and drew her own sword
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Phoenix was amazed at how easy it was for Basten to talk with the brothers. Both Teo and Dan had been on guard when she and Basten first appeared at the stream but now they were on their backs exchanging tales of their mischiefs as boys. Teo’s shoulders were relaxed now as his suspicion of her and Basten reduced, he even regarded her with more respect. Dan was more trusting of the two, after all, he had not shown any aggression when Teo had touched her at the King’s Seat. He was even more reserved than his brother. Once they were done sharing the fishes Dan scattered the fire pit and arranged the tools they had been using to fish. “What do you intend to do with the rest of the fish?” “We hope to sell them in the market this evening. Hopefully, it would fetch us some money for the rest of the week.” Basten stood up and dusted himself free of leaves and sand. The sun was already setting behind the clouds. Somehow they had lost track of time in between bites of
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Her words failed her. She stood at the threshold of the room hoping the image of him would vaporize and she would find out that it was only her imagination that conjured him there. But when he reached for a lamp and turned it on to illuminate the room she knew he wasn’t just a fragment of her imagination. Her father, king Barigo of Eyrotia was indeed sitting on her bed. If she wasn’t so afraid of him she would notice that his expression was not one of anger, rather he was trying not to show too much concern. Since his visit to the seer, he found himself questioning his actions towards her. If the seer claimed that she was not to bring retribution on him then she was not his enemy. Her only crime was being born in the first place, she didn’t deserve to be treated cruelly for that. As he waited for her to show up in her room all evening fought with his conscience, and his conscience told him that Herentik would not have been happy with how he was treating her child. For whatev
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In Mount Kpamos Helena, locked in Robos’ dungeon struggled to breathe. Her wounds were not healing quick enough and this was because Robos had applied the Mekai, a golden liquid substance that was known to kill gods if it was stabbed into their hearts. But he had only applied a small amount to her injuries making it impossible to heal quickly, it was his demented way of punishing her. She squeezed her eyes in pain as the broken bones of her wrists merged slowly. Tears fell down her cheeks but her heart and mind was set; she would not reveal the whereabouts of her children. If they were destined to destroy the gods then she’ll happily die in the hands of her children so long as they lived. Her body may be broken but her spirit was not. I hope Demeus is holding on as well as I am, she thought. Memories of the day they both revealed themselves to each other came rushing into her mind. Weeks after leaving Eyrotia for Mount Kpamos she found out that she was pregna
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Demeus’ heart dropped, he felt a physical pain in his chest as the news hit him. How could this be? Surely she was lying, there was no way she could be a goddess. He couldn’t feel any current of powers from her but then again he had concealed his powers so that would make it impossible for him to feel powers from another god. “H-Helena…” he started. Helena who had completely misread his silence clutched his hands tighter. “I don’t care that you are human, Ramus. I don’t care about that, I love you.” Demeus stared speechless at her. Her eyes were hidden by the darkness that was beginning to form, the night was drawing near. In a stunned silence he stood up and lit the fire and two lamps in the room to illuminate the space. “Ramus I do not want to impose anything on you…” “My name is not Ramus,” he said in a low voice. His head was bowed. “What…?” Helena stood up, she intended to walk towards him in case she had not heard him cor
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A guard stood by the door of Barigo’s room with his hand on his sword. He bowed in respect. “The priest is here your majesty.” Earlier in the day one of the priests of the temple had sent a messenger to bring news to him; if Eyrotia needed help conquering the nations around her then the gods would help but they had just one request. The messenger could not say what the request was, his only duty was to bring the message to the king and after he left Barigo sent for a priest for clarification of the message. Barigo glanced at the guard and waved a dismissive hand. He let his servant tie the knots of his robe then went to his throne room where the priest was waiting. The priest was a middle-aged man, tall and slim with deep-set eyes. He bowed as Barigo passed by him raising his scepter as a sign of peace. Barigo sat on the gilded chair that was set on the dais. Without wasting any time he asked, “What is it that the gods demand?” “The goddess of the ear
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Cursed by the Gods: Rise of Phoenix Author note
So I didn't want to make this book long. I hate writing long books! So I have decided to stop Phoenix' story here. Book 3 will be coming out soon but it might take a while because I am literally exhausted. I know there are a lot of lose ends in both Phoenix and Cleopoda's books but those lose ends will be tied in the third book since that's the final book in the series. I really feel like hiring a ghostwriter at this point because my arms and creative juices are screaming for help. Hehe. But I'll write the third book soon. Till then...adios
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The crowd of people watched withdrawn breathes as Goyre mounted the podium. Basten was on his knees on the podium facing the crowd. At the edge of the execution field, his mother cried and wailed, pleading with the goddess. “My son is innocent!” She cried. “He was bewitched by the cursed princess.” Rudo held her back, his eyes blazing with hate for Merea. How did he let himself become manipulated in her web of lies and deceit in her eagerness to assume the most powerful seat of Eyrotia? How he was sacrificing his son because she declared him an obstacle to her plans. He remembered her words. “Sacrifices need to be made.” He was paying the biggest price for being on her side. Goyre fashioned a sword from her metal gown and held it over Basten’s head. She looked at the crowd gathered. “This is a lesson to everyone who stands against queen Merea. And to anyone who chooses to betray me.” She raised the sword, it caught the sun on its shiny surface. As she
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Goyre stared in horror at the realization of her terrible mistake. If she had doubts about Phoenix’s godhood before, they were gone as soon as she realized that Phoenix’s blood was the one ingredient needed to create the superhumans Uruel was obsessed with. By ingesting her blood the wolves now shared 1/8th of her powers. The fact that they had transformed into her likeness also meant that they shared her image too. Furious with herself for her mistake Goyre locked the courtyard door and headed for Eyrotia. If she could not hurt Phoenix now that her anger was still fresh then she would hurt her some other way. Merea was getting ready for the public execution of Phoenix and Basten when Goyre appeared to her. “My lady.” Goyre scoffed at her pretentious submissiveness. “The time has come for you to give the blood sacrifice I demanded in fulfillment of our agreement. Life for my help with your ambitions.” Even though the agreement had been a farce on Goyr
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“What do you mean my son is arrested for treason?!” Rudo demanded. Merea walked away from him. She had ordered the guards to throw Basten and Phoenix in the dungeon and sent some other soldiers out to look for Teo, Dan and Styx. Rudo hastened his footsteps to match hers. “It pains me to say this but your son was found with Barigo’s precious daughter,” she spat with malice. “And it seems that she has bewitched your son like she did the king. They were planning to disband from the army, it may also please you to know that it is rumored that Phoenix and her band of friends seek to overthrow the king and install her as queen even before his demise.” “Does the king know about this?” Merea stopped walking, turned to him and smiled. “He does, and he has given me the freedom to do as I like with them. The king is on my side, are you Rudo?” He looked down at the ring she twisted between her thumb and index finger. He understood her question, in fact, h
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She was served food and wine but she could barely eat a bite, not when her hands and feet were bound. And she couldn’t have stomached any food if she tried. Not when she kept thinking about Uruel’s betrayal. Was this his plan all along? To lure the soldiers of Eyrotia out so that he could easily conquer the nation? Was the marriage announcement just a farce? Were the men of Eyrotia dead already? Basten? Teo and Dan? Styx? “You have not eaten your majesty, you must be hungry after my men hauled you from Uromi.” “Where am I?” The spokesman for the men, the one who had first spoken to her where she was taken to the room, replied her. “Your mistrust of us is very disheartening, your highness, considering the fact that we are your soon-to-be subjects. You are in safe hands, we have orders to keep you safe and well-fed, if anything happens to you we will be killed.” “Something will happen to me if someone doesn’t explain what is going on here,” she said thr
Cursed by the Gods: Rise of Phoenix Chapter 67
She fought against the stronghold on her hands. Something was sliding along her legs, soon she felt something stronger hold her legs and hands together. How had she or any of the other soldiers lost guard? They were supposed to have at least sensed the invaders! One moment she was looking at the bodies of the soldiers tied upside down and the next moment a strong hand was clamped so tight around her mouth that her screams were stifled. She saw with horror the ruthlessness of the invaders, how easy it was for them to slit the throats of the men nearest her. When they dragged her away she couldn’t see Basten or Teo and Dan but the men of Eyrotia were already aware of the attack at this moment and were fighting back. None of them even knew that she had been dragged off. After all, she wasn’t of any importance to the army or any of the men there. Would Basten know she was missing? Was he dead? Dread seized her heart at the horrifying thought. Suddenly the men’s transport
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The cry of anguish rang throughout the entire kingdom. It was barely dawn when the disaster struck. The outer villages were burnt down to the ground. Men, women, children and animals, were all killed. More than that, the soldiers who had been stationed in Uromi to occupy the land for the king were killed. A messenger came running in the early hours of the morning, bloody and tattered on a tired horse. He told a sickening tale of slaughtered men. According to his accounts, the men were sleeping when a group of men dressed in clothes as dark as the night showed up and quietly slit the throats of the soldiers of Eyrotia. He had seen this on his way back from the woods where he went to relieve himself. The attacks on the outer villages were described in the same way; men dressed in black snuck in and killed everyone before burning the villages completely. “Who could have done this?” was the question on the lips of everyone. “It could be the men of Uromi seeking to take r
Cursed by the Gods: Rise of Phoenix Chapter 65
Phoenix stared up at the elegantly carved ceiling. There was a cold cloth pressed to her head. The servant taking care of her worked silently as she pressed the wet cloth against her forehead, returned it to the bowl of ice-cold water to wet it again but to Phoenix it felt as though every move she made was amplified by some strange powers in a hundred folds. The image of Uruel standing in the room donned in his armor after the brilliant light he had caused dimmed was imprinted in her memory. She remembered how her breath completely stopped from the shocks of one night. What was Uruel doing here and why had the king said he had intentions of marrying her? Surely there must be some sort of mistake, she thought. She started to rise but the maid held her down gently. “You must stay down, princess.” The word Princess was beginning to grit her nerves! She didn’t want to stay down, she wanted to stand up and find answers to the sudden events. “What time is i
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Two days later it was announced that the king was throwing a huge feast to celebrate the capture of Uromi. In their honor a two-week celebration was announced, the celebration of the festival of Fists which was supposed to be at the near end of the year was moved up to honor their bravery. There was much to be done, a lot of preparations to be made but first, there was something important going on in the royal house. The third day after the soldiers returned Barigo invited the nobles for a small celebratory dinner and a special announcement. Phoenix dressed in the white gown trimmed with red thread at the hem Goyre had gifted her with along with the one of hold thread hemming the edge and the white slippers which she wore Patry had given her when she left the pantheon. The bright color of the dress set off the color of her eyes and hair. She was securing her veil over her hair which she packed high on her head when the door to her room opened. She turned arou
