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My feet felt rooted to the ground, my breath caught in my throat. The pixie's words echoed in my mind, each one dripping with malice, wrapping around my chest like invisible chains. There was something Kiaran wasn't telling us—something important.
"Kiaran," I said, my voice low but firm. "What aren't you telling us?"
He didn't look at me. His crimson eyes flickered toward the dark treeline, his body tense, his grip on the spear tightening. The wind shifted then, sharp and biting, carrying with it a sound—a faint, lilting laugh that froze my blood.
It was light and airy, almost playful. But there was something wrong about it. Something that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
"Is that...?" I started, but the words caught in my throat.
"Yes," Kiaran muttered, his voice barely audible over the rising wind. "Queen Belladorn."
The forest changed with her arrival.
The air grew heavy, thick with moisture and an overpowering sweetness that clung to the back of my throat. The scent of roses filled my lungs, but beneath the floral perfume was something sharper, metallic—a tang of blood that made my stomach churn. The trees groaned, their branches creaking and twisting as though alive, bending inward as if to bow or to listen.
The light dimmed further, shadows pooling around us like ink spilled across the earth. The oppressive darkness seemed to pulse in time with my racing heartbeat.
Her laughter echoed again, closer now, cutting through the silence like a blade. It wasn't just sound—it was a presence. It slithered into my mind, sharp and invasive, scratching at the edges of my thoughts like nails on glass. I winced, pressing a hand to my temple.
"Do you hear that?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
Estella froze beside me, her golden eyes wide and panicked. "It's... laughing at us," she said, her voice a shaky whisper. "It's in my head, Mablevi. It's inside my head."
The laughter surged, louder and more grating, wrapping around us like smoke. The forest seemed to writhe in response, the trees groaning louder, their branches twisting and reaching as if they could feel her rage.
Then, the laughter ceased.
The silence that followed was suffocating. It pressed down on me, heavy and unrelenting. My legs refused to move, my breath caught in my throat as the shadows around us shifted—alive and watching.
And then I saw her.
She emerged from the darkness with the grace of a phantom, her wings shimmering with an iridescent glow that shifted and changed with every step. Belladorn was beautiful in a way that hurt to look at—her features too sharp, too perfect, like a statue carved from moonlight. Her skin was pale, almost translucent, and her eyes were pits of polished obsidian, bottomless and unblinking.
Her hair cascaded around her in waves of pink and lilac, moving as though caught in an invisible breeze. She moved with a dancer's poise, her bare feet brushing the ground without a sound. Her gown, woven from petals and thorns, clung to her like living armor, regal and dangerous all at once.
In her hand, she twirled something small and sharp—my dagger.
My stomach dropped. She has it.
"Hello, Kiaran," she said, her voice smooth and melodic, but dripping with venom. Her lips curled into a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "How are you, darling?"
Kiaran stood motionless, his crimson eyes locked on hers. His expression didn't shift, his silence cutting through her words like a blade.
"Oh, don't be shy," Belladorn purred, tilting her head as her wings fluttered slightly. "I'm being polite, aren't I? It's rude to ignore a Queen."
Kiaran turned slightly, his gaze flicking toward us. His voice was low, steady. "This... this woman
Woman?!" Belladorn's voice cracked through the air like a whip, sharp and furious. The wind howled violently around us, shaking the trees as her wings flared wide. Her smile twisted into something feral, her beauty warping into an expression of pure rage. "How dare you!"
Kiaran didn't flinch. "Queen Belladorn," he said, his tone flat and deliberate, "is one of the keepers of nature in Erem Hadar. She commands the forest, unmatched in speed and destruction. Do not underestimate her."
For a moment, Belladorn froze, her expression unreadable. Then, a laugh bubbled from her lips, soft and lilting at first, but it quickly grew sharp and mocking, cutting through the tension like a blade. "Am I a joke to you?!" she hissed, her wings beating furiously, sending gusts of wind whirling through the clearing. "You don't call, you don't write, you don't even acknowledge me—and now..."
Her dark, glittering gaze snapped to me and Estella. Her lips curled into a sneer, her eyes narrowing as though she were inspecting something foul.
"And now you show up with these tramps?!" Her wings fluttered, her tone dripping with venom as she added, "What is this, Kiaran? Are those brothel whores now your idea of companions?"
My stomach dropped, heat rushing to my face as my pulse spiked. Sweat trickled down my temple, and I darted a nervous glance at Estella, who looked equally stunned. Her golden eyes were wide, her lips parted slightly as if she couldn't quite process what she'd just heard.
"Um..." I started, my voice weak and shaky. "Are we... interrupting something?"
Estella elbowed me sharply in the ribs, her voice a frantic hiss. "Shut up!" she whispered harshly. "Do you want to die?"
Belladorn's head snapped toward me in an instant, her wings cracking like thunder as she hovered closer. Her eyes were wild, her obsidian pupils narrowing into slits as her voice dropped into a dangerous growl.
"What was that?" she snarled, her words sharp and deliberate. "Did the little weeds have something to say?"
My heart hammered in my chest, my body locking up under her gaze. I couldn't even breathe, let alone answer. Next to me, Estella raised her hands defensively, her voice trembling as she stammered, "N-no, Your Majesty! We didn't—we wouldn't—"
Belladorn's focus didn't waver. She didn't even acknowledge Estella's words. Her eyes were locked on me for another long, excruciating moment before, suddenly, she turned her attention away from both of us entirely.
"KIARAN!" she screamed, her voice sharp enough to cut through the air. She pointed the dagger—my dagger—directly at him, her hands trembling with barely restrained fury. "Tell me you don't have relations with her! Tell me this tramp isn't your lover!"
Kiaran exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose as though she were a minor inconvenience he didn't have time for. His tone was dry, unimpressed, and utterly devoid of emotion when he finally spoke. "I'm on a mission," he said simply. "Either move, or die."
The silence that followed was the kind that comes right before a storm.
And then Belladorn exploded.
Her scream tore through the forest, raw and guttural, and the ground beneath us trembled as though the earth itself was recoiling from her fury. Trees groaned and cracked, their branches twisting violently as the air around us shimmered with heat.
"How dare you?!" she shrieked, her voice reverberating through the clearing. Her wings flared wide, and in a blur of motion, she hurled the dagger into the dirt at Kiaran's feet.
Kiaran's breath hitched, almost imperceptibly, his crimson eyes flickering with something heavier than anger. His grip on his spear tightened until his knuckles whitened, but he didn't speak.
The air shimmered unnaturally, the heat waves distorting Belladorn's figure like a mirage. My skin prickled under the oppressive warmth, and my heart pounded as the tension twisted tighter.
Belladorn thrust her hands forward, and the world erupted into fire and chaos.
Explosions ripped through the clearing, golden light and searing heat tearing the earth apart. The force knocked me off my feet, the breath leaving my lungs as I hit the ground hard. Splinters of wood rained down around me, and the acrid scent of burning filled the air, choking me as I struggled to stand.
"She's insane," I wheezed, clutching my ribs. "She's absolutely insane."
"Welcome to my world," Kiaran muttered, his voice tight as he hauled me upright. His grip was firm, almost bruising, as though he knew we didn't have a second to waste. "Move."
We sprinted through the clearing, the air thick with smoke and heat. Vines erupted from the ground like striking snakes, their thorned tendrils lashing out with violent precision.
I ducked as one snapped past my face, close enough to sting. Another slammed into the ground near Estella, splitting the earth with a thunderous crack.
Golden blasts shattered the clearing, splintering ancient trunks that toppled like felled giants. Shards of wood rained down, sharp as daggers, and smoke burned my lungs as I forced myself forward.
Belladorn's laughter echoed, sharp and grating, cutting through the chaos like a blade. She was a blur of motion, her inhuman speed making her impossible to track. One moment, her wings cast flickering shadows over the forest floor; the next, she was behind us, her voice dripping venom.
"Don't lose focus!" Kiaran shouted, deflecting a glowing projectile with his spear. The impact sent him skidding back, but he recovered instantly, crimson eyes scanning the clearing like a predator. "She'll use the forest itself to kill you!"
As if on cue, the ground shifted beneath me, glowing veins of molten light snaking through the earth. A tremor rippled through the clearing, nearly throwing me off balance, and a wall of roots surged upward to block our path.
I thrust my hands forward, summoning the wind to blast them aside, but the magic sputtered weakly. My chest tightened as dread crept in.
Belladorn's voice rang out again, mocking and cruel. "Is this all you've got, Kiaran? Babysitting these weeds while they stumble around my forest? Pathetic."
Her laughter clawed at my mind, invasive and suffocating. I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to focus as I thrust my hands forward again. The air around me stirred, a faint shimmer forming into a fragile dome of wind.
It wasn't enough. The barrier flickered, thin and uneven, barely holding against the chaos. My arms shook as I poured everything I had into it, but the hum of magic felt feeble, drowned out by the forest's fury.
"She'll destroy this in seconds," I muttered, panic rising in my throat.
"You're not alone," Estella said sharply, stepping beside me. Her golden eyes burned with determination as she raised her hands.
Pink light began to swirl around her fingers, bright and fluid, cascading over her arms like ribbons of living magic.
"Let me help," she said firmly. "I'll amplify your magic. We'll do this together."
The warmth of her magic flowed into me like sunlight breaking through a storm. My chest no longer felt tight, and the air around me pulsed with renewed energy.
The barrier snapped into place, streaked with radiant pink light. It hummed with power, solid and unyielding, a living storm that pushed back the chaos.
Belladorn shrieked, wild and furious, as she hurled herself at the barrier. Her claws raked against it in erratic, animalistic strikes. Sparks flew with each impact, golden light streaking across the dome, but it held firm.
"You think this will stop me?!" she screamed, her voice cracking with rage. "You can't hide from me! You can't hide HIM from me!"
Her fists slammed into the barrier, sending bone‑rattling vibrations through the clearing. Tears streaked her face, obsidian eyes wide and bloodshot as she glared past the dome, her fury locked on one target.
"How could you, Kiaran?!" she wailed, anguish cutting through the chaos like a blade. "How could you bring them here? How could you bring another woman into my forest?!"
Her grief rang sharp and jagged, tearing through her fury. For a moment, I couldn’t look away — it was so raw it made my chest ache.
I turned toward Kiaran instinctively, searching his face for answers — what was she talking about? But he didn’t so much as glance at me.
He stood frozen, crimson eyes locked on Belladorn, his spear hanging limp as if she’d turned him to stone.
"Kiaran!" Estella’s voice cracked as she seized his arm, desperation blazing in her golden eyes. "You’re one of the strongest guards in Aranbiya! You could end this, why aren't you helping us fight!!
The clearing fell silent, save for the distant crackle of fire and the faint hum of the dome. Her words hung in the air like a challenge, sharp and unyielding.
But Kiaran didn’t move. His grip tightened on the spear just enough to pale his knuckles. His breath hitched — the only sign her words had touched something buried deep.
Belladorn’s laughter bubbled up again, high and manic. "He won’t do it," she said, voice trembling with rage and despair. "He can’t. He won’t even look me in the eye, because he knows... he knows what he did."
For a heartbeat, her claws faltered, grief twisting her face. Then another scream tore from her throat, her fury doubling as she raked glowing trails across the dome.
"I loved you," she whispered, voice splintering. "And you... you betrayed me."
Her claws trembled against the barrier. "You chose her." The words cracked like glass. Her obsidian eyes burned with grief. "Serendinë." Her voice broke. "My sister."
315Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAcDTGUY47
315Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WL6f5vU2n
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