CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVESERAFINAAs my eyelids fluttered open, I was immediately greeted by a throbbing ache in my head. The sharp pain pulsed through my temples, as if a thousand drums were beating a chaotic rhythm inside my skull. I winced, trying to orient myself in the dimly lit surroundings.As my eyes adjusted to the gloom, I realized that I was no longer in the arena, surrounded by the prying eyes of the other slaves. Instead, I found myself confined within the confines of a small, dank cell. The putrid stench of dampness and decay hung heavy in the air, assaulting my senses and making my stomach churn.I shifted my gaze downwards, my heart sinking as I caught sight of my peled knees. The wounds that had been inflicted upon them during my agonizing crawl were far worse than I had imagined. Deep, raw gashes crisscrossed the delicate skin, oozing a mixture of blood and dirt. The sight alone made bile rise in my throat, threatening to escape in a wave of nausea.The pain that radiat
SERAFINA Dahlia rolled her eyes at my promise, "You always tell me you'd stay out of trouble, Serafina, but the next moment you're diving into a wildfire of trouble!" The old woman remarked, her hands clipped to the sides of her waist. I chuckled as I chewed on the bread, "I give you my word this time, I'll stay out of trouble." I spoke, lowering my eyes to my badly bruised knees and my smile faltered, fizzling away as my lips spread into a thin line. "I promise." I added, conceiving within my heart that I would avoid anything that would grant me such pain in this palace. "Alright, princess. I'll take your word for it." She said, prompting on a small smile and giving me a pat on the shoulder. "You should eat up quickly. I have a surprise for you." She added, her smile broadening into a cheeky grin. It was contagious and I found out I was grinning in anticipation as well, "What's it about, Dahlia?" I asked. Nothing interesting ever happened in the palace—well, to me that is—so I wa
SERAFINA "Alright now, Serafina, let's leave this place." Dahlia said as she turned, facing the metal bars as she pushed them open. I followed behind her, the tray of empty plates in my hands. She paused, crinkling her nose in disgust. "It stinks in here.” She remarked and pinched shut her nose, I chuckled in response as I trailed after her. The place did indeed smell, but it was the prisons – of course it would smell. I paid no attention to the smell as shortly after, we were already out of the cells and walking down the hallway in the direction of Dahlia's room. Again, she led the path as she hummed a tune and I was left in my thoughts. What exactly did she have in store for me? I was promised a life of torment and hell in this palace, so having 'surprises' given to me was what I least expected. Could it be from Zahir? I immediately mentally face–palmed myself at that time thought; what would make Zahir want to give me a gift? He practically hated my existence. Although, I
SERAFINA"Prince Arie sent me a letter?" I asked, rising from the stool as I wasn't able to believe what my eyes had just seen. I looked at the inked inscription on top of the scroll – it was from Prince Arie. I was seeing correctly. I took a step further to Dahlia, "H–how were you able to — how was he able to get the letter to you? Did the King allow him to send letters to me? I–i don't even know what to say." I rambled out the series of confused questions and all Dahlia did was laugh, I arched my brows in confusion as I wondered what was so amusing to her. "Calm down now, Serafina. I'll explain. Just sit down and don't get too anxious." She said, her laugh calming down to just a chuckle. I did as she said and sat down, the lrtter still clutched in my hand. "Alright, you're lucky I was the one who received this letter. Should I not have been at the gates early this morning and another person recieved this, you would have never gotten it." She stated. "The King has a strong policy
SERAFINAHow could I possibly sneak out of the now extremely, heavily guarded palace to meet him in Everleaf Forest?I tried to visualize a plan, but the more I thought about it, the more daunting it became. The guards were on high alert, ever watchful for any sign of mischief or escape. The odds were stacked against me, and any attempt to escape would surely lead to my capture and even harsher punishments. But that doesn't mean I had given up on meeting Prince Arie. I would just find another way, but how? "Serafina? Are you here?" Dahlia's voice came in, knocking me out of my thoughts and I slightly shook them away, now facing her with a small smile. "Yes, I am. I spaced out for a moment there. I am kind of tired." I said, not entirely a lie. "Oh, I see. You should go on and rest then, you can have the rest of the day to rest. But tomorrow you have to be at the King's chambers earnest. Is that okay?" Dahlia said and I nodded in affirm, a grateful smile parting my lips. This would
SERAFINA I ran back to my quarters with excitement bubbling in my heart and I immediately laid down at my corner, a big smile laced on my lips. I couldn't wait to meet Prince Arie after all this while. I never thought I'd be THIS happy to see the man I had loathed the idea of marrying all my life. Prince Arie didn't have a problem actually, he was nice and loving to me. But I couldn't bring myself to ever love him. It was the prospect of getting married to a man that I didn't love that scared me the most. But now, getting to see a familiar face from home amidst all of the trouble I faced her was a fresh breath. I couldn't wait. I decided to sleep off at the spot, firstly, the slaves would soon be done with their duties and be back to the quarters. I didn't want to have any interaction with anyone and I knew they would be surprised to see me back and would want to bombard me with questions, I wasn't ready to speak to anyone. And to be quite sincere, I was still a bit sad about
ZAHIRAs I prowled through the dense forest, my senses heightened by the presence of an intruder, I caught sight of a figure frozen in surprise. Moonlight bathed her features, revealing the unmistakable face of Serafina. My heart skipped a beat, torn between fury and surprise."What are you doing here?" I demanded, my voice rumbling with a blend of anger and concern. She stood before me, her eyes wide with shock, her trembling lips struggling to form a coherent response."I... I came for sightseeing," she stammered, her voice unsteady. Her words were laced with an attempt to deceive me, but her unease betrayed her true intentions.I observed her carefully, maintaining my disguise as a cloaked figure. It was not the time nor the place to reveal my true identity.A veil of amusement masked my true emotions as I replied, my voice dripping with faux concern, "Sightseeing? In this forbidden forest? You must be careful, remember what happened the last time. Thist is a dangerous place."Sera
ZAHIRAs I stood there, my eyes fixed on Serafina's diminishing figure, a tumultuous storm raged within me. The scent of the human on het still lingered in the air, a constant reminder of the deception that had unfolded before me. It was evident, even to my perceptive senses, that she had been lying—her feeble attempt at deception falling short. She was a terrible liar. Why would she venture into the forest to meet with a human slave? That was utter crap. She was lying. So now, more importantly, who was the true recipient of her encounters? The questions echoed within my mind, demanding answers that remained just out of reach. I knew Serafina well enough to discern that she possessed neither a human female friend nor a genuine reason to meet with one. She had no friends in this Kingdom, when did she even have the chance to make one?She was a blatant liar. Her attempt to mislead me only served to deepen the mystery, and a surge of frustration coursed through my veins. What hidden
Yes, the book has come to and end! God, it fills me with so much joy to have finally give. This book a befitting ending☺️ I would like to say a big thank you to my readers for putting up with me and still sticking around to read my book. Special shout outs readers with the names Pab, Debra LeBaron Mixer and Chanlin Davies! Y’all are the real MVPs who also almost made me cry whenever I didn’t update and I read your comments, lol. Although I understand that it all came from a place of love for my book and I am so grateful! Thank you so much for coming on this journey with Zahir and Serafina! Now, I know some commonly asked questions. Will there be bonus chapters? Well, I’m thinking about but chances are…I won’t, lol because it will be a huge spoiler for the next book. Yes, the heard right, the next book!☺️In case you haven’t noticed, our dearest human and Lycan couple are having the first hybrid! You did not also forget the prophecy too, did you? Haha😅Well, writing the next book s
ZAHIR It was still dusk and the first morning light was yet to appear. The silence was deafening and I was sure that if I screamed, my voice was going to ring around the whole of Lycaronia. I was relieved. So relieved that everyone was able to escape. I had watched Serafina leave with King Zach and Dahlia in the carriage, not calming down until I got information that they were out of the boundaries. It was just me. Even Steven had left with the others. I had ridden him with the duty of taking care of everything until my return, if it ever happened. But I knew I had to end this once and for all so I stayed back and waited for the Prince to arrive. He was going to meet the shock of his life. I mounted my horse and rode to the eastern part of the boundary as King Zach instructed. According to him, he was going to be coming in through that direction. So I waited on my horse, rage boiling through me when I heard the sound of heavy hooves beating and drawing close to the b
ZAHIR. Several men were stationed in different parts of the border. In less than an hour, the human army had filled the whole place, coming with horses, chariots and carriages. They all helped in informing people. They went from house to house, warning the people about an impending attack while the others helped in the evacuation. Some families left with their vehicles while some were helped into carriages and transported to different Kingdoms. It was safer that way. This went on for several hours nonstop but this didn't eradicate the panic that filled my soul. I remained restless, making enquiries on how things were going on functional posts. I was assured not to worry by Steven. "Where are they being evacuated to though?" Steven asked when he returned from his inspector to give me details of what was happening. "They would have to stay in the Kingdoms for the main time. It's the only option we have because Aries is probably on his way here. We can't risk him finding
ZAHIR. It had to be a dream of some sorts because I didn't believe it was King Zach standing before us. A bigger dream that Serafina was carrying my child. If anyone told me two surprises couldn't coexist, I could easily debunk their statement with these scenarios happening before me. As soon as he set eyes on Serafina, his lips trembled as tears filled his eyes. He moved towards her, his arms spread out to wrap her in a hug but I stretched out my hand, stopping him as he made a move. "How dare you?" I asked, my voice in a low rumble. "What are you doing here? How did you get into my Kingdom?" My eyes narrowed on him. He raised both of his hands in surrender, his expression giving nothing away. "I mean no harm. I am here with good intentions." "Then state it." I gritted out, ignoring Serafina who stood beside me, moving from one side to the other. "I am here to warn you about something," He continued, then his eyes darted towards Serafina. "I am sure she know
SERAFINA. A gust of wind blew my hair forwards and I forced it back behind my ear before taking in my environment. I was standing on a pier. I recognised this immediately. Turning, I began to walk out of the pier towards the sandy beaches. I was finally back to my mother and this time, I wanted to remain here for good. I wanted to be with my mother. I was done going through all the pain and suffering and didn't want to go back anymore. Being here, right where my mother was, mattered the most to me and I was glad to finally make my way back here. I caught sight of her. She was still dressed in the same clothing. She was gathering sticks to make a fire and when she caught sight of me coming towards her, they dropped to the ground and she straightened. I stopped before her with a teary smile on my face and she pulled me into a hug. We remained in silence until she pulled away and wiped the tears off my cheek. "I want to remain here with you, mother. I don't want to go bac
ZAHIR. For days, I stayed locked up in my room, drinking my life away and inflicting pain on her when I had the chance to. It was equivalent to inflicting pain on myself but I was unable to stop myself, unable to stop this pain in my chest. Hell, I was far more miserable than she was, beating myself up each time I inflicted pain on her. But there was nothing I could do about it. I was long gone. Things had gone awry in a space of a few days since finding her rummaging my things. I had sent her out in anger and so much hurt. Hell, I had expected her to say something to pacify me at least. Something she really meant and not some stupid fucking apology. Then I thought she had escaped from the palace, unable to take more from me. It had put me through so much panic. I knew how I had searched for her while beating myself up for putting her through a lot only for her to coke running back to me herself. My anger had returned, only intensifying when I caught a whiff of an all too famili
HERA. Thunk! Sweat dropped from my brows as I kept cutting wood with a heavy ax. Well, it wasn't so heavy but with how I had moved from a position where maids were at my beck and call, this was a fucking downgrade. But that didn't really matter right now. Not even the splinter that pierced through the other surface of my skin. I pulled it out and continued to split wood, sweat pouring down my back. Once I was done, I gathered the wood in my arm and took it to the furnace where I usually cooked, dropping them all to the floor and looking down at my palm. With every passing day, it was a countdown to the tone Zahir would tire of Serafina and come back to me. Very soon, I was going to be out of this terrible place and in his arms once again. Hours ago, I'd been returning from the river after going to fetch water for my hut. It was really far away and I was so exhausted and had been on the verge of breaking down and bursting into tears. I had cursed Serafina in my mind, wish
SERAFINA. "Remain still and I'll let you go. I mean no harm." A distinct familiar voice said from behind me. I nodded and the hold was released. Turning, it was Prince Aries standing before me. My eyes widened in surprise and I blinked to be sure I wasn't seeing an apparition. I had seen a lot of that recently and I wasn't sure what to believe anymore. He smiled. "Yes, it's me. I know you don't believe but it's me, Sera, it’s Aries." "I know who you are," I blinked, taking a few steps back and wondering if I should be happy about this development or if I should feel uncomfortable. However, I couldn’t hide my shock. It’s the second time Aries has found his way into Lycaronia somehow. “How are you here?” In one move, he was standing before me, his eyes light with cheer. Then he pulled me into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around me and filling me with his warmth. I was just taking all of this in when he pulled slightly away and cupped my cheeks. His lips brushed mine in a so
SERAFINA. In a space of one day, things had fallen apart. So bad that I couldn't even pick up the pieces. I'd be thrown out of his chambers thereby, reducing me from the post of his mistress to a mere slave once again. I had returned to my room in a teary mess, trying not to think of how he had looked at me with utter disdain, like he couldn't stand me. How had he gone from being all over me to barely wanting me to be in his presence? As much as I tried not to think too much about it, I was greatly hurt by it. I couldn't stand the gossip from the maids either. Whenever I passed by a group, all they did was glance at each other, their gazes telling tales I didn't need to hear verbally. A few of them were bold enough to whisper when I passed by. I couldn't even snap at them to stop. That respect had been stripped off like it was never even there. I had lost favor in the sight of the king, they said. He must have gotten tired of me because I couldn't satisfy his needs, all