Eduard is in the throne room, contemplating many things. He is mulling over the recent events and is quite disturbed. His spies from Hapsberg brought him terrible news and also, another very interesting piece of information.
Roseanne was seen in Hapsberg with the Slorian Duke.
“So he is her buyer,” Eduard realizes and smirks. Stefan’s death coupled with Elthezar’s demise are all connected to the mysterious Duke of Sloria. As far as he knows, the kingdom of Sloria is isolated from the rest of the world because of its high mountains and the route which is seemingly impossible to cross.
“I must find that witch and bring her back,” he mutters. The powers of Veneer are too precious to give up and only a witch can unleash those powers. Once Eduard gains them, he will become invinc
Roseanne and Dmitri glance at each other, feeling confused. What is the old woman talking about? Dmitri wonders.“This humble servant has been waiting for centuries,” the old woman continues. “Our magic has faded but I knew that one day, you two will return and take what is rightfully yours!”“Who are you?” Dmitri demands.“I am Vanalise,” the old woman states. “The priestess of the Moon Goddess herself. When the Moon Goddess was betrayed and killed off, I was there to carry out her last wishes.”“You were there?” Roseanne gasps. “You knew how the Moon Goddess died?”Dmitri is bewildered. “You do not believe her, do you?” he hisses
“Thousands of years ago,” Vanalise begins. “The whole world was ruled by the god from Veneer. It was their home and they watched over all the creatures. Werewolves, Vampires, Witches, Humans, Faes and even Dragons. Everyone lived in their own territories because they were not allowed to fight each other. The gods had given them an abode and they must stay there.”“But the Dragons became too greedy. They began to incite violence among the different species, especially amongst the Werewolves, Vampires and Humans. The Humans were being killed by the Werewolves and Vampires which made the Witches cautious too. They were also Humans but with powers. So they sided with the Humans.”“In the war, the Gods tried to intervene but the Dragons were too quick. They waged a war against the Gods but what they did not anticipate was th
“My Lord! My Lady!”Polina’s voice wakes up Roseanne. She slowly opens her eyes to realize that it is already morning and they have spent the night at Vanalise’s home. Picking up her dress from the ground, she covers her naked body while Dmitri is still asleep next to her.“Dmitri,” she whispers, gently shaking him. “It is morning. Polina is here.”He stirs and slowly opens his eyes to look at her. Last night, they did not sleep a wink, making love until dawn as if it was their last day on earth. The pain of separation is burning like hot fire in their hearts but both of them only wanted to prolong their time together.“Two weeks,” he whispers back. “Might as well ask me for my life.”
Night dawns on the lands, immersing them into a gravely silence. The shadows of the night are creeping in, slowly surrounding the areas. Other than the occasional cries of the cicadas, nothing else is making a single sound. Midnight strikes and the houses in Ezealyra are completely shrouded in darkness. Not even a soul is in sight of the dreary streets. Several people are sleeping on the roads, settled into an uneasy escape from their daily struggles, embracing their slumber. In the middle of the cold and silent night, a shadow is gliding through the long road. The person does not spare a single glance at the line of homeless people who are suffering everyday. Instead, he keeps on walking ahead, intent on only one goal. He continues along the street at an unusual pace, going ahead until he reaches the
The carriage comes to a halt at the steps of the palace of Sloria and Dmitri gets off. He has been traveling for three days but he is not tired. Rather, he is distirbed. Timur and Aryan are waiting for him but he storms right through the doors of the palace, in a hurry. He marches straight for the study with his men in tow. Aryan clears his throat before addressing the Duke. “The Council sent us a message,” he states but Dmitri is in no mood to listen. He grabs a large bottle of whiskey and downs it in one go. “I know!” Dmitri growls. “How dare they…” He cannot control his anger anymore. The Council has asked for something which is unacceptable for him. He knows very well that the Council members are made of Eduard’s sto
Roseanne’s face is contorted into intense concentration. She is in a small field with Polina and Vanalise. There is a block of wood lying a few feet away from her and she is focusing on it with all her might. She is trying to lift the block with telekinesis but it only shakes a little.“You are too tense,” Vanalise states. “Relax your posture. Focus on the block but don’t stress!”“I am trying,” Roseanne mutters. Polina is watching Roseanne’s training with interest. She is feeling a strange vibe of energy from the Duchess which is more powerful than that of a fae. While faes can do magic, they are not like witches who can derive the magic from the powers of the moon.Faes can merely change the nature of matter from one form to another but a witch can create a mat
“What the hell is all this?” Aryan frowns at the strange sight in front of him. He is in the front yard of the palace with Dmitri, Timur and Leo. Except for Dmitri, everyone else looks as confused as Aryan. Overnight, around a hundred pigeons have been delivered to their palace. The pigeons are all white and are currently locked in cages. They are fluttering around in the large cages, looking innocent and pure. However, the stenches of stool and feathers are lingering in the air which makes the people around the cages cringe. Only Dmitri is smiling as he opens the cage to pet them. One of the pigeons flew to his outstretched hand, cooing. “They are looking fine!” Dmitri compliments the pigeon seller. “Imported from the place you have ordered from,” the seller says in a humble tone. “We have been rearing the
“Very good!” Vanalise exclaims. “That was amazing, Goddess!” Roseanne is flushed with success. She had successfully managed to keep the piece of block afloat for almost half an hour without losing too much energy. Even though her body is still not ready, she is feeling less and less lethargic after each training session. She also broke through Polina’s illusion charms with ease. Polina is also smiling at her Duchess, feeling a little proud. “Gaia is also talking to me a lot now,” Roseanne says. “I can hear her in my head!” “I think we can try summoning her tonight,” Vanalise replies. “It will be much harder than our usual training but we have very less time.” They have only three days left in their hands for the sc
The castle of Ezealyra has been lit up with thousands of blue lights. Millions of fairies are floating in the air, magically bestowing their beautiful lights on the guests who are arriving to the celebrations. Three months have passed since the battle for Sloria and the Slorians have emerged victorious, defeating Ezealyra in the process. Tonight, a splendid coronation has been arranged for the new Emperor and Empress who will be married by proxy at the ceremony, symbolizing their union. “Is it true that he is the long lost Prince Alexei?” One guest whispers to one person. “He is,” her companion confirms. “His scent is the same and you know that no two people's scent can be the same!” “Eduard Visserion was a scum after all!” The guests are intrigued by the tale of the prince who regained his rightful place on the throne. Not only the wolves but faes, vampires and even hybrid officials are attending the ceremony. Many of the wolves are uncomfortable by the idea of mingling with such
Eduard’s hair has gone fully white and he now has a fully grown beard. His scarlet eyes are dull, defeated by humiliation and old age. He has given up on life because he knows that nothing can help him regain the throne he has lost.Dmitri has no pity for the man who dug his own grave. He wanted to kill him off but there is something he needs to know.“The night my father died,” he begins. “How did you bring in that witch? Where did you find him?”Eduard smirks in a sarcastic manner. “I knew you would figure it out,” he states. “That witch was not working for me. He was working for someone else and they arrived in Ezealyra to aid us in defeating the Emperor.”“Who was he working for?” Roseanne whispers.
Dmitri and Leo lead all the Undead into the mass grave where they have descended. The Undead are now in the grave, waiting like a bunch of obedient army who are about to receive orders.“Is the main Undead buried yet?” Leo asks.As if answering his question, one by one, the Undead begin to fall and die. They watch as the thousands of Undead fall in the graves, quickly dying. Dmitri lets out a sigh of relief.“Bury them,” he orders them through mindlink. “Make sure that they are well dead.”Leo nods and relays the orders to the men who start to fill up the holes. They are all tired and exhausted but their victory in the war is evident. A few fae soldiers also arrived and sped up the process to bury the now dead zombies in the graves.
Eduard does not wait and turns to the Undead.“Attack him!” He orders. The Undead run towards Dmitri, ready to kill him but his scarlet eyes glow up and he stares straight at them.Instantly, the Undead army stops in their tracks. Eduard watches in horror as the Undead army starts to fall to their knees and stare blankly as if hypnotized. The other soldiers are also acting the same way, bowing in front of Dmitri as if under his spell.“What the hell are you all doing?” Eduard demands. “GET HIM!”But no one is paying him any heed. Their eyes are on Dmitri who has them under his mercy.The golden light is once again starting to shine on him, beginning all the creatures to his feet
Roseanne meets with Aryan in the hallway outside her room. The vampire is hurt and even bloodied but his injuries are starting to heal, albeit slowly.“You need blood,” she realizes.“I can hold out!” Aryan insists. “Our men are trained well to hold in their urges. Once I get to the medical camp, I can drink some. But we need to get you to safety! The Undead is-”“You can drink Josephine’s blood,” Roseanne says. “She is lying dead in my chamber.”Aryan stares at her in shock. Josephine is dead?“I used the birds to punish her,” Roseanne simply states. “This is her punishment for betraying us.”
“OUT OF MY WAY!” Iriana yells at the soldiers who are crowding near the camp. They have set up a large medical camp outside the city walls where many of the injured soldiers have been brought in. Several more are going to arrive in a while and Iriana is hard at work along with the palace ladies and omegas who have chosen to stay back to help.“Lady Iriana, this man is losing too much blood!” An omega exclaims.“Press on the wound and tell a fae soldier to help in controlling the blood flow!” Iriana instructs. “As for the spilt blood, give it to that vampire soldier to drink up!”The omega nods and goes on to carry on the instructions. Iriana is carrying a bucket full of hot water to sanitize the instruments which she will need to operate on the soldiers.
Dmitri pounces on Ilyich and punches him with his heavy fist. The Undead’s jaw breaks but it heals within seconds. Ilych fixes his broken jaw and punches back but Dmitri’s senses are faster. He dodge the attack easily and grabs Ilyich before throwing him aside.Ilyich snarls, spitting out black goo from his mouth. He stands up and marches towards Dmitri whose brute strength overcomes the Undead. Dmitri grabs Ilyich by the waist and slams him against the floor.CRACK!Ilyich’s back breaks but he feels no pain because he is not fully alive nor dead. Before he can heal, Dmitri launches a fresh assault on him, repeatedly hitting him.Rage courses through them as they engage in a deathly battle. Ilyich punches Dmitri but his hit feels feeble to Dmitri
Taurus is about to shift but Leo does not let him. He attacks Taurus head on, ripping out his ear in the process. “AHHHHHH!” Taurus yells as the pain pierces through him. The large red wolf grabs him by the hair and slams him against the ground, repeatedly hitting him with its strong paw. Taurus growls and attacks the wolf with his sword but the animal bites his arm and within a split of a second, tears it off. “YOU SON OF A B*TCH!” Taurus screams in agony. Blood spurts out of his body and he falls to the ground, crawling but Leo is not done. Taurus tries to transform but his body has lost so much blood that his wolf also became too weak to shift. He crawls towards the sword which has fallen nearby but Leo grabs his other arm and rips it apart as well. Many of the So
Showers of arrows hit many of the Ezealyran soldiers from all sides, instantly killing them. Theo dodges Polina’s arrows with his sword. He covers himself with a shield and uses his sword to deflect the arrows coming at him at quick speed.Polina’s attacks are fast and she relentlessly attacks Theo. Her soldiers attack the Ezealyrans from the hiding places but the enemy is starting to spot them. They are going to run out of arrows soon and the Ezealyrans will overcome them in seconds.“Retreat to the inns!” She mindlinks with her men and one by one, they start to retreat. Polina stays back and mindlinks with Leo.“On to you!” She tells him.Dust and smoke splash the Ezealyrans who are forced to hide behind their shields. Many of