The demons exchange a quick glance, looking resigned, and proceed toward the portal. Shandra feels a mixture of excitement and fear, while Julian and Sam maintain a more serious and alert posture.When they finally enter Dew, Oberon's city, the portal behind him closes with a loud pop. Shandra jumps up in fright and looks at the winged man, who reassures her:"Soon, soon you will be back."The sun above is sunny and without any clouds, which is a giant contrast compared to the gray, cold weather on the other side of the portal. The buildings are huge, all made of a white granite-like material, and roads and trees are spotted in all directions.The fairies, male and female, are of the most diverse colors and sizes. The smaller ones fly faster and release small sparks the color of their wings when they fly, and they are the ones who approach the visitors first."Who are they?" asks a little blue fairy with emerald-colored wings."Two demons and human, Edrina," Oberon replies, smiling sy
The palace garden was much, much larger than any Shandra had ever seen. Royal guards stood in strategic places, serious and focused on their duty. All the most beautiful flowers in the world seemed to be part of the landscape, and the girl did not know which one to look at.A giant glass greenhouse stood behind the imposing building itself. Julian mentally communicated with her once again:"The fairies treat with reverence every tree, shrub or flower that exists. Every leaf, seed and petal is absolutely sacred to them.""And why?""They believe in the Mother Goddess, whose greatest physical manifestation is nature itself. By cultivating these plants, they are worshipping her directly.""So... No taking one of those flowers and putting it behind your ear, right?""Only if one of them offers you that privilege. It would probably be some kind of blessing. But, just to be safe, don't even look at those flowers strangely."Shandra was so excited to see a whole world of fairies, she forgets
"So that's her?" the fairy asks, her eyes vivid and frighteningly overjoyed."Yes, and those are the demons keeping her company.""I see."The woman takes two steps toward the table where the trio is sitting, sniffing the air."But it gets better and better," she comments."I'm sorry," Julian interrupts, not sounding at all sorry. "But who are you?"Oberon gasps and moves toward the unknown fairy, raising his hand as he introduces her:"This is Alaianis, the captain of the royal guard."Shandra can't stop looking at the stranger, who has a beautiful and voluptuous body, but not necessarily strong. It was hard to think of her as someone who could fight, but the girl knew that despising an opponent for their appearance was one of the biggest mistakes she could make.The fairy also wore no armor, but a shiny black dress that looked like a starry night. There was no weapon in sight, but fairies needed weapons to be able to fight.Alaianis' voice is drawn out and sweet, but Shandra knows t
Shandra knows she can't run out, or cast a spell, or scream in fear when Solis is standing right in front of her, staring at her gravely and taciturnly.But that is all she wants, especially when the ruddy-skinned fairy opens a smile identical to the ones Julian and Sam used to open from time to time.Up close, the King is much more majestic, noble and absolutely fearsome; not because he lacked beauty, on the contrary, but because it was obvious that his power, authority and leadership were unquestionable, and Shandra was just a mere human facing his silent judgment.The girl swallows dryly when Solis once again sniffs her."What is your name, human girl?"Should she tell her real name? Since she was now dead, would it be good to lie about her identity?Sam's mental voice quickly warned her:"Tell the truth.""Shandra," she replies, thanking him for his demon protector's help."Shandra, what brings you into my realm?""I am accompanying these demons on their mission, your majesty."He
Oberon and Alaianis almost die of fright. The First Scout turns deathly pale, but the dark-haired fairy is more disgusted than afraid:"Your Majesty, what are you saying?"Shandra herself can't quite understand. Julian and Sam, on the other hand, look confused and surprised at the same time, looking at each other.The King sighs."Can't they smell it on her?"Oberon steps forward."Your Majesty, I'm afraid you may be mistaken. There is, yes, a peculiar smell in her blood, but I don't think it can be a feric heritage. You see, she is human. A human who speaks and coexists with demons. How could it be?""I do not know how, my dear and faithful Scout, but it is indeed Arista blood, the same blood that runs in my veins, and that ran in the veins of my father, my father's father, and my father's father's father. I would recognize it even if I were blind.""I don't believe you have the slightest idea what you are talking about," Shandra murmurs, her eyes vivid with dread."No? Well, allow m
Sitting on a bench of what appeared to be leather, although most likely it was not, Shandra could hear the echo of the shouts, whistles, clapping, and boisterous arguing of the huge crowd that attended the arena.The young woman was inside a compartment in the actual fighting arena itself, and all that separated it from a sandy strip three times the size of a soccer field was a low, rusty, barred gate.Binding his feet and hands were two chains connected directly to the stone wall. They were probably magical, as she tried to recite a spell to unlock anything, and all she could manage was to realize that they were tighter than before.While waiting for the announcement of her battle, Shandra thought about what she would do. Even if it was true, and that fairy blood ran in her veins, that didn't make her skilled at all. All she had been able to do, other than ready-made incantations described in a book, was by pure instinct.Could instinct save her from that disaster? Probably not.Soli
Sam and Julian are seated next to King Solis, officially as honored guests. However, the demons are not stupid. They know that they are there, high up in a chamber with a privileged view of the arena, because they cannot intervene or help the poor human below in any way.In other words: they are no less than prisoners.The fight was about to begin. Both the red-haired and the black-haired boy tried in vain to fathom who or what Shandra's opponent would be. The knowledge they had about fairies was general: mystical creatures strongly linked to nature, winged, lived in separate cities and were also endowed with magic.If they were in condition, if more than half of their powers had not been nullified, drained and weakened, Sam would destroy not only that arena, but anyone who stood in their way.As if reading his thoughts, Julian murmured:"How long do you think it would take?"Sam knows exactly what he is talking about. Curious, Solis raises one of his eyebrows as he listens to the par
Sam and Julian, who were already predisposed to blow the whole thing up from the start, have to take a very deep breath in order not to murder the Fairy King right there.Instead, trying at all costs not to scream or slap the monarch, Sam says:"A werewolf? A werewolf here?"Julian also has his reasons to be irritated, though not as much as Sam.Solis gives a small chuckle, although his guards have become more alert to the posture of the two demons."Not just a werewolf, boys," he says. "But something totally unheard of."The fire-eyed man closes both fists, looking once again at the wolf that is growling furiously at Shandra."But werewolves aren't like that! And what do you mean by unheard of?"The King's gaze becomes more serious, as if he were saying that Sam had better remember who he was talking to. The old man just says:"Watch closely."Down below, sweating like a pig and feeling all the danger alerts screaming for her to run out of there, Shandra took two steps back, but soon
The final walk along the last trail that would lead them to the Tenebris Mountains was much more tense and silent than Shandra had imagined it would be.Nervous, the girl was paying attention to the vegetation around her; the way the trees and plants looked now that she knew they were all interconnected with Gaia.And speaking of Gaia, the entity's words still rang in her ear constantly. She takes a deep breath as she gropes around in her pocket for the strange artifact she had been given as a gift.Would she need to use it that day?Sam's voice sounded in her mind:"Disturbed?"Shanda looks discreetly at him before answering mentally as well:"Evidently so. Don't you?"His fire-colored eyes, always so confident, were somewhat misty that morning. A few seconds later, he finally replies:"I'm more than disturbed. I'm terrified."The heartfelt answer takes the girl by surprise. He continues:"At some point, Shandra, everything... Everything will come to light. The fact that we are inter
Shandra was still absorbing the shock of Gaia's strange contact, as well as her sudden disappearance, when a low voice whispers behind her."Shandra."She turns around quickly. Julian is standing with a totally apathetic expression on his face."Did you see it?", she whispers.The redhead nods his head in confirmation."Was it an important errand?"Shandra bites her lip, thoughtful about what to say about Gaia's words. She decides to be subtle and direct:"Yes."Julian waits for the explanation, but the girl just holds the jewel tighter and starts walking back to the camp."Wait a minute."She stops. The demon approaches again and asks:"What's going on? Are you okay?""I am.""You don't know how to lie very well, you know that?"Shandra snorts."I just don't want to talk about it."Julian looks at the girl's closed hand and stares at her as if he is about to question her about it."Please, please, don't ask me questions," she pleads.Genuine anguish takes over his expression."Let me
Shandra knew she was awake.Therefore, what was in front of her could not be a dream. Considering all the stress she had been under in the past weeks, however, she thought she was suffering from a delirium.Everyone else was asleep, except, of course, the demons. Although they felt no sleep, both Sam and Julian liked to lie down, close their eyes and apparently rest. Caleb and Ezan are also immersed in a deep sleep.The girl keeps looking at what at first she thought was just a trick of light and shadow: the thin, unusual silhouette that strolled by as if it were a mere traveler.However, the energy of that silhouette, the way it moved... This was certainly no ordinary person. Then Shandra stood up to take a closer look.The person, creature or whatever it was didn't seem to be intimidated by being noticed. Its skin was transparent, almost ghostly, and a subtle blue light radiated from it.Strangely enough, Shandra did not fear it. No, there was nothing aggressive or strange coming fr
Shandra feels her heart resounding inside her chest. A small shiver runs down her arms as she slowly takes a step towards the final trail; the one they would make before finally arriving in enemy territory.Everything could end well: Eluna would be rescued, and everyone could return to their respective homes.Or...She imagines the bodies of Sam, Julian, Ezan and Caleb lying on the ground like a sack of potatoes; their throats slit. Was cutting throats an easy method of execution for supernatural creatures?Shandra knew that killing a demon was too difficult a thing to do, so she doubted it very much. Werewolves, on the other hand, seemed weaker in that respect."Let's walk some more and get camp up," says Julian, who until then had been completely silent and immersed in his own thoughts.Shandra nods, trying to push away the dark misfortunes troubling her, but it is incredibly difficult. She knows she cannot let fear take over. Together, the group continues to advance along the narro
Shandra knew that she would never, ever be able to fully recover from this.As the small group headed towards the mountain range, the young woman barely opened her mouth to say anything and ate only what was necessary. The magic was dormant, still ready to spring into action, but she deliberately ignored the feeling.Looking up at the pale dawn sky, Shandra huffed audibly. It was very soon before they finally put the plan into action. There was still no word from Marcus and his group.Not that she didn't trust the abilities and strength of the pack. They could take good care of themselves.But would she, Julian, Sam, Caleb and Ezan be able to single-handedly accomplish a mission of that magnitude and not get screwed in the process?"It's going to be okay," Sam's voice breaks into her dark thoughts.Annoyed, the girl looks at him, and mentally communicates as well:"Are you reading my thoughts?""I don't need to. Your expression already says it all."Irritated, Shandra just keeps walki
As soon as Caleb's huge sharp teeth dig into Elara's unprotected torso, the vampire screams terribly in agony. The bite causes her a stabbing pain.Elara lets out another scream when, after having her skin torn apart by the wolf, her body is thrown backwards by the impact of this attack... Julian also approaches quickly, taking the opportunity to strike a powerful blow against Elara, hitting her full on.Sam once again looks at Shandra, obviously proud to see what had happened there. Ezan, Caleb and the yellow-eyed demon continue to attack relentlessly; Shandra stays focused on her task of neutralizing the vampire's artifacts. With the items weakened, Elara is no longer invincible, but still poses a danger.Sweating, the young woman realizes that she needs to keep her own energy connected to Elara's items. There was no way, or at least no easy way, to permanently deactivate them.Although she was obviously weaker, Elara was not vulnerable. Even though she is suspicious as to why her t
Shandra feels a mixture of relief and gratitude when, finally, Julian takes flight and attacks Elara, holding her by the neck and throwing her to the ground sharply."You really think you can take me, you pathetic demon?" she sneers, probably ready to use one of her many artifacts.And that is exactly what she does. One moment, Julian is strangling her without a shadow of mercy. The next, he is breathing hard, gasping like a smoker after climbing two flights of stairs.Sam, focused on destroying the vampire, casts more fire elemental magic energy, but at the last second the girl flinches, causing the flames to only burn the tip of her hair."You bastard!" she shouts, leaving Julian temporarily behind.Shandra quickly raises a shield to protect him, but the wall fails.Ezan's voice sounds behind the girl:"Beacon of Light!"She widens her eyes and addresses the older werewolf. The girl is surprised to see him in human form. Caleb, unlike him, remains as a wolf."Beacon of Light, we are
Shandra panics as she sees the werewolves advancing towards Elara, ready to attack. She knows that a fight between the werewolves and the vampire can be extremely dangerous and doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. With a mixture of despair and determination, she stands in the way, trying to prevent impending violence."No!" cries Shandra, her voice full of anguish. " Stop! It’s not worth it! Elara is not our enemy!"Useless. Completely useless, you know.The beautiful girl, seeing the two angry wolves coming towards her, drops her cloak, revealing pale skin like the moon and slender, thin and seemingly fragile arms and legs. Immediately Elara puts herself in a fighting posture, smiling as she feels the adrenaline taking over her body.Shandra can barely understand what happened when, out of nowhere, the vampire just disappears.But her energy was still there. Had she become invisible?The impact of a sharp blow to Ezan’s jaw, which makes him fly for a few meters, frightens the girl and gi
Shandra, Sam, Julian and the other members of the group stand on alert, watching for the approaching silhouette. Tension hangs in the air as everyone prepares for any eventuality.As the figure approaches, it becomes clear that it is a tall, elegant woman with long black hair and a piercing gaze. She seems to exude an aura of power and authority."Elara," Sam murmurs, with a mixture of surprise and apprehension in her voice.Shandra frowns from one to the other, wondering what could be happening, but doesn't have time to verbalize a single word.The werewolves transform into their lupine form and start growling loudly and menacingly. Elara doesn't seem to be upset or afraid of that sight."Interesting company you have arranged," are the first words she addresses to the coppery-eyed demon."Is that really serious?", Julian grumbles."Who are you?" asks Shandra.The questioning makes the woman laugh."Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Sam?"The prince from hell looks hes