"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
Sam and Julian don't move.Not because they don't want to. But because they can't.The silence in the arena is deafening.Julian discreetly stops Solis.Just like the rest of his guards (the rest of the whole place!), he doesn't seem to believe his own eyes.Down below, Shandra falls to the ground, unconscious.Sam quickly screams, which alarms the sentries. Before they can do anything to the demon, however, it falls to its knees, though it doesn't pass out."Sam!" Julian goes to him and kneels beside him."She's drained."Solis listens to the little conversation of the two. He moistens his lips, his expression completely closed."The battle is officially over. Shandra has won."A buzz slowly takes over the crowd, who point, whisper, and debate what just happened there.Solis looks at the two demons:"I'm going to ask just once. Is your goal to overthrow a kingdom? Or to completely eliminate an entire civilization of magical creatures?"The redhead opens his mouth to answer no, but th
Julian knows it doesn't do much good, but still, he tries to control Sam's moods:"She's fine. You'll see that we'll be able to get out of here tomorrow anyway.""I don't trust that damned King, nor the supposed safety of this place," he grumbles, looking at the windows and the night sky outside.The two of them were in a large room with two beds, a bookcase crammed with books and other trinkets. Outside, three guards guarded the door, although the demons were in doubt as to whether it was to protect them, or prevent them from leaving.Sam was still exhausted, but he could already walk and talk normally, probably due to his faster recovery."He could have killed Shandra at any time. If he hasn't done that by now, I don't see why he would do it later.""Because he's a cursed fairy with a lot of power? And we're in his territory? Is that not a convincing argument for you?""The human has Aresta blood in her veins. He wouldn't dare. And we've both seen what she's capable of."As soon as