“ARE you… really Brandy?”
“Does it bother you so much? Aren’t you happy to see your wife?” She stood at a close distance and moved her face closer to him.
Eleand couldn’t find the right reaction. All this time, the faerie queen made him her favorite pastime. She made him fall in love with her. Maybe she knew about his origin and planned everything from the start. This evil wench manipulated his life!
“Why did you do this to me?”
She had no right to ruin his life! He sharply sighed to control himself.
“I did nothing. All these things are meant to happen because of your faerie blood,” Rieska appeared serious this time. She scrutinized him again from head to toe, and she added, “Have some rest. We’ll talk later.”
She turned and slowly walked to the throne when a male faerie arrived. Eleand remembered he was the same
THERE were no faeries around the palace when Eleand went down from his room. Kharyn and Zanti were not there. He only found Rieska inside the throne room playing with the black wolf.“Your dog is quite huge,” he said. He suddenly remembered Brandy being a dog lover. She adopted one dog in California and named him Eclipse. It was a black Labrador.“It’s a wolf,” she rolled her eyes, “I found him in the desert when he was a pup. He was heavily wounded, and I healed him.”The massive wolf suddenly jumped at him, and he was almost lost his balance. The darn wolf wagged its tail again.“Hey, stop that!” He was annoyed. Its size was no joke. If it attacked him unprepared, he might lose his limbs.Rieska giggled. “Stop it, darling.”The wolf stopped jumping at him. It just sniffed him, still wagging its tail.“Even here, you&r
GRIGA flew lower. Eleand looked down the desert below, mountains of sands made of different elevations. He couldn’t see any water source around the area. He was suddenly curious about the faeries inhabiting this kind of harsh climate. There were no creatures below. Only the tiny tornadoes seemed to play, causing little sandstorms. “The faerie realm is a lot similar in the mortal world minus the magic. I’m wondering how the faeries were created. Why are they considered higher beings than humans?” Eleand asked after a long silence. Rieska let out a deep breath before answering. “Humans and faeries were made pretty the same. We are all created by Yerie, the King of all Kings, the High Father. He governed the Zurga—the Heaven Realm. He is the most powerful among us.” “Hmmm, interesting.” “When the earth was created, Yerie made the humans be its inhabitant. But Yerie’s Second-in-Command, Luxus, was jealous of humans. He corrupted his wisdom
ELEAND surprisingly discovered how easy to ride the dragon on his own. He found himself having fun while the dragon spin on air. For some reason, Griga could communicate in his mind. She flew higher in his command. The first thing that came to his mind was to know where Enkille came from.The Eisledus—the City of Ice, was similar to Velidia. The only difference was the structures in the city were made of ice. Even the castle was constructed using ice and glass. The faeries there who witnessed Griga would bow their head and waved their hands after. This dragon was quite popular. Eleand noticed most of the faeries there had distinctive metallic gray hair, just like Enkille.Some pure blood faeries and demifaes had fair skin; others were dark and brown. Using his faerie sight, he saw their unique eyes—ice blue with a ring of green near the pupil.He suddenly remembered his friends in Velidia. If Enkille and the cousins had pl
RIESKA’S high-ranking officials were present during dinner. Kharyn was there, sitting beside Zanti, facing Zenus and Harewyn. At the same time, the queen was facing Eleand.“I hope Enkille and her marshals are here as well. The King’s Cadre would be complete, isn’t it?” Eleand broke the silence.“Our cadre can never go back to what it used to be unless Esdras left the throne.” Rieska put the cutlery on the table and seemed to lose her appetite. She drank water and stood up, “I need to see something. I’ll be back later.” She wiped her mouth with the white table napkin before she strolled out the dining hall.“What’s wrong with her? Is she that sensitive about Esdras?” he asked when Rieska was gone.Kharyn answered him. “She’s not, but there are wounds that would not close easily. Did she tell you that Esdras is her older br
IN the morning the next day, Eleand found himself inside his room, trying to remember what happened last night. He was with the Rieska in the tower and probably fell asleep on her shoulder. Maybe she had brought him to his bed.He immediately got up and took a shower, feeling light. Maybe because he had a peaceful slumber last night, he slept without the usual nightmares haunting him for the first time.“I didn’t expect you to look settled.”An unfamiliar female faerie emerged, and he was startled. He just got out of the bathroom and currently drying his hair with a small towel.“Who are you?”The faerie wore a light blue gown, had tanned skin, grey eyes, and her long white wavy hair reached the shoulder.“I’m Abysses, and I’m in charge of looking after you.”“I can manage, thanks.” He nodded and continued to dry his hair.“I sug
ELEAND prepared from an attack because Zenus wasted no time and launched an assault. Luckily, Eleand’s sword immediately blocked the first strike. The sounds of their clashing weapons echoed, and they took their sparring to another level when Zenus started to move incredibly fast.Using his faerie sight, Eleand followed his opponent’s movements and defended himself against a deadly blow. If he had been careless, the twin swords of his adversary would have landed in his body. Every time, Zenus’ swords were an inch away from him.Silently, he used his wind magic to move faster and strengthened his protection magic to shield himself. The sword of Zenus produced blue flames; the general started to cast strong magic, so Eleand unleashed his fire manipulation as well.A red fire covered his left hand while the other summoned the ice. Hundreds of tiny snowflakes danced around Hasmal.Eleand attacked Zenus, but he avo
MANY days had passed, Eleand finally adjusted to his harsh training in Raledia. He once suggested to the queen to use his wind magic to float on air since he found it hard to fly using his heavy wings. However, summoning the wind to levitate was exhausting. Fortunately, after over a week, he could finally control his dragon wings. Everyone in the palace was proud of his milestone.The Ancient Queen personally trained him, and he was overjoyed. He could finally be close to her as Rieska, not Brandy. They were much alike even in attitude. She could be sweet and uncaring sometimes. But of course, comparing one individual was stupid.“Do you miss Brandy?” Rieska suddenly asked while they were flying.“Excuse me?” His head turned to face her. He wasn’t prepared for that question.“Do you miss your wife?” her smile teased him.“Ex-wife,” he corrected her, a
THE day of the council meeting in Argia arrived. It was scheduled to last until three days. Eleand was ready. He could stay in his faerie form for a long time without draining his mana.“What if Aserah told everyone that I’m a mortal once she sees me?” Eleand was somehow agitated.“This is why you trained to be well-versed in shapeshifting. Can you sustain it until the last day of the council meeting?” Rieska let out a deep breath.“Yes, I’m confident.”The queen wanted him to keep up this way because it was necessary. Besides, he seldom transformed back to his human form once he got the grasp of proper shapeshifting. He loved his fae body. Although sometimes he found his wings a hassle, he preferred not to show it most of the time.“Everything is settled. We’re going now.” Rieska stood from her throne. Zenus stood beside her.Eleand tilted his head
AIROH deeply inhaled while staring behind Winzi. She was sobbing, and he let her mourn. They were the special room he prepared for Wallace inside the palace. Winzi stared at her brother lying inside the ice coffin. It took her some time to finally accept that Wallace was indeed sealed into that ice coffin. The king was not expecting that Harewyn would come back with Winzi a few days ago. The princess knew the bad news. She didn’t hesitate to go with Harewyn, even if it would be an act of treason against the Golden Palace. “Brother…” Her hands trembled while touching the thick ice covering her brother. Airoh pitied the Princess of Alsache. But she had to understand that her brother’s life wouldn’t be the only collateral once Esdras retaliated in full force. All of them lost a loved one, and he understood her misery. He raised his hand and gently tapped her shoulder. “I’m sorry for your loss….”
AIROH gasped for air. After he filled his lungs with oxygen, he shuddered because of pulsating sensation of power moving inside his body. He was submerged in a blinding light, and the force inside him was waiting to be unleashed.He screamed when his body trembled again. He levitated on the air, and the blinding light surrounding his body thickened in a circular motion. His body continued to quiver, and he knew his body underwent changes that he didn’t think he was capable of. He was shifting into his higher form!Airoh was never aware that he possessed this kind of ability. His raven black hair slowly turned platinum white, and it grew longer to his waist.He held his temple because he felt the pressure was too painful to bear. He was startled when he felt something in his head, a crown! A royal headband, a gold diadem with a sun emblem.His golden eyes were more vibrant than before, and he couldn’t fathom his raw
THE KING’S vision went blurry while trying to catch his breath. He witnessed his companions fall one by one. The chaos went still. Even the blazing giant targeted Zuaine’s winged warriors.Four among the eight High Sentinels were defeated. Their bloody bodies fell to the ground as well, regressing.Yerie… please let my companions live…and my queen… His eyes were dark with desolation as he tightly embraced Rieska. They were both lying on the surface. The Ebryaeans warriors surrounded them, fighting the enemies and holding the line.Sorath…give me enough power to fight. Airoh called for his deity again. He trusted his great ancestor that he wouldn’t let him down.But Sorath failed to help him this time. He didn’t feel his presence despite calling him many times. His heart was beating low. Then slower until his body felt numb.
“YOU’RE a fool, Airoh. Even if you find a way to snatch away your queen, she will not wake up unless she is freed under my power. You know my gift. I’m the only one who can wield the magic of unhealing.” Esdras proudly said. “Bring her back to me!” the king’s voice echoed. But it was toned down by the clashing weapons and magic around. Esdras laughed hysterically. He widely spread his arms, and suddenly they were all surrounded by the red smoke. “I’m tired of playing around. Any last words from you?” Esdras looked at each face of the king’s companions. Esdras was surprised when a blue and yellow light appeared coming from the sky. Zuaine just transformed into her other form. Her wings were like the Phoenix—blue, orange, and yellow. She let out a loud whistle in the air. Then a group of winged faeries suddenly came. Esdras shook his head. But he couldn’t hide his surprise when the stars in the sky moved. Ev
THERE was a complete disorder when Airoh released his black fire. Even Zenus did not hesitate to unleash his hellfire coming from his twin swords. Both of them were on Rieska’s side to get her and attempted to run, but they couldn’t make her move even an inch. The magic inside Rieska’s body was stronger than they expected.Furcas attacked them. He released his dark wind magic, which they quickly blocked. Airoh was not new to his sorcery. Any living being in contact with his dark air would suffer extreme torture from the mind.Shax and Lahash helped Furcas to attack them. But Airoh and Zenus dodged their magic aggression.On the other side, Esdras just stood like a spectator. He looked unbothered by what was happening.Everyone on Airoh’s team finally appeared from their hiding place. Some fought on the ground, and others, above, a few gathered around the queen.Although they were severely ou
EVERYONE strolled up at their fastest pace carefully. The higher the elevation, the way went harder, especially the temperature became hotter, and they could only use minimal magic to protect themselves without activating the runes. They couldn’t count the numbers of Shadows killed going up.When they reached the last part of the labyrinth a few kilometers away from the fortress, they had encountered stronger Shadows.The fight was risky. Two of the enemies almost escaped calling for reinforcements. But Zenus acted fast. His two swords had hit the necks of the Shadows then Airoh quickly burned their dead bodies to ash.They swiftly strolled up until they arrived at the foot of the two colossal watchtowers. The place was full of debris, large rocks, and other materials. Rieska had done these terrible damages. Airoh found himself smiling lightly. He knew his queen would never give up without a fight.In the
ALONG with Branigan and Enkille, the king went to Penrith—the town near the border of Cerrathien and Eriraseth. Two days of searching were done, and they couldn’t find a single trace where the queen was taken. There were no clues left in Cerrathien, the Capital City of Muhler seemed deserted.Airoh asked a handful of peasants during his search. They were in hiding, and their body trembled to see him, thinking he was an enemy. But found a ray of hope the moment he introduced himself. However, they didn’t know the whereabouts of the new Emperor. One thing was sure; the war had begun in Muhler when Esdras forcibly took the throne.Harewyn greeted them when they reached an abandoned building. “Thanks to Yerie, we are all safe!”Everyone around acknowledged the king. He checked his subordinates one by one. Thankfully, they all looked good. On the right side, Blythe’s team stood, still had snow traces on
MUHLER lived in tranquility in the past. The night here was spectacular, full of life. There were never-ending festivals in every corner in honor of their different deities. Faeries danced and laughed under the music. But now, the place seemed to weep. Esdras turned this part of the Empire into hell. Almost every corner blazed a fire, and the ashes scattered in the air.He remembered there was a thick forest nearby but gone now. All that was left were the barren land where trees and plants were dried. The small community near the Southern Gate looked like a ghost town. The residential dwellings were all abandoned and destroyed.They had seen other groups of warriors under the possession of the Kaluwahs. They were not considered faeries now, but demons. The price must be really high when Esdras sold himself to Luxus because the demon lord could only take over into the body and mind of a faerie if one bore extreme hatred. The reason why Luxus
THE KING gathered everyone in the war room, the special command center inside the palace. The various maps of Alegerio, Erganiv, and Muhler were set up, and the miniatures of warriors neatly placed on the map rested on the huge rectangular table. Each group of replicas represented their flag color. Even the aerial armies were visible on the map, floating few centimeters above. They looked real, holding their weapons, but only on a small scale.Everybody was seated beside the table, aside from Elida, which the king ordered to rest in her room. He knew she had a lot of questions in mind, but he couldn’t waste more time. The clock was ticking, and the more he slacked off, the queen’s life would be threatened in the hands of Esdras.Airoh calmed himself when his heart beat faster than usual. He couldn’t be impatient; one wrong move would lead everyone to a trap.The strategies were carefully formed. Zenus helped him expl