SAMALAH:
My chest was threatening to explode with rage as I looked at the blood-red fertility stone in my hands, but it was Dahlia’s sudden burst into tears that had reminded me the part I needed to play at that moment.
“N-No… That can’t be right…”
“Yes. Maybe this was defective. Let’s try it again,” I whispered in a dull voice.
We waited some time to let the stone settle back into its original white color. After about thirty minutes, I pricked Dahlia’s finger once more and poured a drop of her blood into the stone.
Red. It produced the same red color.
“I… I am not pregnant… I cannot possibly be pregnant!”
That’s right. She cannot be of child, especially not with Tristan’s child!
I can’t help it. Even I was sent into fits of tears.
When we were both calm enough, she whispered towards me, “Who is he?”
DAHLIA:The sun has already reached its peak when I woke up. Samalah was kind enough to prepare some breakfast for the day’s journey.“You have to eat up a lot, sister. After all, you are eating for two now.”I looked down at my belly and placed my hands over it. Was it really true? Was a child really growing inside me when it wasn’t even apparent?...Before I slept, I was thinking what to do. Samalah said my husband was a monster. If he was, then I could be carrying someone who could turn out to be as devilish and as menacing, right?And yet, the alternative – ending this child’s life – didn’t feel like even an option for me at all. Even though I do not remember anything, I was sure I don’t want to see this child leave.Things would be hard from now on, I guess… I was going to be a mother soon.“By the way, sister, it’s inevitable that we’ll meet people al
DAHLIA:A pair of wolf eyes glowing fiercely was looking straight at me, and I gazed back. I couldn’t take my eyes of it. It was so mesmerizing and at the same time very frightening.“Dahlia,” I heard the wolf say in a low growl. “Dahlly!”I stood there frozen in horror. How did this wolf know me? Was he a spy, a soldier sent to kill me? Was he there to snatch me away? Did I just get discovered right now?My feet moved involuntary away. I wanted to run, but all I could do was back away as the wolf emerged from the bushes and took some steps towards me.“Ahh,” I opened my mouth to scream, but before I could overcome my initial shock, the man, in his half-wolf half-human form, had come closer like lighting. He came over me and cupped his hand against my mouth.He was covered from head to toe with fur as dark as the night. The only thing I could see were his deep violet eyes that shone like gemstones. T
TRISTAN:I didn’t know what else to tell Dahlia, so I began to tell her the most basic of all truths between us...“You and I – we are fated mates… Can’t you tell?”That’s right. I found Dahlly just now, but I couldn’t just snatch her away as I pleased… especially now that she had lost her memories of me…Last night, I ventured by myself further into the forest surrounding Dalrus. I knew Samalah was someone who hated crowds. She often went alone and acted alone. If she had planned to kidnap Dahlia, she would probably run into the woods with her and hide her there until her plan was fulfilled.Samalah was always highly suspicious of people. I thought I was the only one whom she trusted before we planned to extract our revenge against the Talandor royals, but seeing how she had me framed at Payn, it was safe to say she shifted her trust to someone else she could control.Thus, inst
DAHLIA:I can’t believe what he just did. How can Naskan be so bold? Was it because he was sure we were fated mates?The craziest part of it all was that I liked it. I liked his kiss, and before I knew what I was doing, I was already kissing him back…Naskan’s muscular arms travelled around my body, caressing me. Why was I even letting him do this?“Ahh, wait,” I said, pulling back. There was no way I should concede to this. I’m pregnant, and more importantly, I don’t even remember this wolf at all…“Are you beginning to remember now, Dahlly?” He called me in that nickname too… Were we really close?There was indeed a comforting feeling even when Naskan was staying much closer than I would have wanted right now. He does not feel like a threatening person, and yet… This was all wrong…I have a husband somewhere. Maybe I was forced to marry that man, but
TRISTAN: I admit it. I was furious beyond reason. I even imagined strangling Samalah with my own bare hands at this very moment... As always though, she remained calm and emotionless. She must be confident that I wouldn’t or I couldn’t hurt her at all. She had always trusted our intertwined history together. “Calm yourself. I can’t breathe,” she quietly said. I looked into her eyes and tried to decipher the depth of the schemes that were going through her head. Despite growing up together under Uncle’s Milford’s care, I could never really figure out this woman. I channeled the emotions inside my heart. She was right. I didn’t want to hurt her. Not until I hear her words about this ruckus with Dahlia. As soon as I released the hold on the air around us, Samalah gasped. Finally, she was showing some fear when she looked back at me after being unable to breathe properly. “Why are you pretending to be him? Why are you assuming some
DAHLIA:I left Naskan and Samalah to talk by themselves inside the cave, but how come everything was so quiet?I wanted to listen to their conversation, so I stayed just a bit outside of the cave, but I didn’t hear ever a single word.I frowned. Were they able to use magic to seal off their conversation?Although Samalah has been nothing but kind to me, I still cannot trust her fully, and Naskan – well, he’s on a whole different level…Naskan felt like he was someone familiar, and yet, he also felt like a total stranger at the same time.I did like Naskan – that’s something I cannot deny. He was very attractive, but at the same time, he’s somewhat rude, a bit cocky, and he always tries to tempt me whenever he gets a chance...I shook my head. Why was I thinking of Naskan? Just because I saw his body and it looked divine does not automatically make him someone I could trust...I still h
DAHLIA: Naskan was acting funny. I knew he was lying when he said that nothing was bothering him. He didn’t look too comfortable with the conversation at all. “Why don’t you tell Dahlly the truth? Her husband – you know him, right,” Samalah said. “Out of all people, you know him far too well.” I knew the talk wouldn’t go smoothly because of Samalah’s teasing, but I gasped when something completely surprising happened. Just then, I heard Naskan swear towards Samalah inside of my head. ‘F*ck off,’ he growled internally. It was my turn to flinch as I grabbed tightly at Naskan’s fur, to which he also halted in surprise. “Dahlia, are you alright,” he said softly. I could only nod at him. Did I just really hear his voice inside my head? “You’re making her uncomfortable, Naskan. Dahlly, are you sure you’re alright?” “Um, yes… Don’t mind me,” I told Samalah, grateful for her concern. It must have just be
DAHLIA: “N-Naskan… Stop this please,” I begged him. If he marks me right now, wouldn’t that activate my husband’s mark? Wouldn’t he sense that I am with someone else other than him? Frankly, I’m not sure, but even if my husband won’t find me with the use of our mating mark, there was also one more problem… I’m with child! I pushed him away, but Naskan’s muscles were too big and too firm. “Please!” “Why,” he said, his voice sounding muffled against my skin. “Why can’t you remember me, Dahlly?... I wished I had lost my memory instead… Then we could start all over again much more easily.” I frowned. What was Naskan saying? How can I start all over with him if he lost his memories? “Naskan, even if that happened, I will still have a husband, so starting something with you isn’t possible, hmm…” Perhaps, it’s the frustration of wanting someone but not being able to have them that’s taking over him right now. I
Hello! Thank you so much for coming to this journey with me in Revenge of The Shadow Heir! I started this story with a completely different story arc in mind, and I can't believe I've already reached the end of Dahlia and Tristan's love story. I dedicate this novel to the person who inspired me to take on writing again (and write romance stories, which wasn't really the genre I honestly saw myself writing).Here's to more meaningful memories together, sweetie! :). And to all those who have ever dreamed of being a writer or of being anything else - chase that dream! You were made to lust after it for a purpose. Glory to God always! I might take some hiatus after this story, but I assure you this won't be the last I will write. Thanks a lot again, dearests, and happy reading! - Ellie Love -
DAHLIA:“Dahlia, I have confessed everything to you before. I don’t know how much you remember of it after your accident though, so I am sorry for hurting you again,” Tristan began.“It was true. I casted a spell that was why the mate mark appeared in your body after our first night together. I was sure you were not my mate, and I was not yours. I casted a different spell on myself a few years ago to suppress finding my own mate, so I was confident when I approached you.”“However, the more I stayed beside you, the surer I had become that you were my destined mate… There wasn’t any day that I didn’t regret doing that…”Tears flowed from both our eyes. I knew it from my memory. We did have this conversation before, but it was still heartbreaking to hear Tristan’s side of the story.“When you had switched appearances with Samalah, I was foolish enough not to recognize you
DAHLIA: I was in a dark and suffocating place that I can’t even see my own hands and feet. I tried standing still, but nothing was happening, so I decided to move around. I started calling to my wolf. ‘Eva!’ Again, I shouted, ‘Eva!’ There was no answer. I was running wildly, or at least I thought I was. No one can say that this was all happening in my head. Goddess, I couldn’t even see if my body was still intact! I tried to touch my cheek just so I could verify I am still alive, still seeing, still feeling. The last thing I could honestly remember was King Helion Cosco drinking the blood off my neck. I felt around my neck. There weren’t any wounds of any form of punctures. Am I still existing in the real world, or is this all just a dying person’s dream? Just then, I heard an anguished voice. “Dahlia!” It was the voice I had longed to hear for a long time. “Tristan!” I started ru
TRISTAN: Irvan, that scoundrel that caused Samalah to get into an accident and had caused Dahlia’s agony, was a conjurer! Perhaps that was why they had left the dead bodies here instead of burying or burning them. It wasn’t just for show after all. The animated bodies started to close in on us. I thought it would be easy to defeat them since they were dead. However, they have the faces of people whome we had once seen or knew… It was a bit fortunate that most of them were just people whom I have casually met at Talandor, but I could only imagine that this battle must be too hard for Kaist. As we tried to knock out the dead bodies, the dragon bones swoop down on us, trying to pick on the flesh on our back. Even without a rider, the dragon bones were agile. This was really a dangerous thing. I just finished hurling a corpse somewhere far away, when suddenly, I looked up to see a dragon bone aiming to pluck my eyes away. I
TRISTAN: I galloped towards the edge of the plain leading to the Great Temple where I could smell my Dahlia’s scent. In the past, I had loved this walk from the forest towards the temple where my father would regularly burn an offering to the Moon Goddess Selene. Now, this same path was packed with vampires, attacking me from left and right. It was a hard fight. I felt like I was a bug trying to battle out hordes of ants to get to the other side. The more I stayed here, the more endangered Dahlia could become. Suddenly, I heard a voice roar. “Get down!” My instincts kicked in, and I followed it. As soon as I ducked down, bolts of fire started to rain down on my path, burning the Blasted Ones that crowded my way. I looked back sharply to discover a non-familiar wolf. It was golden brown with a stone in its head that shone like the midday sun. So this was how Kaist’s Shadow Rune wolf looked like. He must have already acce
DAHLIA: I rested my hope that if Count Jeteris himself or the people from Talandor could see me, they’d try to help me out. After all, I was someone they knew, someone who interacted with them, and someone they had sworn to protect as knights of Talandor. Surely, they wouldn’t let anyone from the Vampire Clan kill a she-wolf they had once known... But all those hopes were crushed when I saw what awaited us at the temple. The outer courts of the temple were nothing but mere rubbles of stones and sands now, but one could still gain the impression that it was a grand structure once. I had seen the tumbled-down appearance of the temple in a distance as King Helion dragged me to it, but as we entered its vicinity, I was shocked beyond belief. All around, corpses of werewolves lay lifelessly on the ground. “W-What did you do,” I asked in horror. “The foolish count wanted my help, but he didn’t agree with taking you as my queen, so…”
TRISTAN: “Brother, look out!” I swerved to the right by mistake, which ended up being good as I had dodged a blow against my skull. Livia and I had been fighting against the Blasted Ones for hours now, but they do not seem to be depleting. How in the world can the Apricus King call in this many of his men? Worse of all, Livia’s state was getting worse and worse as time went by… I hate to admit it, but I don’t think I could last fighting against them for a long time too. I struggled to get on my feet, thinking of how wretched I was to have sent the one person I loved the most towards her death. Memories of when I first saw Dahlia flashed by my head as I attacked one vampire after another. Lady Dahlia Hurst – the gentle rose of the kingdom – the person people looked up to and envied… My first thought was that such a person would be nothing more than a spoiled brat. She had been under the spotlight since she was yo
KAIST:It was a call to help Count Abell. Wolves from the White Fang Pack immediately tore their shirts and started transforming into their wolf form.“Prince Kaist, do you mean to say Tristan and Samalah… I mean Dahlia are in danger,” Thesla hurriedly asked.I nodded. “Yes. We will be going now. Get the women, children, elderly, and the sick inside the town hall. Bar the doors, and don’t let anyone inside the village. I will return here for the lady when everything is over,” I told the villagers.There was a murmur around the villagers.“Prince Kaist, I couldn’t speak for everyone, but I will come with you. Dahlia has become a friend and a family to Efiro and I. I don’t want to just sit and do nothing when I know she’s in danger!”“Very well.” I turned to the crowd. “Everyone who wishes to join us may come. As for the rest of you, please secure the village.
TRISTAN: “No, take her back! Give Dahlia back to us,” I shouted. The vampires around us poised themselves for an attack and smiled. They could sense the blood palpitating in my veins as I tensed up. They were getting excited on the prospect of violence as their true nature dictates. “Finders keepers” was all I heard from the damned king of the vampires. Maybe this was all a lie. Maybe the king of the Blasted Ones was toying with my sanity… How did I end up in this? Why did I give Dahlia to them? It felt like I was in a sort of reverie. Everything felt hazy. It was as if things were coming at me in slow motion. I could only watch as Dahlia’s golden brown hair billowed in the wind. King Helion towered over her. He clutched her by the wrist, and when she refused to tear her eyes away from me, he grappled at her shoulders and took her away more forcefully, twisting her face away from mine. I could only watch as trails of te