[Diana’s POV] “It eats flames?” I asked. Miya nodded. “But not just any flames. It’s young, so we must provide it with the most nutritious and sweet flames,” she said. “Flames are sweet? Flames have taste?” “Not for us, but for them,” Miya said. “So? Where can we find this sweet flame?” I asked. “Flowers,” Miya said. “Flowers? You mean nectar?” I asked. “No. The flames you get when you burn a flower.” “Oh.” I tensed my brows slightly. “What a sweet way of making sweet flames. Burn the flower. Makes complete sense to me. But what flower is the most nutritious?” “That’s the problem here. You see phoenix as babies are very delicate and picky eaters. Every individual has their own taste, so we need to experiment and see what suits its taste. My mother’s phoenix loves eating flames of burning camellias, especially red camellias, which are rare to find.” “How did she find out what her phoenix likes?” Miya shrugged, lifting her hands. “By feeding her flames of over a hundred ty
[Diana’s POV]I turned around.“Zeph!” I ran to him as he dashed to me.Panting, he stopped, his hands on his knees.“I…” — pant — “thought I would” — pant — “reach here before you. But this place is” — pant — “huge. I am sorry, I am late.”“It’s ok. You are right on time. Settle down your breaths, first,” I went to the carriage and fetched a water bottle, proffering it to Zephyr. “Here, drink it.”“Thanks, princess,” Zephyr finished the entire bottle in a few gulps. Water droplets slid from the corner of his lips down his throat. His adam’s apple bobbing sensuously with every gulp. He licked his lips and exhaled, wiping his mouth on his cuff.I gaped at his lips, and suddenly I was thirsty.He looked at me, and I looked away.“Ok, now that everyone is here. Let’s go,” Archer said. He was holding a considerably big wooden box.“What’s that?” I asked.“A gift for luna Nesta from our luna. They are… close friends,” Archer said.We entered the palace. It was in the aesthetic of white, re
[Diana’s POV]It took us about two days to settle down in the Pretis palace.Zephyr and I would share a room. We would stay together as per the championship rules for the female participants. They gave Reese and Janus separate rooms, but Archer forced them to share a room. Archer wasn’t taking Izel’s death threat to Reese lightly at all. He also said that it was the best opportunity for Reese and Janus to bond together since they were going to be the future alpha and future beta of the Xenon pack.After a lot of argument, there was nothing Reese and Janus could do. They had to share a room. They had no other choice.It was indeed dangerous to leave Reese alone. We were only getting to know new people every day. None of us knew what their actual intentions were, so it was only intelligent to stay alert and on guard at all times.One thing was obvious: Outers feared us.The maids of the palace would shudder and plea for forgiveness as if I would carve out their hearts for not adding ex
[Diana’s POV] I still remember the day when Bea forced me to attend to a client. The second client I attended to as a courtesan. She said that she wasn’t doing it for herself, but for me. To break the lie I had been telling myself. A lie that Mask would return for me. She wanted me to face my reality and get back to business. After those seven days with Mask, I declined all the clients. I wanted to trust him, believe in his words that he’d return. Like a fool, I was preserving myself for him. Two years. I somehow managed to avoid taking clients for two years. I reread his letters over and over again. I surrounded myself with his memories, his gifts he brought me, the clothes he bought me. I had found Mask when I had lost all hopes from my life and I wasn’t ready to let go of that hope. There were times I had to grovel on my knees so that Bea wouldn’t force me to take clients. But that night Bea didn’t listen to a word I had to say. She dragged me to the VVIP room in the loo
[Diana’s POV] Event: Introductory and opening ceremony of the Werewolf World Championship. Location: Courtroom, Pretis palace. Presided by: Alpha Vidar Jupitus and Luna Nesta Vidar Jupitus. ***** “Now entering the participants from the Xenon pack!” They announced us. “Prince Reese Xenon. Prince Janus Lakin. And Princess Diana with her partner!” All the participants from all the packs were waiting in the ballroom to be called into the courtroom through the gate we were standing behind. The huge wooden gate leading to the courtroom opened before us. Crepuscular golden light cracked through the ajar door, flashing on our faces as a completely different world opened up before us. I took a deep breath, holding my hand near my belly. We were the first pack to be introduced to the gathering. The courtroom was filled with public in the middle and rear rows of the ground floor. While the front rows closer to the grand staircase leading to the central throne-balconies and side balconie
[Diana’s POV]The main gate of the courtroom that was used by the public to enter opened up with a creak.Through the blinding light spraying into the room, a silhouette emerged.The image that was somewhere in my mind, but not clearly in my vision, flashed in my head again and again.A sharp pain bolted through my body, paralysing me in my seat.Everyone in the courtroom, from the lowest to the highest rank, got on their feet and bowed their heads as the silhouette walked in. Even the darkest corners of the courtroom were lit up with feathery light. One that one would expect to find only in heaven.But it seemed that those light rays filtered through the air surrounding me, flaming into a kind of darkness one would expect to find in black holes. The gravity, the heaviness, the suffocation, took me into a trance.I was still sitting on the chair on the side balcony of the courtroom, yet I was somewhere else, too.Maybe in my mind. Maybe in my past. Yes, in my previous life, when the
[Diana’s POV] The opening ceremony concluded. But even after the ceremony ended, the royals and even the public lined up to pay their respect to the Saint. So they postponed the evening ball that was arranged especially for the participants. It would now happen at night where the participants would interact and get to know one another. Right after a few minutes Archer removed the barrier around us Zephyr said that he would take Carol to my room and feed it some flower flames since it looked so tired and Janus accompanied him and both of them left from the back door of the balcony. “Can we leave as well?” I asked Archer. “No princess, you and prince Reese need to stay until the public and royal guests leave. I know you need rest, but please wait a little longer,” Archer said. Reese had been peering at the Saint as he interacted with the public. People were devoted to the Saint. So much so that a few went in a full bow at his feet. The guards protected the Saint from all sides a
[Diana’s POV] Saint along with Alpha Vidar went to the inner temple in the Pretis palace, which was connected to the Oracle chamber and the royal library. The royal library was only accessible to the alpha and a few others he permitted. The royal library was linked with the picture gallery, which was accessible to the guests, palace staff, the royal family, and the public on special occasions. “I don’t think Saint will attend the ball,” Miya said. We were on our way to the royal ballroom after resting a little after the opening ceremony. “Yeah, I can’t imagine the Saint dancing and drinking,” I said, looking around as we walked through the corridors leading to the ballroom. “By the way, where are Zephyr and Janus?” Zared asked. “You sure there’s nothing going on between these two? They sneak out like secret lovers in some kind of forbidden relationship.” Miya and I chuckled. “They took Carol out. They most probably are in the Draco garden, getting flowers for Carol. All of us
Hey everyone! I am AM (Akina Mirai) First of all, I want to thank each and everyone of you who read this story. Thank you so so so much for bearing with me and making this story come alive so brilliantly. Diana and Zephyr. Oh, God! These two were a big challenge for me, but oh so beautiful they are, my heart still keeps on melting for both of them and I can't help falling in love with all the characters I created in this story. Don't forget to let me know who your favourite charcater was in this story! And if you enjoyed the book, please don't forget to leave your precious review on the main page of the story. It helps the story to grow a lot and so do your gems and comments. Do share it with your friends and let's keep the family growing! OMG! I can't believe I have done this. I would also love to thank my editor and the complete GN team for trusting in me and giving me this opportunity of writing and just allowing me tell a story because that's what I wish to do until my last
[Zephyr’s POV] Diana and Kaz regained their consciousness as the three of us returned to the sky, our battlefield. Kaz looked at Diana and then at me. The mana I had gathered around me was massive enough to cause an explosion that would end half of the world. I knew I had to stop, but I didn’t know how to stop it. Diana was already weak and upon that I was absorbing mana right from her soul. I need to get her away from me… Kaz flew beside Diana. Grabbing her arm, he tore her away from my proximity. Breaking the gravity of my soul that pulled mana from his soul, he pushed Diana towards the ground. “Zephyr…” Diana’s scream faltered as she neared the ground. I whistled sharply. The winds, combined with Kaz’s threads of mana, surrounded her and helped her land safely on the ground. Kaz turned to me. “It’s you against me now. Kill me and end this last war,” he said. “If I do that, who will save this world?” I said. Kaz frowned. “What do you mean?” “With the amount of mana
[Diana’s POV]Grave?I felt my body go limp.I shook my head. No. This isn’t possible.Archer and Willa teleported me to the graveyard where Janus and lady Ilana had dug out a coffin.Carol shrieked agonizingly over the coffin.“No. No…” Stumbling, I fell beside the coffin.Janus dug his claws into the coffin and broke open the lid.“Zeph!”“Zephyr!”“Son!”Archer and Janus got Zephyr out of the coffin and laid him on the ground.His pulse and breaths were weak. He was unconscious.I covered my mouth with my hands. Kazeal had buried him alive.“Zeph! Zephyr!” Janus shook his body. “Hey man! Get up!”“Zephyr! Son!” Lady Ilana tapped his cheek.Archer made his way beside Zephyr. He asked us to move away from Zephyr to allow air circulation around him.“Ila, check his pulses and tell me if they turn weak,” Archer said and lady Ilana scuttled beside Zephyr, keeping her fingers on his pulses.“Messiah!” Kazeal roared.Janus stood in front of me and Willa, glaring right into Kazeal’s eyes.
[Diana’s POV](Trigger warning: Reader’s discretion advised.)***Ever since I returned to the Pretis palace, I knew something was off.But it took me a while to realize that something was wrong with Zephyr. I felt it odd when I told him I wanted to rest and he just let me rest.Whenever I say I wanted to rest, we usually end up having sex, but this Zephyr was trying to avoid intimacy with me. Yes, he hugged me, but that was it. He even avoided kisses. I will not lie. I was scared for some time that maybe everything that was going around me was affecting our relationship. The thought that Zephyr might actually be falling out of love with me haunted me until Janus asked me the same thing.Janus told me how Zephyr was not Zephyr, even though he almost completely acted like Zephyr.That’s when I sensed it and I wished we were wrong, so I checked it for myself yesterday.Kazeal might have prepared himself to be like Zephyr in every aspect, but I knew he wouldn’t ever be able to prepare
[Kazeal’s POV]Diana cowered into my arms, clenching on to me as if I was her last lifeline left. I was.“Relax, Dia. These are just nightmares.”These nightmares are my gift to you, my Messiah. I hope you see for yourself what you have done to this world.It’s still not too late. You still have time. Stop before things slip from my hands as well.I stroked her back as she drifted back into sleep. Another round of those nightmares that I had designed to break her slowly, but certainly.I sighed, peering at the ceiling, hugging her tighter as she panted with a slight tremble taking over her body again.“No… no…” she mumbled.I intertwined my fingers with hers.“It’s alright, Dia. Everything’s fine, just fall asleep.”Stay dreaming and leave the reality to me. I will bring everything you have misplaced in this world back to its place.*****“You don’t have to attend to meeting if you aren’t feeling well—” She had the power to make me speechless without even trying.Words seized from my
[Diana’s POV]It hadn’t even been a week to father’s burial, and Willa was gone. She hadn’t taken a single thing from the palace. All she left behind was a note saying that she no longer had a reason to stay in the Xenon pack.Often the walls that look the strongest are the hollowest. Reese was in the same condition.Most of the time, Reese stayed by father’s grave.“It’s dinnertime, Reese. Let’s go.” I placed my hand on his shoulder.He was lost in nothingness. Recently, silence had been his only response.I knelt beside him.He had completed father’s burial without shedding a tear. But that didn’t mean father’s death hadn’t affected him at all. And after Willa left, his condition had worsened. He was bottling himself up.Although he kept himself busy with the pack affairs and the war with Gloratia, it was at times like these I could see his pain in his eyes.Meanwhile, because of Serith’s powers, I knew father was in a better place, reunited with mother. Even so, I felt his absence
[Zephyr’s POV]What we have been preparing for has finally begun.Diana had waged a war against the outer world. By now, the demonic werewolves would have started appearing all around Lycannora.After demonisation she had changed a lot. Diana’s appearance seemed as a reflection of Serith herself. Her horns, the dark vine tattoos that wrapped around her hands and around her neck. Her blood-red eyes that had the power to stop time if she wished. Her aura that held the gravity that could alter dimensions and space. Diana’s presence overpowered almost everyone and everything on the battlefield.The goddess of the underworld had surfaced and the Serithian war had begun.It hadn’t even been an hour and the Wenos army seemed so subdued. There was no way mortals could keep up with a goddess’ incarnation. The only person who had the power to stand against Diana was the Saint.Devon walked closer to Diana and stood between her and his army.“Prince, what are you doing?” Ragnar asked Devon.“R
[Kazeal’s POV]She’s gone.I had searched every corner of the Heat Knox tower.Diana has escaped.A stifling bitterness rose in my chest like a burning stab. My crazily pulsating heart was only darkening my thoughts and coherence.Clenching my fists and jaws, I shut my eyes.It’s not like I have never been angry before, but I had never experienced such an excruciating wrath before. Its extremeness was sinful.I stared at my palms.How did she slip out of my grip?The warmth of her body and the softness of her skin are still afresh in my hands.When did she obscure my senses?How in heaven did she escape?I don’t get it. I don’t understand this.Wiping my sweat around my lips, I sat on her bed. Raking back my hair, I held my burning head.Taking a deep breath, I licked my dry lips.There is no way she can escape this place on her own. Not even with her Messiah powers. The only key is with me and without my mana, the barriers around the tower cannot even be sensed by normal wizards.But
[Zephyr’s POV]I kept whistling in the eolian language, summoning a storm around Alpha Urza’s body as a barrier from the rest of the battlefield. Kneeling beside his body, I peered at him blankly. I held his cold hand in mine. With a blurry vision, I looked at the sky. Kaz’s men hovered over the Wenos palace. Through the blustering winds cutting me off from the rest of the world, I looked at my army that was in constant struggle with the Saint’s men. I couldn’t keep track of everyone from where I was, but I could tell that Archer and mother had left the battlefield a while ago. “We, the wizards under the Saint’s command, give you the Jupitus army a chance to retreat. Stop the attacks and retreat or else we will have to pacify you by any means possible.” A wizard hovering right above Asashi and Aera warned. So finally, Kazeal has openly involved himself in this war. “We do not wish any harm to the innocent. We are here to preserve peace and stop the war. If any of you launch any