Faye stretched my necklace, and I didn't dare refuse, moving my eyes away from yours with the excuse of needing attention to close it around my neck."The choice is mine, as you said. And I choose to pay to see.”Even upset and seeming to contain the new sermon that was about to jump out of her tongue, Faye narrowed her eyes towards me, and remained silent. We had a lot to think about as we were led by a pair of those humanoid creatures of Octavius to his throne room. The castle was full of those creatures, even in the lobby, demonstrating a lot about how full the Hall should be.They all knelt when they saw me go down the stairs, with Faye on my lay, and only got up when I passed through the frame of large and high doors that revealed to me the center of the party. Knees bent and heads bent down to let me pass through a path that led to Octavius' altar, where he was standing next to the throne, smiling so much that all his teeth were visible.The subjects of that kingdom were already
"It had been a long time since I visited this despicable place," whispered Faye, hugging her body in the face of the strange sensation that seemed to overwhelm the territory of wrath. "It's so... empty.”In fact, observing the red earth that served to sustain the huge limestone castle that perched against a small "and only" space of land within the entire Aqueronte River, we had much that overwhelming feeling of there being nothing in all that place. The kind of place that would be the result of the devastation of a war, or a tragedy of world scales. What would be left of a ruined castle, built of white and faded stones, in an unexpected place for there to be something that referred to royalty.I prepared to find something without luxury, without beauty, as Vraxlon took Faye and me to a reserved place in the sand castle of Octavius. The prince of pride didn't want to say goodbye to me. In fact, since our first and only dance, he has made no effort to be present. And he did not protest
"It is still a very selfish thought," I said, raising my eyes to see the gargoyles destroyed in front of each pillar of the castle. In addition to being hateful dogs, they were all already with half their heads lying on the ground, their mouths wide open and broken. It was hard to find an entire wall in there. Even the stairs looked like missing steps. The chandeliers with few lit candles, also broken. The place seemed to be in pieces. Patched. "To think that all you should do with your life is to disturb humans.”"And would you prefer me to lie to your majesty?”"I prefer to believe that you are not involved in the rumors of demons that are escaping to possess demons on earth.”When he didn't answer, and the only sound was of small pebbles sliding through the ruined walls of his castle, I turned my eyes towards him. Tennebris sustained my gaze, and a small emotionless smile filled his mouth."And how could I be involved in these rumors if I live only with the company of human souls t
"Thank you," I said, looking for my sandals. I wasn't really in the mood to have my feet pierced by the stones and the broken shards of all the destruction of that castle. I sat on the bed to put on. "If Faye wakes up, let me know that I'm not in danger, I'm just collecting information.”"She's already awake," he warned, leaning against the wall next to the door. I heard a very characteristic sound of something babbling and holding on for a close look, and I thought if it wouldn't take too much to the walls they would also give in to that mass destruction. Vraxlon watched me get out of bed and explained: "We don't need to sleep. Apart from Jensen, the sin of laziness, who needs to sleep to survive, some just do it to recharge their magic. Faye only needs a few minutes... I... I don't need to sleep.”"Oh, is it? And how do you recover your lost magic from each day?”Vraxlon crossed his arms in front of his chest when he saw me taking a few steps to the door, the sword hanging next to h
A real jungle, with the sound of crawling animals, and a song that for a moment I thought belonged to birds, but then I found out that they came from some small and one-eyed creatures, who climbed trees as easily as monkeys."Don't be drooling," he mumbled hatefully Tennebris, cutting off my fascination. "Behind the covers, everything is on fire.”"I like what I see over the cloths," I retortured with a grunt, still observing the smell of the environment that perfectly imitated the vegetation of a forest."Do they have any fruits? "Said Faye, putting one hand on his forehead. "I feel like I'm going to faint from hunger.”"I carry you," offered Vraxlon, cordially, taking Faye's little body in his arms.Tennebris pretended not to pay attention to any of them. However, as he walked in front, next to me, from time to time I could see the look from the corner of his eyes that he threw back, usually when I heard Faye laugh or Vraxlon say some dirty joke. Despite everything, he did not apolo
"Do you feel better? "I asked, noticing two curious packages on top of a large, soft and cozy armchair, in which I sat. The wraps whispered the sound of fabric when I opened them and found fine and exquisite dresses."I feel better than ever," she said, rolling in bed. "This food is really magical. I wonder if I should sleep as much as Jensen to be powerful in the same way.”I held on my tongue the desire to say what I really thought about him sleeping so much, and I lifted one of the dresses for her to see. It was made of something similar to silk, in the same shade of dark green as the leaves of the trees of that territory. A V-neck would make my seiös beautiful and modestly apparent. There were no openings in the legs, but he was slightly filled by the tulle fabric inside the skirt, leaving him with the appearance of a real royal prom dress."I wonder if Tennebris will want to join us at the party or will be holed up in the room with hatred of a kingdom a thousand times better than
It was something very embarrassing to see, but I would feel much better about being pampered like that than being leaning against a wall, with leaves of climbing plants rubbing against my back. The lack of music only increased the embarrassment. A party without music, with a lot of food and drinks, but with apathetic and distracted people. I missed the agitation in Octavius' territory.My chest tightened a little when I thought of him. In the way we had said goodbye, "which was without any farewell. I don't think I should have excluded him from all my plans. I would have felt terrible if it was used the way I used it over the centuries, filling it with empty promises, because somehow I already knew how it all ended.Vraxlon and I looked at each other and looked away. For the first time I didn't know very well how to start a conversation. And my palms were sweating as if I were in an oven. It must not have been more than a few seconds, even so, it seemed like a silence that there would
That way, there we were at the top of that cliff. The three fallen angels protected by my own magic, which contoured their shadows with a subtle smoke of magenta tone, and I, who found myself panting and tired for the few minutes I tried to keep his powers below mine.The feeling was like trying to hold hot irons. It was as if my two hands were holding the powers of the three at the same time, and it hurt, no matter how much my skin remained intact and smooth on the outside. Inside, my blood ran fast in my veins, and my heart intended to stop at any beat. I didn't have much idea how complicated that would be, until I really tried.And I knew I should have made these attempts much earlier. I should have prepared myself better. But I wanted to count on the element of surprise. I wanted to surprise my enemy by taking possession of my two books and destroying them before I found it. And I still had to go to purgatory. I didn't have time to waste with cautious actions and attempts.So I st