"Princess, I must thank you for sending such a precious girl to . She outperforms more than half of my girls," Mada Helene purred, her voice laced with false sweetness. She knew this girl loved flattery. But Josa’s expression betrayed her, there was no joy in seeing Ara, only fear, bottomless and suffocating, like seeing a demon. The girl’s terror was palpable as if she knew sothing unspeakable lood just out of reach that slled like trouble. This girl would only leave ruins wherever she went.
"Josa, I want you to bed soone in the castle, satisfy him," Ara said, her words cutting through the air with brutal clarity.
The room’s temperature dropped as the air shattered into icy shards. Mada Helene’s smile dried, her excitent giving way to a grimace of confusion and distaste.
"My Lady, she beds royals only. But soone in the castle?" Mada Helene’s voice held a note of uncertainty, and the discomfort in her eyes grew. "May I ask who that is?"
"The King of Thegara," Ara replied coldly. "He asked for a perfect whore, and I’m going to help him have her."
Josa’s face twisted in horror. A beast? Her sister’s husband? She was being sent to bed by a monster, a creature she could not fathom. The thought was too vile to accept.
"My Lady... please, can you forgive this ti?" Josa sank to her knees, her body trembling, eyes wide with terror as she begged for rcy.
"Guards!" Ara shouted, her voice a sharp command.
The guards stord in without hesitation.
"Take her!" Ara’s voice was cold, colored with dark malice.
One of the guards seized the trembling girl, while the other drew his sword, its blade gleaming ominously at Mada Helene.
Ara fixed Mada Helene with a vicious glare, her lips curling into a cruel smirk that promised sothing far worse. "Cut her left hand."
The guard grabbed Mada Helene by the arm. She struggled, but the hilt of the sword slamd into her head, sending a rush of blood spilling down her face. The room was filled with the sickening sound of steel as the sword rose and fell, severing her hand with brutal efficiency. The woman’s shrill scream echoed off the walls, a sound of pure agony.
"Now, you’re coming with us. If you don’t, your head will be next to kiss that sword," Ara warned, her voice colder than ever.
The guard pressed a sharp dagger against Josa’s neck, its edge biting into her skin. A thin line of blood appeared, staining the blade red, a mark of Ara’s brutal unyielding power.
Mada Helene collapsed into the corner, clutching her dismbered arm, gasping for air. "Say yes... say yes, or she’ll kill you," she begged, her voice frantic and breathless. She wanted to save her girl.
Josa, terrified and broken, whispered, "Yes, Your Highness, as you wish."
Ara’s smirk deepened, and she pulled a small bag from her cloak, tossing it at Josa. "Wear this."
Once the business was concluded, they left the building. Ara turned to one of the guards, her voice cold as ice. "Burn it."
The guard bowed and hurried off to the back street, setting fire to the brothel’s oil barrels. As they walked away, a distant explosion shook the night air. The building erupted in flas, the fire consuming it with terrifying speed. Not even a single scream escaped the place as it was so sudden that no one could guess death was just closer than a breath.
Josa, too numb with fear to even look back, was frozen in place. The princess, this cruel, maddened woman, had crossed a line, one that Josa knew would not be forgotten. Ara had beco sothing far darker than before.
~*~
Mada Helene slipped out the back door exactly after they left, and just as she made it a few ters away, the building erupted into flas. The shockwave from the explosion slamd into her back.
She hit the ground hard, then whipped her head around. Reflections of the fire lashing the air and smoke rising, flickered in her wide brown eyes as the blaze devoured stone like the hungriest beast the city had ever known. People scread and rushed to shut it down. Before these wild flas could spread.
"That bitch!"
The words spurted out, polluted with venom, her heart brimming with rage. There was no ti to grieve, not yet. She had to report this.
Her girls, that crazy Araben, had burned them alive. She’d slaughtered everyone inside.
Tears burned down her cheeks, tracing over the dried blood sared across half her face as she pushed her aching body up. She stumbled into a small house, scrawled a letter, its corners soaked with blood, and tied it to a crow. Then she sent it flying toward the castle.
An hour later, a reply ca: "et at the riverbank cottage."
By midnight, Mada Helene waited inside the modest shelter by the river. Her wrist, seared and swollen, was wrapped in clean cloth, still bleeding which ant she could not burn the wound properly.
From the shadows, a woman erged, cloaked in black cotton, her garnts plain and unassuming.
At the sight of her, Mada Helene’s face lit with desperate relief, tears shimring in her eyes.
"My love!" Helene rushed forward and threw her arms around the woman.
"Helene! Your hand!" the cloaked figure cried, embracing her tightly.
After a brief but fierce hug, the strange woman pulled back, lowered her hood, and kissed Helene on the lips.
"Eve, she killed all my girls! Burned them alive!" Helene choked, her voice cracking as tears stread down her face.
Aunt Everin’s expression darkened with fury, looking at Helene’s wrist. That girl had wholly lost control of her sanity. She would surely go after Reneira next, to kill her.
"Calm down, love. Tell everything," Everin said, her tone soft but urgent.
Helene glanced around, heart pounding, scanning the darkness for any prying eyes. If anyone found out she and Everin were lovers, or that a royal unmarried woman was involved with a courtesan, they would both be dead.
"Do you rember what she did to Josa?" she whispered.
Aunt Eve nodded grimly. That wretch had slaughtered the girl’s entire family in Zillgaira, then sold her off into brothels. The poor maiden didn’t know it yet.
"And now she’s co after her again," Helene said, her voice trembling. "When I tried to object, she slashed my hand. She took Josa to the castle, to force her into the bed of Reneira’s husband. She’s scheming sothing dark again."
Aunt Eve clenched her jaw, fury seething beneath her calm exterior.
"Helene, I have to get rid of Ara. I can’t let her live. Her parents have arranged a powerful match for her, the Crown Prince of Al-Delone. They’re planning to announce the engagent at the banquet. If she kills Reneira and Dankin... you know what cos next."
Helene slapped a hand over her mouth, horror gleaming in her eyes.
"Have you warned the king?" she whispered.
"No. I need you, as the only witness, to speak to my brother. He’ll see the truth and act to protect Reneira and Dankin."
Helene nodded, her eyes brimming with resolve. "I’ll give my life for this. Those girls died because of ."
Aunt Eve cupped her face gently. "I’ll protect you. Now, let’s go to the castle. I’ll hide you there. The House of Kalia has eyes all over the city, they might already be watching."
Shrouded in darkness, Aunt Eve picked up the lantern and led her lover out of the cottage. For the very first ti taking her to the castle. It was a secret she had guarded fiercely, the real reason she had never married a man.
Though sterile, and thus spared the burden of forced union, she had hidden her truth from everyone. Until now.
~*~
Back in Ren’s chamber, shortly after returning from Sunkiath’s tunnels...
"Arkilla, are you sure my aunt sneaked out of the castle?"
Ren’s voice was tight with worry, her fingers twitching at her sides. A cold pulse throbbed behind her ribs, an instinctive dread twisting in her gut. Her aunt never left the castle without an escort. Never. Not with Rebedina lurking like a vulture, always ready to strike.
"Yes," Arkilla confird. "Three n, faces covered, followed her. It’s been ten minutes."
Ren’s breath hitched, her heart jolting. She shot to her feet.
Ten minutes. That was more than enough ti for an ambush.
Kai was gone, he’d headed south with Agara to investigate the ships spotted near Saint Witch Island. Word had spread of pirates haunting the southern dock, and Kai wouldn’t risk letting that threat fester. He suspected that sorcerers were secretly cooking sothing vicious.
But now Ren stood alone. And her aunt was out there, unguarded, exposed to her enemies.
"We’re going after her," she declared, the storm already gathering in her voice. "It’s Rebedina. She’s here, to eliminate anyone who stands in the way of her son’s claim."
Arkilla didn’t protest. She’d seen it too. The signs were clear and ominous.
In the corridor, Gloria appeared with a tray of tea. Her eyes widened when she saw them rushing past.
"Where are you going?"
"Gloria, go to your chamber and stay there until I return. Where’s Rail?"
"With the other guards, in the eastern quarters."
"Good. Go. Now. Lock your door."
Without waiting for a reply, Ren tore down the corridor, her boots striking the stone like war drums. She found Rail and three other shifters near the barracks and ordered them to follow.
They scurried out the castle’s rear, through the sa narrow gate Aunt Eve had taken.
The shifters moved with ghost-like precision, following the faint trail of feminine scent through wind and underbrush until they reached the riverbank. A small cottage stood ahead, hunched in the dark like a secret.
Ren held up a hand. "Shh. Wait."
Through the window’s cracked glass, dim candlelight flickered. And there, frad in shadows, she saw them.
Aunt Eve. And another woman. Lady Helene? That was impossible! Their bodies leaned close.
Their lips t.
Ren’s breath caught, her mind reeling,
That was a secret hidden even from her. Sothing that could send both of these won to death.
The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on fr(e)𝒆webnov(e)l
Reviews
All reviews (0)