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
Lavi drags Anna into the room, shutting the door behind him. Once inside, he turns on her.“You will return to the castle,” he says. “Now.”“Huh? You are the one who brought me here!”“And now I am telling you to leave. I will take you there and then return-”“No!”Anna is adamant. She refuses to leave because if she does, Lavi might escape. Moreover, by staying close to him, she will get more information on him.Lavi, however, is not going to back down either. “You must leave,” he stresses. “I should not have brought you here when-”He trails off
Anna is anxious as she paces back and forth the chamber. She is trying to use her senses and link with her pack members but everything is coming at a blank. It is as if she is still in Lavi’s palace where the magic prevents her from contacting her guild members. But they are not in the palace now so she should be able to contact them.Then why can she not do it?“Magic?” she ponders. “Is there some sort of magic here?”Did the Emperor lure Lavi into a trap? Why did he not tell her? Surely, Damien or someone from the Royal guard would have told her. The Emperor must have planned this…She unconsciously takes off her shawl, feeling too hot. For some reason, she is feeling a little too warm after their arrival. It is strange because she
Lavi throws Anna on the bed. She winces as she lands on her back, feeling feverish by the Heat.“You should have listened to me and returned to the castle!” He barks at her. “Listen to me for once!”Anna is irritated by his nagging and becomes defensive.“I did not know that I was in Heat!” She snaps at him. “I never felt like this before!”The Heat is a state which only the female counterpart will experience once they find their mates. If they are not marked or rejected, the Heat will affect them every month.“Tell me your name and I will reject you,” Lavi offers. “You will escape the Heat then!”
Lavi quickly looks out of the window and sees several men who are lighting the inn on fire. He catches a glimpse of Damien who is standing with them. There is no doubt that the plot has been hatched by Phillippe and the men standing with Damien are not soldiers but rogues from the area who are going to kill him.He swiftly turns back at Anna who is coughing hard. She is looking confused but is determined to get out of there as well.“Did you know about this?” he demands.“No!” Anna claims. “I had no idea that there is a plot to kill you tonight!”“Lavi, I think she is speaking the truth!” Airen says. “If she was lying, she would not have stayed behind when you told her to leave.”
“Watch it!” Lavi scolds Anna when she nearly stumbles on a branch.“I cannot ‘watch it’!” She sneers. “I am blind, remember?”“You manage to walk around my castle just fine!” He snaps back.Anna takes a deep breath. “That is because I have the place memorized,” she says in a way as if explaining to a child. “This oasis is new to me. It will take me some time to memorize.”“Quite bold of you to trust me in this place,” Lavi mutters.“Trust? Absolutely not! I just happen to know that if I am hurt, you will also be hurt. Which means you have to keep me safe.”Lavi scowls but An
*A while ago*Anna sighs to herself as she finds her way towards the pool. She nearly slipped a few times but managed to balance herself. The ground is damp with water and the stones are hard to walk on.“That brat should have at least offered to help you find the pool!” Thena snarls inside her head.“As if he will help another person,” Anna mutters. She raises her hands to feel the walls around her, guiding herself until she slightly bumps into the large boulder. Slowly walking around it, she can smell the scent of fresh water in front of her.Anna searches for a stone until she finds one and throws it into the water.“It is quite deep,” she remarks. Maybe I should take a bath,
“Oi, wake up!”Lavi’s voice breaks Anna’s sleep and she slowly stirs. She opens her eyes to the eternal darkness and sighs.“It is morning and the storm has passed,” Lavi tells her. “We need to go.”Grumbling a little, Anna yawns and stands up. She stretches her body while Lavi is preparing to push the boulder away.The sun is shining brightly, illuminating the vast desert in front of them. Lavi peers his eyes to see if anyone is around but there is no sight of life. The sandstorm has brushed a lot of the sand in their direction and it will be even harder for them to walk under the hot sun.“I have managed to stock up on some of my magic,” he murmurs. “Bu
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