'Don't you want to take revenge on Irina?' Blake's words began to play in a loop in Valerie's mind the rest of the day. Even when she was reading in the library, when she was eating with her family, when a priest is teaching her some simple spells, his words refused to leave her. 'Revenge on Irina? Do i want to take revenge on Irina?' she asked herself.A flash of everything Irina put her through over the years came to her mind. She shuddered with fear. One thing Irina made sure to install in Valerie in all these years is, fear. The Raven queen made sure to suppress Valerie's courage using pain as the main weapon. pain, when Valerie was being whipped for not doing something that she is supposed to. Pain, when her stomach began to cry with hunger when Irina didn't bother to feed her for days. Painting of being left alone in the darkness. That pain instilled fear. That is what controlled Valerie, untill she no longer could bear the torture and escaped from that hell hole.Valerie's gut
Raphael looked at her quietly without saying anything. He is surprised that she is sharing the truth rather than try to fool him with a lie.Valerie is tensed the longer Raphael is quiet without saying anything post her confession."Is it wrong to think like that?" she asked him feeling vulnerable and confused.Rapid smiled sadly and shook his head. She is a pure sole who didn't even though about revenge untill he himself planted it in her head. It's a wonder that she didn't atleast attempt to kill Irina the moment Valerie realised that Irina is the culprit . Even now Valerie is struggling to come to terms with what she decided."No, it's not wrong. You suffered so much because of Irina. If i was in your place, i would have thought the same too" he assured her softly.She relaxed when he let out that he is not angry. "I was worried that you might get upset" she confessed.He took a step closer to her and softly caressed her cheek. "Why will i get upset? Because she is my mother? I a
In the Ernest palace, Raphael is absently caressing Valerie's spine. She is fast asleep, while his mind is spinning with options about what to do next to save Valerie from Irina.'I need to go and meet that man soon. I know he can help me. But i cannot leave Valerie without any protection here. It is relatively safe here, for now. But things can change in an blink of an eye. I don't want to take chances. But delaying will only complicate things more. What should I do?' he was thinking. Raphael knows where to find that man whom his father helped years ago. But it would take around one day for him to find that old man and return back to the Ernest palace. Anything can happen in that one day. Now that the men Irina hired to Kidnap Valerie turned to his side, it should not be a problem to go tomorrow.'Yes, i will go tomorrow. I will talk to king Arthur and arrange some security for Valerie. Her dragon needs to come out and she has to shift. Only then Valerie will have a fighting chance.
"Come to my room Raven Prince" a voice rang loudly, surprising the young prince. Despite not seeing the source of the voice, Raphael knows whom it belongs to. He looked around the dimly lit home, which looks like it needs a good cleaning. It is covered in thick layer of dust and cobwebs are everywhere. He saw a small kitchen on one side and there is only one other door on the left corner. Raphael walked towards the door, but before he could open it, the door opened for him on its own. He is surprised a little. But what surprised him even more is the man sitting in the middle of the room. He is sitting on the floor, Indian style. His eyes are closed and his palms are resting over his knees. Candles are lit and arranged in two circles. That man is sitting in the middle of what looks like symbols of some ancient kind. He is so thin, only skin and bones are seen. His face looks as if life has been sucked out of it. His breathing is shallow, and he is struggling to keep breathing. On cont
"She never loved your father. She only married him to Spite the Ernest king" Waldorf shared the past, which no one can change.Raphael is shocked by this revelation. He was under the illusion that Irina used to love her late husband so much. Waldorf's words came out as a shock to him."What? She used my father?" Raphael realised belatedly.Waldorf nodded with sadness."Yes, not only your father, she is using everyone for her own selfish reasons. The entire Raven clan is being fooled because she didn't get what she wanted" he revealed.Raphael became quiet. He already knows that she is not genuine, but still when the truth is spoken outloud, it is not easy to come to terms with it. When the truth has a voice, it becomes real. It is not easy to ignore it anymore. That is what happening with Raphael now. The weight of the entire Raven clan is on his shoulder's now. Irina doesn't deserve to sit on that Throne anymore. She is a killer."I have to take over that Throne now. I have stalled l
"You said she is doing so many cruel things and my clan needs me. Do you mean that she is doing cruel things to my clan people?" he asked with shock.Waldorf is impressed with how quickly Raphael connected the dots. "You assumed correctly. She is being cruel not only to your mate, but also your clan people. She is using your mate's blood as the major ingredient in the medicine's her pharma company is manufacturing. The scientists in that company are mixing other ingredients to that blood to see what it would do. Some of their experiments have good outcomes, while most of their trials have adverse effects. She is kidnapping dragons from your clan and the other three clans and is using them as experimental materials. They will be injected with these trial medicines and they will see what kind of outcome it has. She did not even spare small kids. She is targeting the Rural part of every clan where there will be poor people and about whom mostly no one would care. Their disappearance wil
In the Raven Palace, Irina is fuming. Just like Raphael instructed them, the four men went back to the Raven queen to pass on the message about Valerie. But Irina is not at all pleased to hear the delivered message."If she is not in the Ernest palace, then where the hell is she? She cannot just disappear into thin air. I need her. Do you hear me? I need Valerie Ernest, and soon" she yelled with barely contained rage. The four men flinched with fear. Even though they are used to her outbursts regularly, this is the first time they are being unfaithful. But none of them regret it. They are still faithful to their clan and their future king."She must be somewhere on that cliff. It's not that easy to escape from there, especially without her dragon. We will go right away and search for her there" one of them offered.That seems to appease her a little. Because she composed herself soon after."That sounds like a wonderful plan. Go right ahead and search for her. I want her, alive" She
In the Ernest Palace, in the absence of Blake, Tyson is happily accompanying Valerie everywhere. Blake made sure to finish his training session with Valerie before he left to meet Waldorf. 'I am accompanying Prince Raphael on an important mission ' Blake lied to Valerie before he left. After Blake leaves, Valerie's day passes as usual, but Tyson's constant hovering is making her feel uncomfortable."Wait, let me open the door for you""Wait, I pull the chair for you""Wait, I will come with you""Wait, let me do that for you"He is offering his assistance in every single thing. For anyone, it would have been flattering. They would have enjoyed his attention. But Valerie got used to doing her things by herself. She never took anyone's help, and that is how she likes it. But Tyson is not allowing her to do anything and he is treating her like a doll made of glass. "Prince Tyson, I can do that by myself" Valerie protested when he offered to pull a bull from its shelf in the library."V
After one year....Raphael wanted to hide everything Irina did, because she was once a queen of the Raven clan. Her black deeds will forever become a black mark on the Raven clan. The hard earned reputation of his ancestors would be ruined, which he doesn't want to happen. So he hid her death when it happened. As everything happened in the middle of the night and as the Raven palace is sitting at a fair distance away from the town, no one knew what happened or suspected anything. By morning, only ashes were left behind. The dead army and even irina who brought them to life are all gone. Cadmus lied to everyone that irina went on a spiritual journey to find peace. Everyone believed that lie as Irina made sure to keep her reputation spotless when she was alive. Only peace was left behind after she passed away. "Raphael? What are you doing here?" Valerie asked from behind him. He is standing in the palace court yard while looking in the exact place where his mother died. Valerie noticed
Raphael and his men together surrounded the dead army from all four directions. They start to burn the dead army with their dragon fire. As Irina is momentarily disoriented, the dead army stands still like statues, while their bodies are burned down to ashes. When Irina realized what was happening, she gained back the control she has on the dead people again. "You dumb idiots, attack" she screeched loudly. At once the dead army started charging toward the Raven palace again. As their bodies already started burning, they are now walking fireballs charging towards the Palace gates. At once the palace gates shook with the force of the dead army. It creaked loudly, protesting from the force with which the dead army was pushing at it and trying to breach the palace walls."Guards, shift and stop them from entering the palace. The gate will not hold that much force for longer. Barricade the gates with sandbags. Quick" Raphael instructed his men while he resumed burning their decayed bodie
"Your Highness, dead bodies are walking," he said in a rush. The guard is pale and looked scared. Raphael and Angoori ran outside and were shocked to see an army of dead and decaying people walking towards the Raven palace. Their bodies are muddy as if they just came from inside a grave. Bones can be seen in their half-decayed bodies. Most of them are just walking skeletons, and the rest are in the process of decaying. Irina is leading them in the front. She looked happy at herself. Raphael thought he was prepared to deal with anything Irina threw at them this time. But no amount of mental pep talk would have prepared him for this. 'How does anyone fight with already dead people?' he thought while taking in the walking dead steadily approaching the palace. The Raven guards look scared out of their minds. But the guards are trying to look brave and do their part by locking the tall wrought iron palace gates and positioning themselves to shield the entrance with weapons. That dead ar
In the dark forest, Irina is pacing the uneven land with fury. She is furious with Raphael who destroyed her lab and then ruined the souls for the dark powers. Out of all her enemies, she never imagined that it would be her own son who would destroy everything. The years of planning, pretending and after a million cunning ideas, everything was burned down to ashes because of Raphael."No one, I mean not a single soul dared stand against me. But now, after twenty-five years of unhindered rein of only victories, my own flesh and blood is standing in my way" she screeched with anger and frustration.The dark forest shook with the intensity of her anger. "After everything I gave you, you decided to take up my enemy's side and betray me. Now, after I learned that you stole my dark powers, there is no going back for you from this betrayal. You have to join your dear Father in heaven. You never really saw my true nature, Raphael. I only ever pampered you and hid my true self from you. I onl
Cadmus understood what Raphael meant by 'Our plan ' after half an hour. They are standing in the palace Courtyard and all the Raven guards are standing in front of them. Confusion is seen on their faces. It's almost midnight and a meeting with their king at this hour is not common. But Cadmus understood why Raphael is doing this now. Because they cannot afford to waste any time, especially when they don't know where Irina is and what she is planning. "You must be confused and thinking about why your new king wants to speak with you all at this hour. But I understood that this is the best time to speak about things that all of us want to hide from others" Raphael spoke.His words left everyone confused in the beginning, but then the men who are loyal to him understood where this was going. So they looked at each other and nodded their heads in understanding. Stealthily they changed their positions in such a way that they are now surrounding Irina's loyal men whom they are sure would g
After her failed attempt to threaten her enemies, Irina left the Coronation party in a fit of murderous rage. "No, if they think that they can intimidate me, then they are dead wrong. Raphael might not know about me, but Arthur, how did you think that I would let you go so easily? We grew up together. You know how stubborn I am. If I set my eyes on something, then that should either belong to me, or it should be destroyed. Just like you. I wanted you, but you rejected me and married anesthesia. I thought of killing you, but that would be an easy punishment for you. I want you to suffer. And your suffering would only end on the day you die. Now, your daughter made a huge mistake by taking over my position as the Raven Queen. You made my son go against me. That is a sin deemed to be punished by death. Now she will die, and so will you. None of you know what I did for two years after I left the Ernest palace. I practiced dark magic. All these years I was trying to amplify my dark powers
Irina has a malicious smile on her face. She is hiding how angry she is. She never thought that there would come a day when she might have to see her son laughing and chatting with the people she hates the most. What's worse is, he made her the worst enemy and made Arthur's daughter his Queen. "Hello Eugene" Irina greeted the Nester king. She intentionally skipped his title. This is the same way she used to address him when she used to stay in the Ernest clan. But after things turned bad between her and Arthur, she distanced herself from Eugene as well. Because she knows that he is loyal to Arthur.Eugene became stiff and so did the others. Raphael tightened his fists. Valerie's eyes flashed with anger. Anesthesia, Arthur, and Liliana have matching frowns of disgust. Hector and Cadmus look uncomfortable."Hello, Irina" he replied with a blank face. Irina turned her gaze towards Arthur. She wanted to disturb their happiness. "You look happy Arthur. I saw this kind of smile on you on
After the coronation of Raphael and Valerie as the new king and Queen of the Raven Kingdom, Cadmus is given the respectable position of the Royal advisor and the Royal godfather of the Raven clan. He is given the power that he can involve in every matter that concerns the Raven clan. His position is equal to Raphael and Valerie's. He is overwhelmed with joy and his happiness has no bounds. But the same cannot be said about Irina. She is not at all happy. Raphael gave her no position to hold in the Royal court. He decided that it was time for her to rest. He made it look like he is doing her a favor and all of this is for his good..'The previous queen of this clan has given her everything for the well-being of this clan. After my father's unfortunate demise, she took it upon herself to take this clan under her care. She worked restlessly toward her goal. I think it's time for her to leave these heavy responsibilities to us and rest. She deserves this more than anyone ' he announced.
The entire Agnes clan bowed their heads when Valerie approached them. They don't have a choice. Going against a gold dragon is like going against a mountain that is taller and stronger. It's useless to fight with a mountain when you clearly know that you cannot win that battle. A gold dragon's wrath can destroy an entire clan. Her blessing would help any clan flourish and grow. The land that she touches will be greener than any other land."I am not killing you merely because I don't want my mate's coronation to be remembered with a blood bath. Ravens are known for their hospitality. You came here as a guest. I don't want to hurt a guest. But be aware, Princess Tasha. I will not tolerate disrespect either. If you open your nasty mouth to pass cruel comments, then I would not hesitate to kill you in the future. Keep your judgments to yourself. Me, Valerie Ernest, daughter of King Arthur, princess of the Ernest clan, and the mate of the Raven King here by declare you, Princess Tasha as