Luckily, nothing else happened. However, we could also tell from the noises that Sebastian and his troop hadn’t moved much either. We waited a little longer before we started peeking out again.
The dagger swung against Sebastian’s leg, tied to his belt loop. Almost instantly, I knew it would fit in the sheath of the artifact.
“That’s the last piece of the Blade of Souls,” I whispered. “I thought the king had it... Isn’t that why you stole the two parts from so the king would have the completed artifact?”
Eros rolled his eyes at my comnt. “The king did have it, but obviously, he lost it again”
Sebastian got the dagger, what would he want next? Obtain the other two parts and switch bodies again!
“What can the dagger do? I an, I thought all the artifact pieces had to be together to work, but do you think it is the reason Sebastian is able to control all those...those things?” Eros’ question pulled out of my thoughts.
Helen’s eyes snapped open. Her voice croaked and what ca out first was just a rasp.
I reached out and touched her comfortingly.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk.”
“The Dagger of rcy... It was a weapon of rcy from The Goddess because it doesn’t kill the person that gets stabbed in the heart with it...”
“Then it is rightly nad, for it truly is rciful,” I whispered.
“Is it?” Helen sighed, “It doesn’t kill their body but it takes the soul of the person. Their body becos an empty vessel, alive but thoughtless. With the right spells, they could easily be controlled and moldable.”
“So... all those people...” My skin felt clammy suddenly. “All those people out there were made into mindless... slaves by Sebastian?”
“Holy shit!” Eros muttered, shaking his head. “If that was ... I’d rather die than be made into a puppet!”
I peeked around the rock again to look at Sebastian’s groups. He’s literally made a mindless army to obey his every command! And they would die for him without question and he’d never care about the ones he lost.
Finally, they started to slowly move into the narrow pathway we had just co from. Sebastian seed to know this place well. After all, he used to be the rightful owner of the royal palace.
Then one of the warriors in the puppet army caught my attention and I almost gasped.
He was further away from Sebastian, trailing towards the end of the group. His build and height were similar to Soren’s but his face was hidden in a hoodie.
No. I shook my head. That guy couldn’t have been Soren.
Sebastian never would have gotten close enough to Soren to turn him into a puppet. He’d never overpower him either.
Suddenly, a sweeping longing washed over . I must be missing Soren so much that anyone who looked slightly similar reminded of him. How I wish I could see him right this mont!
Now that I had Helen, whatever Sebastian and Dylan got into, it was their problem to sort out. I couldn’t care less. All I wanted was to get back to Poni and back to the man who had my heart. We could settle down and have our baby...
Instinctively, I tried to reach out and mindlink with Soren. No surprise, it didn’t work.
I should have taken that last dose of the antidote!
As Sebastian’s group moved closer, I held my breath, so did Eros. They were only a few feet away and we worried that even breathing may draw their attention.
Unfortunately, while we could control our body, we couldn’t control other beings—I felt sothing tickling my leg and I looked down. A rat scurried over my calves.
Gasping, I pulled back and then quickly covered my mouth.
Dammit! Did they hear that?
I closed my eyes and sat as still as possible, praying that Sebastian and his army would keep moving without noticing while counting numbers in my head to calm my racing heartbeat.
One, two, three, four—
“Who’s there?!” Suddenly, Sebastian’s dangerous, vicious voice shook the underground maze, making almost jump. “Co out!”
I kept my mouth and nose covered.
My heart pounded like thunder in my chest. Even if my breathing didn’t give us away, my heartbeat would!
Sebastian’s footsteps moved closer and closer. I could feel them vibrating through the stone floor. He must have been carrying a torch, because a small glowing bubble of light got closer, his shadow getting larger and longer on the wall in front of .
I looked at Eros who was also as concerned as .
What were we supposed to do?
Taking a deep breath, I turned to Eros and pointed at him and Helen and gestured for the two of them to run away. “Take Helen and find Soren,” I mouthed silently.
“Wait!” He tried to stop but I turned on my knees and sprang up, confronting Sebastian before he could look around our hiding spot.
Slowly, I walked sideways from the rock, holding Sebastian’s gaze so his focus would be on . Hopefully, Eros and Helen would get away.
I put my hands up in surrender. “Alright, you got .”
Sebastian scoffed. “Hmmm. What a surprise to see you here. I’ve been looking for you and now... the Goddess has delivered you to . Isn’t that wonderful, my dear?”
I snorted. “As if! We aren’t friends.”
“Oh?” Sebastian smirked. “That is true. There is no need for us to be friends. So, take comfort that you’re still useful to . Otherwise... you wouldn’t even be breathing.”
I swallowed hard and kept his gaze, but it was hard to stay brave.
“Now, co along with .” Sebastian held his hand out to . “We have unfinished business to attend to.”
I glanced at the underground maze. “I would love to. Unfortunately, I’m on my way out and I really don’t think we are headed in the sa direction.”
Sebastian laughed, tossing his head back. “You think where you’re going is up to you? Take her!”
Two of Sebastian’s puppet warriors grabbed my arms and held still.
I glared at them and then back at Sebastian. I was no match for these guys. I wondered if they could even feel pain, if they were empty and void of any soul or substance that made them people.
“Tell your puppets to unhand ! I know what you have done to them. However, just because you have the Dagger of rcy doesn’t an you can defeat the man on the throne!”
Sebastian arched an eyebrow at .
I continued, “If I were you, I would settle down and live a peaceful, enjoyable life. Why bog yourself down with the past when you’re the one who gets to be free?”
Sebastian raised his hand and the two warriors let go. He leaned down so our heads were level and narrowed his eyes.
“Alright, little girl, what else do you know?”
I had his attention now, I just needed to co up with sothing to keep him occupied, to stall him.
“Well, for starters, I just ca from down there,” I said, nodding toward the tunnel. “I know you’re walking into a trap. You know... he wants you here.”
Sebastian growled. He knew I ant Dylan, or the real Dylan, whoever was sitting on the throne.
“So?” He lifted the Dagger of rcy. “With this, the more n he attacks with, the larger I can grow my army. He’ll just be giving more help! Ha ha ha ha!”
He tossed his head back again, laughing louder. It filled the underground chamber, resonating off the walls.
A shiver ran down my spine but I kept my composure.
“You know that kind of overconfidence is... well, they say that pride cos right before the fall.”
“Shut your pretty mouth! Or I will shut it permanently. Tie her up!”
Two of his guards pounced on before I could react. They tied up and handed the end of the rope to Sebastian.
“I told you that you didn’t have a say in where you go. Now, be a good girl and don’t try to run. My patience is thin and if you try it... it won’t matter if you’re still useful. There’s a lot more I can do than just tying you up.”
His threat was too open ended for to risk being uncooperative.
Sebastian tugged on the rope and I was forced to follow along.
As we walked through the narrow passage, I hoped that Eros and Helen had gotten away. That was all I cared about right now. Because I knew that Soren was still coming for and as long as I played along, Sebastian wouldn’t hurt .
When we got to the end of the tunnel, Sebastian opened the sa gate Eros did and Sebatian’s army flooded into the dungeons. He held at the back.
The gate behind us slamd shut again but Sebastian’s warriors had stopped moving forward.
“What is going on up there?” Sebastian snarled.
He tugged on my rope and dragged to the front.
The entire royal guard filled the dungeon. I guess I wasn’t too far off when I said that the king had set a trap for Sebastian.
The Alpha King stood a few rows back, very well protected and surrounded.
“Well done, Mila,” the Alpha King chuckled and clapped his hands twice. “I see you didn’t disappoint . You led him right to .”
I gave the real Sebastian a haughty look. “I told you it was a trap.”
“Co now, Mila,” The Alpha King said. “You wouldn’t be my guest but you let yourself beco his captive. That was a bad move.”
“Right, like I chose to be either of your prisoners,” I hissed, rolling my eyes. What was wrong with these guys?
Why couldn’t they just keep their family shit in the family?
“I assu you saw your aunt,” the Alpha King jeered. “Do you know who cut off her limbs? I’ll tell you. It was the man standing right beside you!”
Sothing inside snapped. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. I rounded on him, as much as I could being tied up.
“You!” I growled towards Sabestian. “You did all of that to her!?”
Sebastian ignored , instead, he hissed at the Alpha King, full of hatred, “You fucking bastard! You were my Beta, my family. I always treated you well and you betrayed !”
The Alpha King shrugged. “That sounds like a tall tale.”
“You and that witchy bitch Helen! Shut your fucking mouth, for once in your life. Today, I’m here to take back what belongs to , what you stole!” Sebastian pointed a fierce finger at the Alpha King.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dylan,” The Alpha King spat, emphasizing the word “Dylan”, reminding Sebastian he was no longer the person on the throne. “You are completely delusional. That’s why I had to let you go as my Beta all those years ago.”
“How dare you! How fucking dare you!” Sebastian snarled. “You took my na. You took my body and you took everything that belonged to !”
The king shrugged and turned around. He addressed his royal guards.
“See, you heard him. He has lost his mind, hasn’t he? Does he look like the Alpha King?”
The guards all burst out laughing. They shook their heads and keeled over against each other, slapping their chests and each other’s backs.
None of them believed the real Sebastian and his claims.
Sebastian snarled and waved for his puppets to attack. The hoard sprang into action!
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