“Your Majesty,” Xiao’s voice interrupted my thoughts. My eyes flutter open, immediately catching his gaze. “She’s awake. Phaedra is awake.”The news immediately brought me to my feet, but after a few steps, my feet halted and suddenly gained weight—like an anvil was weighing them down. It was the hesitation keeping me rooted in my spot; unsure of my next step now that she’d regained consciousness.Do I want to reconcile with her? Do I want to antagonize her, or stay civil? Do I want to blame her like I blame Flavian?“Xiao, I-I…” I started, my tongue yielding deep into my mouth.“I…I do not know how to react. We did not exactly part with good terms, but we need her—them. I do not know what is the right thing to do.”Despite my retreating tongue and my stutters, he seemed to have understood my sentiments as his creased forehead smoothed, and he smiled—he smiled?“You must be conflicted, your Majesty. You desire to act emotionally as her friend, yet you know you came here as the Queen a
“It is impossible to resist the royal order when the Queen herself has personally sought you out.”The Priestess, or former Priestess, irritatedly turned to him. “We do whatever we want.”Xiao replies; calm as still water, his hands on his staff. “Nevertheless, I am certain your daughter will make the right decision. She’s more levelheaded than you, after all.”“What?”As the two old people bickered, something they would never be too old for, my ears perked at the faint rhythm of something hitting the glass. I left the middle of the battlefield of the former Priestess and former General and looked for the sound. I found a window at the end of the hallway and saw a pigeon with gold-streaked feathers chipping at it with its beak, a paper tied to its foot. This was familiar, I thought. I remember giving this order of communication only if there was an emergency. Furthermore, seeing the gold streaks in the pigeon, its only sender could come from the palace because it was our secret symbol
“Has she sent a reply yet?”Fenrir exhales loudly, frustrated, before shaking his head.“No,” he answers the anxious General.“If she’d already read our missive, she’s likely on her way back as we speak. She would not bother to write back.”General Liefeng nods in agreement, quietly praising Fenrir’s perfect assumption of the Queen’s personality.Among them that remained in the palace, he was put in charge and Liefeng could now see why. They seemed closer than everyone thought. Liefeng looked at Fenrir’s torch-illuminated back, who was preoccupied watching over the walls as they camped in the southern watchtower. The night was deep, yet they were yet to get a wink of sleep.It was not only them. The entire Capital is awake and anxiously awaiting the attack. It was all too predictable, yet their defense was anything but stable for this expected attack.“I sincerely wish our assumption is wrong,” Liefeng admits after a moment of silence. Fenrir’s eyes slightly shook, but he did not make
This was not their initial plan.This was never a good plan.Soren was adamant about it, and he fought for his opinion until the last day, but everyone went against him. A few days ago, before they marched to surround the Capital, he was already confident in his master plan. The success of his plan lies in the patience they had. Unfortunately, it was a fragile foundation that was tested so early on and caused the destruction of everything that was built on it.His plan was to slowly ruin the palace from the inside, hence his spies within the royal court. He wanted the internal affairs to trouble the King and keep him occupied—and wear him out—before engaging in battle and pushing him to a wall as if putting pressure on him. To slowly burn him out, like waiting for a candle to melt its wick and use up all its wax until it’s too weakened to resist. It was a sure-fire plan.And though reluctant, the others agreed to his plan.Until more unwanted variables appeared.The King’s death a day
Fenrir was almost dozing off while standing, his arms crossed, when he smelled gunpowder. It was a faint smell, but he nevertheless caught wind of it after a breeze. His eyes flew open and immediately searched the source of the smell.There’s a revolution coming.When he found the nuzzles of canons at the edge of the forest, he gritted his teeth and yelled at the top of his lungs. His hot glare fixed on the canon.“Canon ball on the way! We’re under attack!”Soldiers jolted awake. His ears were filled with the sudden loudness of multiple heartbeats. He watched the canon get lit and waited for the first hit, the harbinger of a war that would go down in history. There was a sinking feeling and a sudden silence, watching the canon ball fly in the air, and eventually hit the wall. He felt the tremor brought by the impact.Just a minute ago, the morning was peaceful and quiet. The sunrise provided a warmth to relieve the coldness of the moon. And now chaos ensues; soldiers were running aro
The power of the silver-haired Queen’s words was enough to daunt the mages that heard it.They exchanged wary glances to each other and the agile witches used the opportunity to attack, cackling after seeing the mages fall back. They easily gained the upper hand, tilting the battle in their favor.“Higher realms?” Soren mutters to himself, his eyes narrowed at the Queen. They stood in the middle, the center of the battle, engaged in heated eye contact and each testing the waters. They knew better than to underestimate each other. Knew more than recklessly wasting their energy.Akira tilts her head to her side, her eyes never leaving Soren’s as she talked to Fenrir, commanding him, “Go help General Liefeng’s army.”The black wolf stares at her back, contemplating, before turning away with a huff. He leaps out of that fight and sprints to the walls, intently wishing he’s not too late.He knew he promised not to leave her side, especially in such circumstances, but he figured it was a wi
By the time the sun reached the Capital and its enemies flew in, a lone wolf left amid the chaos. He leaped through the woods, stealthily, like he was merely a gust of air. By the time he reached the pack, he was catching his breath and worn out. Nevertheless, it was a new record for him—two hours.Abel was known to be a wolf who rode the wind and he remains to live up to his reputation.As soon as he reached the House, he rushed to his Alpha, hastily reporting, “The Capital is under attack. The Queen is yet to arrive after leaving last night, and only Fenrir is left to fend off the rebels.”He had been lurking in the Capital since news about the rebellion broke out. He filled Flavian in on every news he hears and has been duly acting as his spy; being the Alpha’s ears and eyes inside.“How many rebels did you say you saw?” he asks, distressed.“There were thousands of humans, vampires, and trolls as large as mountain boulders. If I may be bold, I’d say they’re larger than the Queen’s
“Your Majesty,” bowed a royal guard as it rushed into the meeting hall, thus interrupting Akira and Xiao’s formulation. “A new House has appeared and joined the fight. We are yet to discover what their purpose is, but according to the reports, they are fighting the vampires in the eastern gate.”“A new House?” Akira echoed, meeting Xiao’s furrowed brows with her own. “Who?”“The House of the Wolves, your Majesty.” Akira’s heart seemed to jump out of her chest as it became the only sound in the room. “Alpha Flavian Fauntleroy arrived with a hundred other werewolves and now they’re cleaning the vampires on the eastern gate. Reports have also mentioned that they’re protecting the unconscious body of Fenrir Fauntleroy.”If her heart hammered the first time, this time it dropped. The sudden anxiety that washed over her was overwhelming as worry got the best of her and she could not stop the words from leaving her mouth. “Unconscious? W-Why is he unconscious?”The guard kneeled and bowed hi
Well, you've flipped to the last page of this book. Thank you for seeing it to the end with me. I'm sorry for the errors. I will edit it diligently now that I've completed it. Please leave your thoughts in the reviews! I'd really appreciate it, constructive or negative! I'll read it all. ^^ Love, zav
Spring has arrived. Its breeze welcomed the new blooming flowers in the flower shops, the redolence of the Capital’s symbolic flower, a daisy, circulating down the streets of the city. It was the perfect weather for a festival, a rather young festival only celebrated for three years.Amid the bustling townspeople, a young girl wandered around, her simple straw slippers softly hitting the cobblestone as she glanced around seemingly lost, eventually stopping in front of the flower shop to admire the daisies. Her wide, curious eyes neared the daisy and sniffed it, sighing at its alluring scent.The old man running the shop spots the young girl, wearing nothing but a humble dress and straw slippers, visibly a farm girl. He smiles, plucking a daisy from its bunch. He hands it to the girl who looks up at him, surprised.“Happy cleansing day, lassie.”“Eh?”He chuckles at the girl’s tilted head with confusion spelled out on her face.“Don’t ‘ya know what day is today?”“Uh-uh.” She shakes he
“She’s taking too long, is she not?” Flavian wonders aloud as they look up at the sky, violent and storming with frequent flashes of lightning and thunder. It had been thirty minutes since they took to the sky. The vampires and trolls are all absorbed and rotting in the clearing, ending the battle. But they were still yet to see even the two’s silhouettes in the sky.Beside him, Fenrir was frowning quietly. He could not feel her. Something… or someone, was intercepting the bond.“What if the purification failed? Will she be alright?” Phaedra worriedly asks and turns to her mother. “Does it really take this long, Mother?”Priscilla crossed her arms, a similar frown on her face. “Let us wait a while longer. It is no easy feat, but I believe in her. What do you say, Fauntleroy?”Two ears perked in her direction. She clears her throat and clarifies, “The older one.”“What?”“Do you still feel your mate?”Only the rustling leaves of the trees answered her. All heads sharply turned to him a
My mind drifted back into the discussion we shared between the advisors, before everything.“Thank you. I’m feeling well enough to hunt down the plague again.” She meets everyone’s eyes. “But I doubt I’ll get lucky and find it at the first forest I go to. Do you have any ideas where it would likely be?”And just like that, the table was open for discussion.The hunt for the plague continues.“How about this?” I pitch in. Expectant eyes meet mine as I continue, “We take a different approach. If I absorb any more, I’m afraid I will explode.”“That is realistically possible,” Priscilla confirms, and my face blanches.“Then, what approach do you have in mind, Your Majesty?” The generals ask after darting a narrowed glance at the retired priestess.I shrug. “Anything that would not include me having to ingest any more power is preferable.”It’s true. I felt like puking the day after I absorbed the plague. It was like eating a dirty cloth, with all the corrupted souls it absorbed. It was no
“Aren’t you tired?” I ask, my eyes warily scanning him from head to toe. He really is here. Right in front of me. In the flesh.That same tall, slender, build with a ghastly white complexion and gravity-defying black hair.The same man in my dreams—nightmares, rather.He looked as if he was swallowed by darkness, with the smoke all around him. He was a terrifying opponent. But I was not one to back down. I bared my fangs and summoned Celeste’s eyes, making mine slit and glowing a brighter purple. If I could, I would’ve sneered and tested the firmness of his will, just to see if I could do to him what I did to my past enemies.Hearing my question, a slow grin spreads out on his face, sending goosebumps down my spine. I felt Flavian flinch from my left.He spoke, his voice thick and yet silky smooth as if he hadn’t been around for centuries.“The pursuit to a peaceful world is a tedious task, thus one must not feel lethargic.”I narrow my eyes at him. “Pursuit to a peaceful world? You m
Expert bodies move out of the way with a smooth tilt of their body, easily evading a lethal charge to the shoulder. Xiao’s murderous glare pinned on the vampire that dared to charge at him.“How foolish,” he remarks and brutally stabs its chest with his wooden staff’s pointy end.Despite the chaos that ensues around him, he keeps his cool demeanor and composure as he breezes through the swarm of enemies that outnumbered them. Realizing a stab to the heart that was long done pumping would not kill the vampire off, he calls for the attention of the wicked witch on his back.“Do finish off this one, Priscilla.” He flings the vampire overhead, using the poor soul’s attempt to charge on him another time as momentum to take him flying.She scoffs from behind and he could already imagine a scowl on her face.“You cannot even finish a mindless vampire? Tsk. This is why I do not desire to live too long,” she says just as the ground that the vampire landed on was scorched. There was no need to
The crisp leaves of the Witches’ Forest greeted us as we arrived, the rich, wide forest being the place we theorized would house the world’s oldest living plague. It made sense. This forest was rich with the energy of the witches, and the coven was temporarily abandoned for the sole reason that the plague was strongest in the forest.Priscilla told me during our meeting that the number of victims in the coven never decreased when the rest of the world did. When I absorbed a fraction of the plague’s strength and weakened it, I thought it gave the world a few weeks of respite. But it never reached the coven.After learning about it, guilt gnawed at my stomach. I immediately ordered the witches and their families to seek refuge in the palace, where the rest of the witches I took to war were. Now, we arrive at a barren coven in the middle of a dark, ominous forest pulsing with energy.I could feel the earth’s power in my veins. Pulsing. Throbbing. Like a streak of power terrorizing my blo
It was a quiet, sunny day for the palace.It was on that quiet and sunny day that the Queen’s advisors were summoned into the meeting hall. They quietly shuffled inside, Priscilla meeting Xiao’s eyes. She observes him. They had not crossed paths in the castle for weeks. She, preoccupied in the witches’ tower and he, cooped up in the archives. The two places were almost on opposite ends of the palace. And yet he looked no different.Xiao feels her gaze and turns her way. He raises an inquisitive brow and she shuts him off with a roll of her eyes. The man, confused, tilts his head. Quietly, they occupy their spots on the right and left of the end of the table, where the Queen’s seat was. That was and had always been their position—they are the left and right hand of the monarch.Two of the most unique hands, at that.All advisors rose at the arrival of the Queen.She wore a modest gilded purple gown with simple gown shoulder caps that drape to her back. Her humble tiara sat atop her bra
“Don’t you look pathetic down there?”Her sarcasm was spot on, her voice crystal clear.Perhaps he truly is nearing his demise. He yearned a little more of her tonight than usual.He waited for the pain of Rognac’s vicious bite, but it never came. It must’ve tripped or something because Flavian heard rustling and struggling. However, when Rognac growled and his heavy claws fumbled on the wooden floor as if lunging, the pain still did not come. And he heard her voice again.“Will you continue to pathetically lay there?”Puzzled, Flavian flutters his eyes open. And the scene before him just felt… impossible. As if he was hallucinating. He gaped at the situation for a while, belatedly registering to him that they were in the middle of a life-or-death situation.Against Rognac was Phaedra, in all her petite glory. She looked at an ant next to Rognac’s giant form. Yet she could still hold her ground as specks of dust of magic floated around her, her hair floating, and her hand up against R