“AHHHHHHHH!”
Latifa’s screams echo in Anna’s ears, stunning her. She falls to the ground, clutching her arm which lies limp.“My hand!” She screams. “My hand!”
Lavi glares at the woman who is crying in front of him. Blood is rolling down his forehead and several gnashes are visible on his shirtless torso. He felt every bit of the whipping the nameless girl received, each blow harder than the last. Yet, he remained still for a while, hoping that she will cry for help.
To his shock, she did not even wince. In fact, she calmly tolerated the beatings as if she was used to it. He was more affected by the torture than she was and it only infuriates him even more.
*A while ago*Water splashes out of the pool as a naked figure rises from it. Every part of Lavi’s body is glistening with water, shimmering under the dim lights. His muscles are hard and bulging as he wipes his body with a cloth. The wine colored hair is damp and dripping, his face slightly flushed as he stares at himself in the mirror. Lights from the candles are reflecting on his eyes, turning them into shades of orange and green as he keeps on mulling over the person who is responsible for his misery.He grits in anger as the nameless girl’s face keeps on popping in his head. Everything about her is intoxicating to him, ruining his mind. He cannot get over her, his mind reeling over how his heart felt as if someone was wrenching it apart when he saw the lowly servant hitting her. But he was angrier at her indifference.
“Anna, are you alright?” Thena asks in a worried tone. The heart attack did not harm Anna in any way at first but after a while, she started to become pale and feverish. Her temperature is also increasing as if she will fall sick.Anna tries to lift her hand in an attempt to feel stronger again but her hand is shaking a little. She is fatigued and is also having a headache. The dingy cell is only making her feel claustrophobic in that state.“The pain in my chest is gone but I am feverish,” she groans. “That f*cking prince got me good this time.”“A few more rounds of that pain and he will kill you for sure,” Thena nods.“I am not so worried about it,” Anna sighs. “It will pass.”
“Run Anna!” Her mother screams to her. She feels a hand reach out to her, dragging her away but Anna tries to reach her mother. “No!” Anna yells. Smoke and soot fill the air and she coughs hard. She raises her hand to get her mother but a crowd of people are surrounding Alexa Visserion. She is strapped to a pole with hay stacks surrounding her and someone is chanting a spell. A man in a hoodie steps forward and glances at Anna. His glass eye is visible from under his cloak, glaring at her. He grins at her. Anna is helpless as the man snaps his fingers and suddenly, a large flame erupts in the hay stacks surrounding Alexa. “Take her and run!” Alexa screams, not caring about the pain engulfing her. “RUN!” Anna does not even get the time to run for her mother. A pair of
Anna slowly makes her way towards the study where Lavi is sleeping. She slides the door open and enters the room.Lavi is lying somewhere, still. His eyes are closed and he is in a peaceful slumber, oblivious to everything else. Anna sniffs the air to locate him and deduces that he is sleeping on the couch a few feet from her.She quietly puts the tray on a nearby table and approaches him, taking out the knife from her pocket.Unbeknownst to her, the rays of the sun are peeping through an open window, shining on him. He is motionless on the couch, gently breathing. His reddish hair is ruffled and his face is peaceful, giving him a more innocent look. The sweet scent of his mate hits his nostrils and he opens his eyes to find that Anna is standing above him with a knife raised.
The neighing of horses can be heard from afar. A large party of soldiers are approaching the Crown Prince’s palace, stopping in front of the dark gates.“Stop!” One of the gatekeepers alerts them. “Who are you?”He watches as the leader of the troop gets down from his horse and walks towards the gate. The man is of heavy build and quite tall. He is wearing a large armor while the emblem of the Costa family is carved on the brooch stuck on his chest. The man stands tall, walking proudly towards the palace gates.Slowly, he takes off his helmet.Soft blonde hair is shining under the sunlight, the rays falling on his exotic features. The man is tanned with boyish looks even though he is well into his twenties.
“You should have thought of that when you killed my mate,” Damien says. “Remember Yana? Or did you forget about her too?”A long silence ensues between the two men as they angrily stare at each other. Lavi stays silent but Damien is not going to spare him.“How funny!” Damien laments. “The Crown Prince goes unpunished for my mate’s murder while I suffer for the rest of my life!”He lets out a mirthful laughter.“I see that your mate’s death did not turn you into an empty shell,” Lavi notes.“It did…”Damien’s anger is mixed with deep melancholia, his heart wrapped in a literal pa
Damien is outside the palace with his men, waiting for Lavi to come out. From afar, he can make out the thin frame of a girl walking towards them. He recognizes her as the same girl whom he met outside of Lavi’s office. She seems to be having some problem with walking because her movements are slow and she is trying to find her way to the gates. He gets down from his horse and approaches her. Anna feels his presence as he comes nearer and slightly bows before him. “Sir Wilde,” she greets. “I will be accompanying the Prince on the journey.” “Are you sure you want to accompany us?” Damien asks in a kind tone. “The journey is long and not so easy. There might be rogues out there who can attack us.” “I have to obey the Prince’s orders,” Anna states.
The horses are galloping along the deserts of Pir while the hot sun blazes in the sky. Only half the day has passed and they still have a long journey ahead of them. Lavi is on a black stallion, looking haughty and unaffected by the sun but the men around him are already exhausted by the heat. Even Damien seems to be feeling the heat.Anna, on the other hand, is used to the hot weather and is calm. She can feel Lavi’s gaze on her every now and then but she cannot read his mood at all. It feels strange to be the object of his attention as if he will attack her any moment but cannot do so because of Damien.The knight has a protective grip around her, keeping her safe in her seat but Anna barely notices. She is more focused on memorizing the route in order to execute her plan. They are taking the southern road which means that they are going to pass by some
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