Trigger warning: emotional abuse, imagery of torture and child abuse. Aralyn’s POV My nightmare was playing out in front of my eyes. Is this for real? Shivers and raw dread broke out through every pore of my body. This time, however, Larissa and Malleteagan weren’t fighting against each other. My life appears as a ball of strings that were so bloody tangled. And now the puppeteer is pulling strings on these catatonic creatures. I am still trying to wrap my head around the idea that my father wants me dead, and now…my mother, the only person who cared for me, appears to also be hellbent on killing me. But then I saw it. They all looked controlled and as if they departed from their own accord. And they all have the same eyes that remind me of Sentaya’s. The horde of Lycans forayed at me in unison, led by my birth parents. All of them, including Lycans resembling mother and Malleteagan, had that absent, empty, deadpan gaze. Something about their eyes made me stop and reflect. I have se
Marcellus POV I have been watching her writhing and screaming in torment for days now. It doesn’t seem to please me as I thought it would. No, not at all. It actually has an adverse effect. The feelings invoked by her torture are similar, if not worse, than those linked to the darkest moments of my childhood, when my mother was tortured, raped and killed in front of my eyes. And I thought that no pain could compare to that moment. The more I see Aralyn wilting away from sanity, the more I feel that my sanity is slipping away, too. I can see all of her thoughts, emotions and memories. I am the ruler of her mind now. Given her blood lineage, I did not expect it would be so easy to get in her head. I thought there would be more resistance. But no. Could it be because I caught her off guard when she was overly concentrated on combat with me, and she hadn’t thought there were other ways I could attack her? Was she not aware that I have mind control abilities? Well, whatever the reason, I
Aralyn’s POV My words finally seemed to penetrate through Meena’s dense skull. For a second, she paused and seemed to hesitate and reflect on what I said. She whimpered and winced as the possibility that her Mr Right was not who she thought crossed her thick brain. The thought that I was right and that he was indeed a cunning, manipulative narcissist and an abusive monster made her lose her focus for a second. And I used that momentum to take the control back and shoved her to the back of my mind. I raised my gaze to face the beast in front of me. “Now I am going to show you what the torture is, twat, same as I did to your little friend Norgarth,” I gritted through my teeth with a snarl that built up at the back of my throat. I jumped into a fighting position and punched the shithead straight into his face, breaking his jaw. “Remember when you did that to me, dick?” I said as I breathed heavily. I smacked the prick's face with brute and raw force repeatedly. Cracks, blood splutters
-Amaaralva forest, three weeks later-Kandreah’s POVMy best warriors were prowling around through the northern boundary of Amaaralva. We were just a few steps behind the pack of Lycans and the army of faes led by Malleteagan and Thersar. They were leading the attack, as agreed. The thick, rich forest of sturdy old oak trees became scarcer, and shrubbery and bushes were more prominent as we advanced towards Amaaralva’s boundary with Oribus territory. The woods were wrapped in the dense fog of midnight. The eeriness of the abandoned landscape of Amaaralva was even more emphasised by the remnants of the magic of fallen Thessalians that could be easily smelled in the air. Following the massacre of Thessalians, their physical presence might have faded away. However, their magic lingered thickly in the hazy, sharp air of Amaaralva.Although a supernatural creature myself, able to muster dribs and drabs of black magic, I cannot escape the sensation of Amaaralva being creepy, cringe and curs
Kandreah’s POV He should have been mine!She should have been mine! I rummaged through my memories yet again bitterly while we were breaking through sewer-like passages of Oribus and advancing to Damnarynth. But no, a mere fae king was not good enough for the ambitions of her mother. I remember the last day we spent together. I remember the passion and love we shared that last night. I remember the sorrow that was suffocating and the tears in Minthe’s eyes when she left me. My Brother and I forbade interspecies bonding since then. Her mother, Sentaya, decided to go against what had been foretold by destiny and to sever the sacred bond between us. We were destined mates. She disregarded that, marred and severed our bond with black magic and offered her to Hades to pursue her dire and greedy ambition to climb up in the hierarchy of Wengarthria. She thought that Hades would crown her daughter to be his rightful queen, his royal counterpart. And what did he do? He humiliated her with t
Aralyn’s POV “Is this what you wanted? You screamed that you wanted this awhile ago in Avesta when I did my wrongdoings to you. Well, if you wanted to see me like this, you got it. Let it be. I guess I deserve it after all I have done to you.” I heard these words faintly ringing through my mind. What was that? Where did that come from? It sounded like Marcellus. His voice sounded raspy and tired but still so distinctive I would recognise that deep baritone anywhere. And then I saw surroundings that seemed like the dungeon where he held me, Norgarth lying unconscious. I could see Naevres pacing back and forth, looking anxious. Then…the ruckus of Wengarthria and soldiers led by a woman. She is beautiful. She looks familiar. She remotely reminds me of my mother. She reminds me of the woman who tortured Marcellus’ mother. She reminds me of….me? Is that my infamous maternal grandmother, Noosha? If Marcellus wasn’t lying when he told me that his mother was the tormented woman from my hell
Marcellus POV I can feel it all. But I cannot move an inch. I am trapped within my own body. It feels like being buried alive. Well, serves me right for trusting the little vixen. For the first time since the death of my mother, I lowered my guard. And to the spawn of my mother's killer, nonetheless. So, every figment of torture that Noosha put me through, gosh, I have well deserved it. I have betrayed my mother. After a gut-wrenching and harrowing torture she endured to keep me alive, after giving up on her life for me to live, what did I do with the chance given? I tossed it all. For whom? Fucking moron, that’s what I am. When I get hold of them, I will burn them all. And this dickhead Conrad is first on my list. I mean, after Noosha, of course. He demeaned my father to a position of a cuckold and an idiot whose wife was fucking around before his eyes. And this is just one of his minor sins.As soon as those thoughts came across my mind, motherfuckers boot merged with my face as he
Malleteagan’s POVWe are slowly but surely advancing down through ill-dimmed, sewer-like channels that separate Oribus from Damnarynth, the next circle of Wengarthria. Now I understand why they call it the way they do. It is a damn labyrinth, although I was told that it got its name from all the damned souls that are built within it. This level of Wengarthria seems like an underworld maze. It is laid out so complexly that it almost reminds of a large underworld ant heap. Ghouls of lost souls loitering around, screeching and beginning for mercy. Arachnoid warriors are protruding and attacking us left, right and centre as we advance through stinky swamp sewage of Damnarynth that reaches my waist, soaking our clothes with gooey, yucky and sticky substance. Gah, this is disgusting—the pungent, retch-inducing stench of the swampy channels cluttered with the foul odour of damned souls. The stench does more damage to us than arachnoids. The arachnoids are just pesky spider-like creatures fu
Kandreah’s POV While standing helplessly in front of the Macabantran gates, I went through all the stages of grief in the blink of an eye. I went through denial when I managed to work through my pain and drag myself while being pain-stricken with Thersar’s torment in front of the Macabantran gate. I was appalled with horror in front of my eyes. As Thersar’s demise-ridden pain wrecked through every nerve of my body, I watched his last moments with disbelief. Just when I thought that this was the final blow, which would be my undoing, the closeness of my soldiers who died in the battle started to shatter my body inside out, gnawing at my mind and soul. The death of every single soldier in my army was a new blow to my already broken body and heart. After initial shock, denial and disbelief, uncontrollable rage erupted from me. I screamed and tried many ways to break in and barge into the castle, but nothing worked. Even what it meant to be an attention-seeking roar of rage came
Kandreah’s POV We were passing through this infamous shortcut, which was more like a sewage-like labyrinth if you ask me, when I bent over and stumbled with an unwilling groan before I fell on my knees and stubbed my hands into the dirt and mud of Wengarthria. I felt so weak and dizzy, as if I was just seconds away from collapsing. The high-pitched, blaring sound grated through my ears, threatening to split my head in half. It reminded me of the ringing of life-supporting machines when someone dies, but as if someone put amplifiers on them. Beads of sweat protruded along with searing pain, the ache like no other which surged through me, piercing and rippling through my body. Every drop of blood in my body felt like it was scorching, sizzling, and as if it was about to combust in flames before turning to ashes. The agony was unbearable. It felt like I was dying. Only once before, I felt the pain like this, when I lost my soulmate. Regardless of the severed bond between
Erzelus’s POV But it looked like someone in the background had greater control over the forsaken Lycans than I did because drums rattled again in the next moment, along with a command rumbling to forsaken Lycans to attack. It overpowered and overrode the natural inclination of forsaken Lycans to submit to their Alpha. I am not their Alpha anymore. They do not answer to me anymore. They are not part of our pack anymore, and if there was even a smidgen of doubt in their logic, reasoning and where their loyalty now lies, it all became clear when they started attacking Lycan troops. My Lycans were over-excited with my comeback, and this idling is not something we can afford. This can cost us battles and lives; we have no time for this. Because, on the other side of the castle, dwarves, Fae, and witches were still in the ruckus of the battle against Wengarthrians. I stepped in while handholding Lev and roared: “Drop the fucking formalities! Lycans, regroup! Flank the Allies! Shield the
Erzelus’s POV The interior of the encampment was a vast, oval-shaped, dark and massive hall the size of a coliseum. Instead of walls, the encampment was enclosed with grand window-like structures, which seemed impenetrable. These window-like walls didn’t allow even a figment of light to protrude. Each window was adorned with vile and despicable frescoes depicting the destruction, apocalyptic violence and scenes from the underworld. In every corner of this eerie city-sized castle, there seemed to be an attempt at creating a macabre amphitheatre. It was as if a disturbed and malevolent architect had deliberately sought to challenge, mock, distort, and contrast every conventional thought, philosophy, aesthetic, and norms in rational thought, art, architecture, and culture, transforming them into something dark, ominous, and bizarre. This colossal castle seemed like an erratic response of a sinister rebel in architecture, a hub for defying the traditional building. Every corn
Erzelus’s POV Mark's contorted body serves as a testament to his tragic death and grim fate, symbolising just one of too many lives that have been and will continue to be lost in this relentless battle. The weight of lives lost became heavier as I scanned through limbless, scavenged, deformed and mutilated remnants of warriors from both sides, which hung from the ceilings. The cadavers blanketed the grotesque frescoes and icons of the Macabantran encampment. Bodies were strewn everywhere, suspended from ceilings and windows, littering the ground— that is the grave extent of casualties that this battle yielded. And many more are to yet die before the battle finishes. The windows were sprayed with blood and innards of diverse creatures who lost their lives, looking like someone had a paintball battle with leftovers of burnt shepherd pie. Corpses and bodies of soldiers from every walk of life were flailing across the Macabantran fort; mush and gore were everywhere, littering th
Erzelus’s POV The racketing pounds of the gatekeeper demon’s drums became faster with each second. When we finally stepped into the gloom and darkness of the main encampment of Macabantran fortress, the grounds were soaked with a soggy mush of supernatural innards and well stocked with their scattered corpses. Bones of cadavers were cracking as we crushed them on our way. Their flesh was squelching and producing squealing sounds under our feet as we trampled over them. A chaotic blend of whooshing sounds of magic, which was bursting from Wengarthrian mages, clashed with the magic of our witches and mixed with clanks of weapons, and rumbling thuds of fistfights, death rattles, and last exhales of those warriors who were losing the battle. Manic cackles of Wengarthrians who were attacking and fighting from every corner were adding to the clamour and havoc of this place. Macabantrans drubbed our warriors because they failed to see Macabantrans's fighting tactics. Macabantrans
Erzelus’s POV We crept and crawled like sodding spiders through these long-forgotten, dusty, stinky, dirty passageways. The stench of dampness and decay was making my eyes bleed. Being a big bad wolf and a burly bloke trying to squeeze myself into these was a job and a half and now even a greater slog as I am holding this little scrawny child in my arms, trying to lug around with him. Initially muffled and distant, echoes of soldiers defeated in the battle of the main Macabantran Fort grew louder as we funnelled and snaked our way through narrow passages which led from dungeons to the main encampment. Sounds of destruction and the desperate battle between the two armies became more intense and louder as we neared the encampment. It almost felt like the noise and ruckus were palpable. The strange creatures, which reminded me of some demonic, infernal rat mutation, lurked from every corner and occasionally scurried past us as we were breaking through. We'd bump into them every now
Erzelus POV “Remind me, why are we following the scythe-wielding demon and his cult of wannabe Sherwood bandits like a pile of little ducklings?” the bat king kept screeching and whinging in the background. “Could you explain to Dracula’s wank-off that this is because I know the shortcut from dungeons to the main Macabantran castle? The shortcut where the vampiric little gnat will not cross the paths with Macabantran soldiers from the main castle.” Norgarth said, seemingly talking to me but actually responding to Kandreah without sparing a look at him. These two will need to find a way to work together. “You don’t want to fight them until we join the forces with your army, as far as I understand. Or maybe you, oh, the great king of Vampiric Fae, had a change of heart, and now you think that handful of us fighting against the flurry of Macabantran demons from the main castle is a good idea? That much about your great skills in war tactics,” Norgarth spat as he roll
Erzelus’s POV “Now you listen to me, you feisty little demon fucker. You are the warrior, and I am a king; you will not talk like that with me If you wish to live. If you had at least one functioning brain cell in that Sasquatch head of yours, you would see that a handful of us here are not standing a chance against the Lacrimavlian army. So you will not free the son of Hades even if we go there now without back up of the remainder of the alliance army. And you know why? Because we will all die. You and your king included. They will outnumber us, you demonic moron. To go there, we first need to go back and overtake the main Macabantran castle to merge with our army, gather, plan and regroup before we attack Lacrimavliah. I will not risk my life and the life of my soldiers for a battle which is lost before it began only because you are dumb as fuck, stubborn as a mule and have no idea about war tactics or strategies. I will not allow your stupidity to expose me and my army to