Anna stirs a little. There is something warm and hard hugging her but it feels quite comfortable. She nuzzles close seemingly to the bolster and even wraps her leg around it. The feeling reminds her vaguely of the castle she once lived in. She is back in Ezealyra, in her own room filled with comforts and love. Her heart is at peace, her lips curled up with a small smile.
“If you are done touching me then can you please wake up already? It is past noon.”
A familiar voice breaks her slumber and her eyes fly open. She takes in the scent of mint and realizes that the bolster is…
“AHHH!”
On instinct, she kicks Lavi so hard that he falls off the bed.
“What the hell?” He exclaims in a
“What?” Anna exclaims. “She ran away?”“Yes,” Guinevere nods. “The palace maids talk about it till this day. I only heard a few snippets so I can only tell you what I know. There might be things which are missing…”“Thirty years ago, on the night Lavi was born, Maryan had entered the bedchamber of the former Empress. Even though she had just given birth, she was able to gather the strength and move. She must have been really desperate. Anyways, she snuck into the chamber and a few moments later, people heard the former Empress’ screams. When soldiers barged into the room, they found the Empress dead and Maryan gone. The only thing that led people to believe that it was Maryan who killed the Empress, was a thin gold chain which Maryan used to wear.”
Moira?Anna is thinking hard. The Empress of Faika is rumored to be a kind and sweet person. Ever since the former Emperor died a few years ago, she and Emperor Phillippe have been ruling the country well. She is known to be charitable and helps the citizens a lot.The only problem is that the royal couple still do not have an heir.“When Moira entered the palace and became Phillippe’s mate, the Morales started to gain more favors in the court,” Guinevere reveals. “Her father, Aemon Morales, is the Treasurer and also one of the wealthiest men in the land. He is ambitious and ruthless but hides behind a simple smile. I do not know why the Emperor cannot see through his schemes but he controls the throne.”“Moira is still a m
A grand chandelier is hung in the middle of the ceiling, shimmering with a thousand tiny golden lights which are illuminating the room of the vast estate. Red and orange tapestry made of fur are stuck on the walls in diagonale patterns while the floors are scrubbed squeaky clean. There is a hint of jasmine and lilies in the air while a fire is lit in the fireplace.A thin man in his seventies is standing in front of a bookshelf, looking for a book until he finally finds it. His beady red eyes scan the content and he sits on a couch to quietly read it. His balding hairline is visible under the light and his lips become thinner as he keeps on reading the book.“The laws of Ezealyra are changing for the betterment of their people,” he mutters. “If this keeps up then the Faikans will also demand for the same laws.”
Anna wakes up early in the morning and yawns loudly. The other side of the bed is thankfully empty but she cannot sense Lavi anywhere near her.Is he outside? She wonders. They are supposed to be leaving for the castle of Pir. To make sure that there will not be any more attacks, Lavi is going to take his own men while the Emperor’s army will stay back except for Damien. Guinevere is also accompanying them so Anna doubts that the Emperor will try to do anything to them.But why did he try to kill me along with Lavi? Anna asks herself. Is he conspiring against me? Why?She cannot come to any conclusion at the moment. Shrugging off her ominous thoughts, she focuses on the fact that her brother might be there. He is the current Emperor of Ezealyra so he must have been invited.
His grip loosens on her neck and he slowly lets her go. Anna shifts in her seat while Lavi sits next to her. He is staring at her, wondering why she is telling him this.“I saw my family die in front of me,” she reveals. “They were...they were killed by people they had once trusted. They assaulted my sister too. I can still hear her screams and see her suffering as the men who were supposed to protect her, completely tore her apart until she died. They would have done the same to me as well.”Lavi’s fingers clench into a fist as he hears her tale. Something about her tale is tormenting him as he imagines the torture this girl had gone through. Suddenly, he wants to find those men and rip them apart with his bare hands!“I escaped,” she reveals. “After they blinded me,
Lavi and Anna did not speak for the rest of the journey but he glances at her every now and then. She is bored and keeps on fidgeting in her seat as if she is very restless. The confined carriage is not her favorite mode of transport and she would rather be on a horse than in there. Still, she somehow manages to stay put.They reach the Emperor’s palace very late at night. The carriage comes at a halt and the doors fly open.To Anna’s surprise, Lavi says, “Take my hand. I will guide you along the palace.”She does not have the heart to refuse and strangely, nor the will. Slowly putting her palm into his, she climbs down the carriage. Holding his hand feels a little weird but Lavi does not seem to care.A group of guards from the Empero
Phillippe and Moira are sitting in the garden. Moira is dressed in the finest silk gown while Phillippe is wearing a long purple robe and the golden crown adoring his head. A long table has been placed in the middle of the large garden. Several trays of food are displayed on the table which are prepared by the finest chefs in the country.Over twenty varieties of pancakes of different colors are decorated on the table. The aroma of freshly made buns and baguettes is strong in the air while there is a bowl of soft, scrambled eggs placed in front of each seat. Different flavors of cheese are kept beside the eggs and there are baskets of fried bacon which are refilled after every few minutes.Guinevere is sitting beside the Emperor and Damien is seated next to her. Despite the lavish food in front of them, none of them are eating. They are waiting for
“Come Lady Vanya,” Moira says. “Let us take a stroll through my garden of flowers.”She walks ahead and Anna slowly follows her. Moira leads her towards a large landscape at the back of the castle where she grows her plants. Anna can smell at least a thousand different scents of flowers, some which she recognizes as roses, lilies, hibiscus and marigold. The air is gentle and breezy in the back garden and she can hear the sounds of running water somewhere.Yet, Anna can feel all of this to be a farce. She cannot pinpoint on why she is having that feeling.“I built a lake here so that my guests can sometimes take a ride on the boat,” Moira says. “It is quite nice out here. I sometimes come out here to relax and be alone…”
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