Her heart was pounding so hard you’d think she had an entire rock band jamming out inside her chest.
She took several deep breaths, vowing to show the king and his daughter she was unstoppable, only to feel like quitting on the spot when she accidentally locked eyes with King Valentin and nearly fell over.
If she weren’t already undead, she would have died just from looking into his eyes.
The king guided Lady Maris towards a pair of thrones. How had Riona missed those massive chairs?
Of course, the king and his lover would attend the spar—who else would dare to park their royal behinds there?
"Ladies and gentlen, welco to a friendly match between Princess Lisbeth Wagner and Riona Kahler!" Cielo announced, strutting to the center stage like a ga show host.
Wait, what? Riona blinked. This was an official spar? She had thought it was just another casual practice fight.
Oh well, no matter. The end result would still be the sa: Riona wiping the floor with Lisbeth and wiping that arrogant air right off her face.
Still, Riona couldn’t help but shiver, knowing that King Valentin’s deadly stare was fixed on her. She tried not to turn in his direction to avoid locking eyes with the vampire king again.
Just pretend he’s not here, Riona. Well, that’s easier said than done when the king of all neckbiters is practically drilling holes in your skull with his eyes!
"While it is just a friendly match, we still don’t want to see a half-fanged effort, do we? Thus, to ensure that the contestants do their best, we shall grant the wish of the winner," Cielo added, her fangs glinting under the moonlight.
Riona was surprised but in a good way. That would only work in her favor. She raised a hand excitedly.
"Yes, Fangless–" Cielo gasped, looked around anxiously, and anded, "Yes, Riona?"
"Since we’re officially sparring in front of a bunch of guests, why not state our wishes first?" Riona suggested, smirking.
"No, wait! It’s for the winner, and the match hasn’t even–"
"Because!" Riona shouted, glaring at Cielo, Lisbeth, and the audience, who were holding their breaths, anticipating more trouble.
Riona extended her hand towards the princess and declared, "Because who knows what kind of things–dirty, bloodsucking things–might happen behind the scenes? If everyone here becos a witness, there will be little room for cheating."
Judging from King Valentin’s tensed jaws and Lady Maris’s brows furrowed so hard they might implode, Riona knew he had sohow caught wind of Lisbeth’s little tricks during the Nightwarden Trials.
Clearly, he was not a happy bat.
Maybe that incident was why this spar went from amateur hour to almost professional.
Daddy dearest just couldn’t bear to see his precious fangling get beaten to a pulp, so he decided to co and do his best effort to scare Riona off.
Riona shrugged at everyone’s look of disapproval. "I an, we’re just stating our wishes, and the wish wouldn’t be granted until one of us wins. So, what’s the big deal? Afraid of a little pre-ga banter?"
Feeling like her pride was pricked, Lisbeth’s expression stiffened. She stared ahead and said, "Alright. I don’t see how that could beco a problem. Let’s lock the wish. You can’t change it later on. Deal?"
"Deal." Riona nodded with a grin. "I go first. If I win, you’ll revoke that wacky extra test in the Nightwarden Trials and recalculate the results using only the four official tests. No more surprises."
"My wish is for you, Riona Kahler, to admit your loss to and disappear. You will be stripped of your na and rights in the Kingdom of Eira, and you will never again be associated with this kingdom."
Basically, vanish like a bad dream. Well, I have been her bad dream for a long ti.
Sothing about this felt off, yet made perfect sense.
Lisbeth sabotaging Riona’s passing the Nightwarden Trials must have been about protecting her precious royal honor.
As long as she couldn’t best Riona, the princess wouldn’t let her leave the palace. But if Lisbeth won this match, her honor would be restored, and there’d be no need to keep Riona around.
The crowd buzzed with whispers, and Cielo nodded, clearly supporting the princess. "Well, there you have it, folks! Let the best vampire win—and may the loser find a nice, dark hole to crawl into!"
Without sparing a second, Lisbeth launched a dozen blue stakes at Riona, who narrowly dodged the attack like she was in a high-stakes ga of dodgeball.
In a flash, Riona appeared behind the princess and unleashed her red aura, but Lisbeth noticed it and blocked the attack with her blue ice.
The two exchanged blows like they were in the world’s most dangerous fencing match, with Riona generally on the offense and Lisbeth dodging by a hair’s breadth every ti.
Fifteen minutes into the spar, the princess was already gasping for air.
Riona paused, taking a halt and stood still before Lisbeth. "Take a breather, Princess. I don’t want you making excuses for losing to . Again."
"Rember this mont—I’m even giving you ti to catch your breath. You’re in your best condition, so if you lose, you’ll just have to accept reality," Riona taunted, flashing a wicked grin.
In reality, Riona herself needed a mont to catch her breath. She wasn’t tired, but the tension of King Valentin’s gaze felt like it could turn her into a vampire popsicle at any mont.
King Valentin’s presence didn’t just impact Riona’s performance; it also had Lisbeth on edge.
It was like having a judge, jury, and executioner watching their every move. Riona feared that her body would suddenly go numb in the middle of the fight, while Lisbeth seed one missed step away from a royal ltdown.
Lisbeth peeled her eyes off the king, looking like a bat caught in broad daylight, trembling and rubbing her arms as if she were trying to summon warmth from a frozen blood bag.
As if King Valentin’s death stare was the fuel to Lisbeth’s internal machination, she charged forward without warning. The blue ice she unleashed froze everything in its path.
The ground transford into a sheet of ice, creeping like an evil glacier towards Riona’s unsuspecting feet.
Caught off guard, Riona found herself stuck in Lisbeth’s blue ice before she could even react. Panic surged through her veins as she struggled against the icy prison. Her breath turned to mist in the frigid air.
Even once the attack had reached its target, the blue ice didn’t stop. It advanced to the garden, killing the plants, and further towards the audience benches. Everyone scrambled around, screaming with terror.
Reviews
All reviews (0)