By the time they reach Astra, it is nearly evening. Lavi and Thena enter the town which is lit by thousands of colorful lanterns all lined on strings tied high along the roads. There are houses made of bamboo and mahogany with curtained windows but the curtains are so thin that one can see the shadows in the rooms.
Several women in skimpy dresses are eyeing Lavi, his handsome features prominent even though he is wearing a makeshift eye patch over his blue eye. They are omegas or human slaves who were sold off to the p*mps at Astra to make a few bucks from the flesh trade.
“Hey honey, wanna get some tea at my place?” One of the women hoots at him. Lavi ignores them and keeps on searching for his master who might be in the town.
Thena is also keeping an eye on him, wondering if Lavi is go
They enter the Den which is buzzing with people. Anna can smell the familiar stench of stale beer and onions in the air and hear the chatter of people all around her. Occasionally, she can catch the scent of human slaves who are forced to do the bidding of werewolves who treat them with disdain. Lavi scans the dark bar for anyone who might recognize him.The bar is notorious as a brothel as well with patrons frequenting the human slaves who are captured and imprisoned there. Several of the humans have accepted their fates and are entertaining the guests as they gamble and drink. A large bar is placed in the middle while several dancers in skimpy clothes dance to entertain the guests. They move their bellies in a sensuous manner, sometimes even dancing intimately on the laps of the men.One of the dancers comes up to Lavi but to his surprise, he feels noth
“Anna, this is going to end badly,” Thena whispers in her head. Anna does not reply but is tense as the men gather around to play a game of dice. Lavi and John are seated opposite to each other, both men looking intense.John’s eyes flicker at Anna every now and then. She knows very well that the man is lusting after her and the very thought makes her body shudder. He leers at her disgusted look and is determined to win.“I’ll go firs’,” John says. “‘Ules are simple. ‘E ‘oll the dice. ‘Hoever ‘olls the ‘igher number wins the ‘ound.”“‘Ow many ‘ounds?” Lavi asks.“Five.”“Deal.”
Damien is walking over the remnants of the Den, stones crunching under his shoes at every step. The entire town is shaken by the sudden combustion of the building which killed nearly all the rogues and sent the remaining ones into lifelong torment. Headless bodies are scattered all over the town, some falling as far as the outskirts. Blood and soot color the town walls and the soldiers are digging up more bodies from the debris.“What in the world happened here?”Damien turns around to find the Prime Minister of the country, Charles Rubert. Even though Charles is well into his seventies, he is still tall and active. With snowy white hair and goatee, he is still one of the most powerful faes in the country. His popularity is so high that he has been the Prime Minister for nearly three decades.Charles is
Anna’s heart beats hard as she feels Lavi’s fingers yanking her dress up. She squirms a little when he starts to pull down her pants but she is also slightly excited. Why? Why am I feeling like this? She wonders. This should be wrong. He is the enemy and yet… Lavi slowly pulls down her pants and parts her legs, exposing her s*x to him. Anna can hear him exhale sharply and she blushes hard, feeling very aroused. There is an aching between her thighs and she just wants him to make it go away. At the same time, she is craving for more intimacy. What is wrong with me? She wonders. Lavi cannot help but marvel at the moment. His desire for her is overwhelming all his logic and senses. He only wants to bury himself into the midst of her entrance, taste her and plunge
Lavi barges into the study to find Charles sitting there. The old man stands up and bows to him but Lavi walks past him towards his desk.“Why are you here?” he demands, not looking at Charles.“I am here to see you, kid,” Charles says in an affectionate way but Lavi snorts.“Are you here to see me or are you here to confirm whether or not I have turned into the monster you all fear I will become?”Charles sighs and shakes his head. “Not everyone is like Phillippe,” he bemoans. “I know you have suffered a lot.”He pauses before adding, “I know she suffered a lot too.”Lavi goes still but does not react. The pa
Anna is apprehensive of the smiling knight. Damien seems to have read her hesitation because he says, “I see that you are scared of me.”“I am not scared but rather suspicious,” Anna says out loud. “After all, the Crown Prince and I almost died under your supervision.”“That was done by the rogues and I am apologetic for the incident,” Damien states. “I am truly sorry for the incident and no one is as regretful as I, Lady Vanya.”Anna frowns.“Can I escort you back to the palace?” Damien asks.“I…I actually had some business here,” she says. “I will return to the castle later.”
Lavi glowers at her but Anna remains defiant.“Sir Wilde was only escorting me back to the palace,” she states curtly.“Why the hell did you leave the palace?” he snarls. “You know very well that my enemies are still out there, looking for a chance to kill me-”“Just like I am,” Anna says. “I am an enemy too, remember?”There is a cold silence between them. Each passing second only fuels Lavi’s anger towards her. The moment he heard that she left, his heart had been in turmoil. No matter how hard he tried, he could not control his feelings of grief and anxiety because he was afraid that she might leave him.“Why were you out?” He demands again.
The steam is soothing Anna’s mind and she leans against the tub. She submerges into the hot water and reemerges from it, letting the soreness in her muscles go away. Lavi’s strong scent is present even in the bathroom. She does not want to admit it but the musky fresh mint scent is calming her nerves.Her mind drifts off to their tryst earlier in the morning. She can still feel his lips on her clit and how his fingers touched her in intimate ways. Thinking of that moment makes her blush hard and she tries to forget about it in vain.“Are you starting to like him?” Thena asks her.“I do not know…”Anna really has no answer to that question. At one moment, she wants to kill him and in the next, she wants to kiss him. Her min
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