Drusus POVIt was that monster, war, which just went and gnawed on the last morsel of Ghysem and the Southern Pack, oozing into all crevices, not leaving any single corner untouched. War—with scalding hot breath that charred everything to ruin, lives left shattered in its wake. I fought up front: my sword cleaving through chaos, my heart burning with ever greater resolve. The weight of my armor crushed upon my shoulders; heavier upon my soul was the weight of leadership.The whole thing blended into one fussy memory of the last days: the screams of the fallen, clashing steel upon steel, the hefty stench of death in the air. I remember vividly when we fought above the underground shelter, where our forces clashed with the Army of the Southern Pack that had settled there.Where its waters ran red from the blood, now churned and raged as a deathly torrent; heavy in iron and decay, playing an eternal macabre symphony inside my head.I remember, as distinctly as if it happened yesterday, h
Theophilus POVIt was almost as if this warren of tunnels did not know about the pandemonium above. Stone hallways continued on, turning this way and that, with some small corridors ill-lit by an infrequent torch. Every step was muffled, with its echo ringing off cold, wet walls. The air was heavy with damp earth, and there wafted through it an undertone of smoke from far-off impromptu kitchens scattered through the labyrinth beneath the ground. Those shelters were much more than safety; they were our lifeline in this infinite war—a tenuous refuge against the pounding attacks of the Southern Pack.My wife, Moana, followed with practised stealth behind me. Her steps, when they came, were little more than a soft whisper against the worn stone floor. Comforting, yet the utmost utility in possession, was the very thought of it. She would be capable of maintaining the fragile balance of our hidden world, well experienced as she was, now that we moved through the narrow paths. I tried to sp
Tom's POVIn the evening, illuminated by the light from the night sky, the moonlight was working through the thicket of trees and created an eerie light on the forest floor. My team of shapeshifters and I had been lying low, our ears pricked up for the slightest squeak or crunch of leaves. The night breeze was chill with a hint of the pine woods and the earth. The night could not have been more suitable for an attack.With the creeping sound of footsteps coming closer, we prepared for the ambush. A group of southern soldiers stepped out of the woody area, their whispers hanging in the air about their further actions. Instantly, we jumped at it without the blink of an eye. The sound of the clash of their steel and the shouts of men, surprise and pain interrupted the silence of the night. It was a short fight but intense and the team lost all of its members on the forest ground.This has been the team that their captain Volkov had sent.We acted fast, pulling the bodies to a secluded ar
Drusus POVThe sound of the swords clashing was ringing in my ears as I moved through the nearing dense thickets of the reinforcement forces. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, I felt it coursing through my body. Clenching the hilt of the sword in my hand I use it to attack soldiers from the Southern pack mercilessly. Most of them were no match for me.The smell of smoke and sweat filled the air, and as I breathed them in I was reminded of the game we were in. To kill or to be killed.Their growls and roars are that of anger towards me and my soldiers, nonetheless, I don't waiver. I advance, being blinded by the rage of the battle.“Forward!” I cried out loud and the soldiers followed in battle charging more into combat. The fire light which came as the result of the burning timber cast strong shadows on the firm faces of my companions whose eyes gleamed with blood thirst and vengeance. We were true warriors and the sparks of the battles we had to go through made us stronger. Nothin
Agnes POVWhen the night was over I woke up with a splitting headache and blurred vision. The floor was cold, solid, and dry unlike the warm comfortable arms of the sleepy effect that belonged to the tranquilizer I had just been administered. The mist in my brain cleared after a moment and I could see that I was not by myself. Glancing to the side a little, I noticed Adrianna sitting next to me and she looked as white as a sheet with eyes rounded in fear.“Adrianna,” I said hoarsely as I could barely muster enough voice in me. “What happened?”She looked into my eyes and then kept quiet. Her anger even without words weighed a ton more than the silence that oppressed the entire room. In beautiful black eyes, fear and confusion were written but she did not utter a word, her voice seemed to have been taken away from her.Almost instantly, the door opened and Audrey entered the room with her sickening laughter ringing off the stone walls. ”Oh, how touching!” she grinned, rolling her eyes,
Adrianna's POV"I guess I should be happy," she laughed through her tears and then sniffed. "That Adrianna is finally at my mercy, but I'm not."Curiously, I asked. "Why?""Then it means I'm weak," she chuckled. "And I'm letting the enemy win, I'm letting Audrey take control of me."She paused, changing her sitting position for the thousandth time. She did not seem to be comfortable with her sitting position. "I understand you the most Adrianna," she said with a friendly smile."No you don't," I said sharply, fighting my tears.Agnes was relentless. "Just like you, my family betrayed me as well. Who do you think sold me into slavery?" She asked.I didn't respond to her. "My mother told me to make the sacrifice for my siblings. My stepfather was the one who sold me and my mother watched him take me away.""And look at you now," I scoffed with an eye roll. "Don't try to act like you understand me," I snapped at her. "Oh please!" Annoyance flashed in her eyes. "You act like you have se
Castilla’s POV When the joyful face of my father graced my eyes, all I could muster was an unmasked hatred toward him. Ares the great warrior king was now as powerless as one could ever imagine. While our people shed their blood on the battle line, he wasted his energy on minor vices, lavishing his energy on sleeping with different women working in the palace every day. Women who were almost the same age as me. My father made my skin crawl, several times I wondered or had the fear he would force me to his bed.Larog's words echoed in my mind: “He wants to kill you, Callista, You are a menace to his position and he will certainly not hesitate." I wondered if his affection towards me was as false as what I now had towards him. Was he behaving this way to feel less guilty about the fact that he planned to kill me later?To get out of this predicament I had no other option than to attack first.The main dining hall was more like a sight out of a fairy tale with the candlelight which made
Third Person's POVA loud scream could be heard quite early in the morning coming from the king's chambers. It was feminine, followed by the clatter of chinaware on the floor. It was heard by almost no one except Larog who lay in bed beside Castilla. The guards around the king's chambers were fast asleep like someone had drugged them. The scream did not wake them up either, they simply lay there like a log, still and unmoving. Slowly, Larog crept away from the bed trying his best not to wake Callista. They had spent the night together, making love. He knew that what he had said about her father seemed to bother her so he had made her forget her thoughts last night with his touches. He walked through the palace that was dimly lit with torches and great intervals. The morning's air was chilly and felt eerie to him. As though he could feel a cold embrace. His heart was palpitating as he approached the king's room. He cocked his head suspiciously at the guards who lay on the floor now