POP! Two people apparate in the middle of the night at the gates of the temple. Aryan and Polina study the temple of Ghi’or which is standing majestically, the peak on it twinkling under the dim moonlight. “The spells are too powerful,” Aryan murmurs. “But something is strange.” “What is stranger than the spells?” Polina frowns. “There are no guards.” Polina reflects on his words and realizes that Aryan is right; there are no guards. The temple is supposed to be shrouded in secrecy and mystique. Surely, there should have been protectors or guards around it and yet, there is no one. Aryan sniffs the air. “I smell…death,” he whispers. “People have died here, recently as well. I can smell blood which has been wiped. I can feel their souls under my feet…” Polina shudders at the thought. Aryan can sense death in a way others cannot. As a vampire who lives on the blood of the dead, he knows when a person is dying or dead. He can even tell the time of death. “The monks,” Polina gasp
Anna…Anna…His mind is crying out for her but she is nowhere near. He keeps on holding on to his last shred of hope as if he will hear her voice again. Yet, there is nothing. Her voice is gone. The last thing he remembers is her lifeless body being carried away by the Dark One.“Is…alright…”“Can…hear…”Two people seem to be talking but he cannot make out their voices. His mind is a blur and the only thing he can think of is Anna.“Wake…up…Prince…”Lavi slowly opens his eyes. The faces of people appear in front of him, a man and a woman. The man has silver eyes and his sleek hair is tied in a neat bun. The woman has strawberry blonde hair and she is slightly more muscular than average women. Both of them are looking at him with worried expressions.“Your Highness, are you alright?” The woman asks him. Lavi slowly sits up as he recognizes the woman.“You…” he begins. “I know you. I saw you at the coronation of the Ezealyran Emperor a few months back! You are the personal guard of the Em
Erik Jokovich puts down his book and sighs. The fire is blazing in the fireplace, lighting the otherwise dim house. His sad gaze falls on the portrait of a dark haired woman in her late teens, smiling brightly. Every time he thinks about his daughter, his heart swells up. What happened to her should not happen to someone else.Lavi Costa will pay for this, he thinks bitterly. Yana…my sweet little girl.He clutches the picture close to his heart, silently weeping for his daughter. The fire of revenge is still burning within him and now that he successfully managed to take down Lavi, the fire is starting to ebb.WHOOSH!Erik is startled by the sudden gust of wind. A window has burst open and the cold wind is making him shiver. He stands up to close the window.“Bloody hell!” He murmurs as he shuts the window close. He turns to leave when there is a loud crack and the window bursts open again.“What in the world?” Erik closes the window again, grumbling to himself.“Hello, Erik.”“AHHHH
Anna frowns at the child. She cannot recognize her but the voice sounds familiar as if they have met before. Cassie, on the other hand, is delighted to meet Anna once again. “Anna, you came!” Cassie gleefully says. “I knew it!” “Who are you?” Anna frowns. The girl is in the cell opposite to her but she does not look scared at all. “I am Cassie!” Cassie exclaims. “Cassandra.” Cassandra…It hits Anna. “You are the girl from the market in Faika!” She gasps. “But how did you end up here?” “I’m where I should be,” Cassie simply says. She sits cross legged, studying Anna with interest. “It seems that the Dark One has chosen you for the sacrifice,” she goes on. “Makes sense. You are the threat to his rule, after all.” “Sacrifice?” “Mhmm,” Cassie nods. “To awaken the Gods, the Dark One has to pay a tribute to the gatekeeper of Veneer. Otherwise, the Gods will not awaken. If the Gods rise, the Dragon will die.” Anna is alarmed. “The Dragon will die?” She echoes. “What do you mean?”
*One day ago in Soloma*Lavi and Anna blink at each other in surprise. Nine is sitting in front of the fire, her eyes unfocused as she shares everything she knows about the Black Jacks. They are sitting in the middle of the forest, resting. “Moira’s body?” Lavi questions her. “Her real body? How is that possible?”“It is,” Nine says. “Moira is a witch and a very powerful one at that. She conducted a body switching spell. The day she entered the castle, she realized that Phillippe’s real mate was one of her own maids. The maid sensed it and so did the Emperor but before he could meet her, she ran away. Phillippe was betrothed to the heir of the Morales family. A mere maid can’t be his Empress!”“So she went to tell her mistress,” she goes on. “Before Phillippe could find her, Moira cast a spell and switched her body with that of the maid and put the latter into a deep sleep.”“Where is her body?” Lavi demands.“With Two,” Nine reveals. “He’s hiding her real body.”“How come I do not k
*Meanwhile in Pir*Damien and his pack arrive at the forest of Pir with Nine in tow. She stares at the darkness ahead, wondering if she can do this.“Lead the way, fae!” Damien snarls at her. Nine gives him a hard look.“You’re saying that word as if my kind is filthy,” she says in a cold tone. “I’m a fae, not a piece of trash!”“I will address you however I please!” Damien snaps at her but her look of grief and sadness is tormenting him. He wants to hurt her, make her wish for death so that he can reject her. But his own heart is being crushed under the burden of the insults. She is strong, very strong. Even though his words are hurting her, she keeps up with it in dignity. Damien cannot help but be attracted to her and he hates himself for it. She has taken over his mind in only a few days and he is trying to push her away from him. Nine knows his dilemma very well but she takes a deep breath.“Call me Nine,” she says. “Not a ‘fae’. I’m Nine. That’s my identity now.”She raises he
*In Faikan Castle*Phillippe and Moira are stunned by Lavi’s appearance. Lavi is glaring at Moira with hatred, wanting to rip her apart to pieces. Phillippe turns to his guards and shouts, “GET HIM!”The guards run towards Lavi but he raises his hands and bright flames erupt from it. He blasts the incoming guards with his fiery powers. Leo puts Roseanne down and unsheathes his sword.“Stop them from harming the Crown Prince!” He orders. His men charge forward, much to Phillippe’s shock, and attack the Faikan guards. The guards are temporarily confused as their allies take them by surprise and Leo’s men quickly disarm them. Lavi’s flames knock out several of them and several more Ezealyran men barge through the gates to surround the castle. Lavi shoots more flames at incoming guards.“AHHHHH!” The guards scream as the fire hits them, rendering them unconscious. Lavi raises his hands and aims at his mortal enemy. The flames burst towards Moira but Phillippe pushes her out of the way. H
Cassandra looks outside her cell. A large moon is looming in the sky, not quite yet full but very daunting. Only a few more days and it will be full. Once the full moon appears, Veneer will become a battlefield. Several premonitions have been flashing in her mind all throughout the day but she keeps them at bay.“What are you thinking?” Anna’s voice breaks her reverie.“I am thinking about the impending sacrifice,” Cassandra sighs. “The Gatekeeper is becoming restless.”“Gatekeeper?” Anna frowns. “Mhmm.”Cassandra turns towards her cell. “The Gods aren’t just sealed, ya know,” she explains. “There’s a gatekeeper who’s keeping them at bay. The Gatekeeper is a God himself, cursed with the duty to keep his kins at bay. He was once the God of Dimensions, the one who traveled all throughout the world to seek out enemies using his parallel paths. He can open several dimensions and sneak up on people to kill them. When the Gods were defeated, the Moon Goddess bound him to Veneer to protect
Hello everyone! Thank you for your patience with this book. I know I was lax in updates (I'm so sorry ;-;) but this is the end of this book. I hope you guys enjoyed Lavi-Anna and Dmitri-Roseanne's journey so far. I'm planning to write one book on Damien-Nine in the near future because their story seemed interesting and that there are a lot of things to explore in it. I will probably publish it after I'm done with all my ongoing books so that you guys don't have to wait for slow updates. I'll spend a lot of time plotting it so that it can be a better story than the rest. Please do support my other works here! It'll be amazing to see your feedback. Thanks again for the support! Love Tea tae
When Lavi returned to Faika, Aryan was already waiting for him. In their absence, Aryan was tasked with handling the affairs of the state alongside Charles. There were a lot of disgruntled voices around Lavi’s crowning but Aryan and Charles quelled it all by rooting out all of Morales’ supporters. The remaining Black Jack members were also rounded up and a public trial was held for all to witness.In the trial, all of Morales’ misdeeds were revealed and Moira’s truth was also exposed. The public was shocked but the evidence was too overwhelming. All her magic was exposed, leaving nothing but shock and hatred for the deceased Empress. Lavi instantly went to work. In the following weeks, he barely had any time to spare. He had the treasonous officials executed, worked on fixing the public funds, and improving relations with other countries. The negative opinions are starting to shift but not fully gone so Lavi decides not to have a lavish coronation. Instead, he opts for a simple crown
*A few minutes ago*Is this death? He wonders.Everywhere around him, he can see only fire and ash but his body is unscathed. The lava is wrapping him in its midst, making it impossible to escape and he does not feel hurt at all. On the contrary, it feels like…home.“Do you get it now, Lavi?” He turns around and smiles to see a beautiful emerald colored dragon with glossy scales and a long neck. The dragon’s tail is very long, almost as long as the mountain of Veneer itself. It is more than a hundred and fifty meters tall with a majestic aura and a commanding presence.“Airen!” Lavi gasps. “You…you are beautiful!”Airen smiles. “You did well, my friend. You protected your mate and released my powers. I am very proud of you!”“What do you mean?”“The prophecy meant for you to raise your dragon by protecting your mate,” Airen deduces. “I did not know it before but the moment the Gatekeeper said that blood must be spilt for the Gods to rise, I knew that you must sacrifice yourself to sa
The creature lets out an ear piercing scream. Everyone tries to cover their ears but the sound is too high and shrill. Nine’s ears are bleeding and she is nearly blown away by the force of the wind when Damien grabs her hand to protect her. He is struggling to hold on to her, the combined force of the sound and wind too much to bear but he does not give up.The others are also trying to stand.“What the hell is that?” Timur gasps.The creature’s feet fall on the ground, crushing anything which comes in its way. Everyone scatters off, trying to avoid falling under the creature’s feet. Timur, Damien, and Nine run with their men, as far away from the creature as possible.“That thing is a God?” Damien yells.“The years of captivity must have turned them like this!” Timur shouts. “They cannot distinguish themselves anymore-”Several soldiers are crumpled under the feet of the Gods. The creature is fast for its size, nearly crushing them. Timur dodges it by inches while Damien and Nine man
SWOOSH!A wave of spells hit the Skelewolves, sending them flying backwards. Damien and Nine, who were nearly buried under the debris of creatures, manage to squeeze out to find Timur and several faes chanting their magic. “Where is the Emperor?” Damien yells.“He has been sent off to find the Empress!” Timur exclaims. “We do not have time!”Several more Skelewolves are attacking them but Timur uses his magic to fend them off. Nine is tired but keeps on cutting down the creatures.“There are too many of them!” She shrieks. “We can’t take them down!”“Do not kill them!” Timur warns. “Injure them but do not kill! They only resurrect when they are killed!”“Yeah well it’s hard not to!” Nine shouts. Damien swishes his sword to injure the creatures. To his surprise, the creatures squeal in pain but do not resurrect. He instantly mind-links with the rest of the army to communicate this. Nine also injures many of them but by then the Skelewoves have multiplied beyond comprehension. There mu
Another fireball hits the Gatekeeper, causing him to let out another earth shattering squeal. This is no ordinary fire but something which can burn the Gods themselves. Lavi aims several flames at him, pushing the Gatekeeper towards the wall. His skin is nearly melting off but the Gatekeeper is still formidable as ever.He growls at Lavi and jumps forward. “Watch out!” Anna shrieks as the creature closes in but Lavi shoots more fire at his chest, throwing him back.“Grrr!” The Gatekeeper snarls. His skin is not healing, the fire burning off the thin hair on its head. Lavi’s face is red with fatigue but he keeps his cool. The creature is not easy to defeat but Lavi is trying to buy time until they can find an escape route. Anna is frantically looking around, hoping to see an exit but the whole place is caged. There is no way out.“Lavi, is there any way to leave?” Anna yells. “How did you get in?”“Roseanne,” Lavi simply says as he hits the creature with another fireball. “Roseanne?
A low growl can be heard in the desolate dungeon. Anna feels goosebumps up her arms and neck, the sound of making her freeze. Even though she is trained, there is something about the growls which is scaring her. It is as if her muscles have gone numb, her brain warped in a twisted fear which cannot be shaken off. Her heart is beating fast, almost bursting out of her chest.“Anna, this is bad,” Thena whispers in her head. “I cannot shift!”“What?”“I cannot shift! The magic in this place is sucking out my energy. Can you not feel it?”Anna can feel it. Her limbs are weak and slow, her reflexes not on their usual alert. The growl is growing louder and louder. A dark shadow is approaching her way, slowly coming to view. Her mouth gapes open in shock.“Oh no,” Anna murmurs.A half wolf, half goat-like creature comes to view. Its eyes are glaring with red beams and a pair of large, curved horns are visible on its head. The torso is of a goat but the teeth are sharp canines. The rest of th
Ras…Anna is staring at the man standing above them. Her eyes are filled with hatred and disgust, her hands wanting to kill him. For how many years has she been planning her revenge? How long was it?The screams of her family members are still haunting her. Their pain, their suffering, and their deaths are like a plague to her, never ending. She can still hear her mother’s cries as she was burned down by the mob. The image of her father’s lifeless body torments her every night, the man who gave up his life to protect her.And Harietta…Her screams will never leave Anna. Her dear sister who suffered a fate worse than death.All because of this man.“Princess Anna Visserion,” Ras greets her with mock politeness. “Welcome to Veneer!”He stretches his hands wide, his lips curved into a smile. Anna growls at him but the Skelewolves are holding her with surprising strength. The lava below her is bubbling and she can hear whispers coming from the ground.“Kill…bleed…kill…”Cassandra is calmly
Moira’s face is contorted in fury and vengeance against the girl in front of her. She is using her magic to beat Anna up, trying to ruin her face. The latter’s face is bashed up but healing slowly. As soon as it heals, Moira beats her up again.Anna does not scream but a smug grin is on her lips. It pains her to think that Lavi is also being tortured but she knows that once he arrives, he will kill Moira with his own hands. The thought of Moira’s death is giving Anna satisfaction. WHACK!Moira hits her again but Anna only laughs.“You are in serious trouble, Empress!” Anna spits at her. “Oh wait…your so-called mate is dead. You are not the Empress anymore-”“SHUT UP!” Moira growls and hits Anna again. Anna falls to the ground, spitting out blood.“I have taken your throne!” Anna taunts her. “I am the Empress now. Lavi is the Emperor. Our children will sit on the throne-”“NOT IF I KILL YOU FIRST!” Moira roars and is about to use her magic to strangle Anna. Cassandra stirs and slowly