As she went to grab it she felt something cold wrap itself something around her body. It covered her mouth before she could cry for help. She reached for the book but something stabbed into her arm. She couldn't breathe. Her fingers grazed her sword. She had to grab it. It's grip got stronger. It felt like her insides were being crushed. Something sharp ripped through her clothes. She reached for her sword one more time. She strained to reach it. It was just centimeters away from her hand. She just had to reach a little further.
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"Cora," a voice called out to her. It was so familiar yet it had begun to leave her memory.
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"Grandmother?"
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The book glowed a bright shade of blue.
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"No matter what happens you mustn't let the darkness control you."
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Cora stretched her hand desperately trying to reach the sword tucked away in her sheath. Something sharp pricked her palm but she didn't flinch. Her fingers wrapped around the sword. In one swift motion she whipped out her sword and severed the bondage that was holding her.
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Her cuts stung but that didn't matter. The book had spoken to her. How?
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She flipped on the light switch. Severed vines were scattered all over the floor. They were a deep black color with sharp purple thorns, some of them were stained red with her blood. There was no doubt about it, these were the same vines from Mt. Nevado. But they didn't grow in Silvershore.
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The book lay on the floor opened to a page somewhere in the middle. It had stopped glowing.
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She tiptoed around the decapitated vines, afraid of injuring herself further.
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She gently picked up the book off the floor, then sat on her bed.
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Surprisingly, the page she was currently looking at had detailed drawings of the vines. Below them was another letter.
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Dear Cora, I hope you are still fighting the best you can. If you're reading this, then the darkness has already begun to spread. Soon it will overrun all of Thessionia. The King of Shadows will return on Blood King's Day. You must defeat him then. I know I'm asking a lot of you and I wish things were simpler but I have faith you will succeed.
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Blood King's Day was only a week away. How was she going to be ready to face him by then?
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When she arrived downstairs everyone except Ray were gone.
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"Where is everyone?" She asked.
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"They decided it was best that they head home. It's been an eventful night."
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"Oh."
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"They wanted to say goodbye to you but, you took so long upstairs."
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"About that," Cora quickly glanced around the room to make sure no one was watching, then opened the book. "The King of Shadows is going to return soon."
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His eyes widened with surprise. "When?"
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"On Blood King's day."
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Ray looked away. "What's that?"
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Cora was unsure of the best way to explain it to him. "Well, it's a Thessionian holiday where we celebrate the anniversary of the death of the Blood King." Knowing what she knows now, Cora felt bad she had celebrated it all these years.
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Ray didn't say anything.
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Cora started to ramble. "It's kind of a huge deal around here. Don't take it personally."
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'Why would I take it personally?"
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"Because...you're..." she fumbled over her words. "You aren't upset?"
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"Of course I'm not upset. The Blood King is dead. As far as anyone else is concerned i'm an ordinary civilian named Ray Castillo. The Blood King will remain a piece of history and nothing more."
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Cora didn't know what to say so she said nothing. Ray placed his hand on top of hers which made her heart flutter.
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"When is it?"
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"When is what?" Cora was so flustered she had completely forgotten what they were talking about. Cora could no longer deny it. She had feelings for Ray, but they had more important matters to attend to right now.
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"Blood Kings Day," Ray clarified.
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"Next Sunday, so we'll have about a week to prepare."
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"Do we have any idea what he's planning?"
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"No."
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"There's not much we can do, then."
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"We need to stop him!" Cora protested.
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"If we don't know what he's planning than we have no idea how to stop it."
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Cora wanted to argue, but he was right. All she knew was that darkness was spreading, bringing chaos with it. He was going to return on Blood King's day and she needed to stop him.
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Ray stood up "It's getting quite late."
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It was late and Cora felt guilty because of how badly she wanted to sleep right now. She should probably be plotting how to stop the King of Shadows, but Ray was right there wasn't much they could do.
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"Good night," He whispered in her ear. They're lips were barely a centimeter apart. She wanted to kiss him so badly but she resisted.
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Instead she wrapped her hands around his neck. "Good night, Ray."
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The next day moved at a snail's place. For some reason most of her class didn't show up to training today. Since she had missed so much training between her trip up Mt. Nevado and recovering from her concussion she had fallen considerably behind and had a hard time keeping up with the others.
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After a long day of training Cora wandered through the castle corridors. Several students holding large boxes of decorations were scattered throughout the halls. They must be preparing for the Blood King's Day celebrations. She didn't think anyone would mind if she took a sneak peek at the decorations in the ballroom. She crept around the corner and into the ballroom.
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She was so distracted she bumped into the someone on her way in. Cora was startled by the sound of birds squawking.
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"Hey, it's alright. Calm down." Scarlet eased the birds until they were quiet. There were many brightly colored birds throughout the room. Cora wasn't sure what type of birds they were but, they looked exotic.
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"What are you doing here?" Cora asked.
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"I'm on the party planning committee."
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"I didn't know that."
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Scarlet laughed. "Do you know anything about me?"
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"I wish I knew more," Cora confessed.
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Scarlet shyly peered through her hair. The pair stood in silence for a few moments before Cora spoke. "I really like your birds."
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Scarlet's eyes lit up with excitement. "They helped me with the decorations," she stepped aside revealing a fully decorated ballroom. The entire room was lit up by candlelight. Blood red colored drapes hung from the ceiling. Black shields with red lions painted on them hung on the walls. The tables were decorated with bouquets of red roses. Something about about the room felt magical. "They were the ones that hung the drapes from the ceiling," Scarlet continued.
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Cora stared at the ballroom in awe. Something about almost felt familiar to her though she wasn't sure why. "Everything looks so beautiful!" Cora exclaimed.
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Scarlet tried her hardest not to blush but she couldn't hide her satisfaction. "Ray helped me with the design. I wanted it to look as authentic as possible."
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Jealously struck Cora like an arrow through the heart. She hated the fact that she was jealous over something so trivial. She used to look down on people for getting upset over boys but she understood now. It was stupid and she knew it was just because Ray and Scarlet have been talking that doesn't mean anything has happened between them. So Cora set aside her feelings and continued to admire the room when something out the window caught her eye. Black clouds with purple lightning filled the horizon.
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Scarlet turned around to see what had caught Cora's attention. Scarlet gently pet one of the birds. "The animals can usually predict when a storm is coming. I noticed they were acting especially strange this morning then those clouds appeared out of nowhere. I'm starting to worry."
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Cora clenched her fists. This was the Armageddon. Soon all of Thessionia will be overrun and there was nothing she could do. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of two sets of footsteps.
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Dimitri poked his head into the ballroom. "Hey Scar, are you ready to go?"
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"I told you not to call me that," she mumbled.
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"What?" Dimitri hollered from across the room.
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Scarlet let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm ready."
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Cora was surprised by who followed. Prince Lyon limped behind on crutches. His eyes widened when he caught glimpse of the fully decorated room. "I've been to more Blood King's Day balls than I can count, but none have ever looked as authentic as this one. You've done an excellent job."
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Scarlet could no longer stop herself from blushing. "Thank you, Your Highness."
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Prince Lyon turned to Dimitri. "I hope you'll keep in touch about my offer."
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The pair shook hands. "Of course," Dimitri tried his hardest to mask the nervousness in his voice but it was obvious his conversation with the prince had left him starstruck.
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Prince Lyon inched his way towards Cora.
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Cora was unsure of what to say to him. During their previous interactions she was always so dazed, but now she felt nothing. She tried to come up with something to say. "Fancy meeting you here," was the best she could come up with.
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He gently kissed her hand. "Actually I was looking for you," he replied.
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"You were?" She stuttered.
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He squeezed her hands. "I need to speak with you alone."
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Before she could respond he dragged her down the hallway and into anther room leaving Scarlet and Dimitri behind.
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This room was so long it seemed to stretch on forever. The walls were covered with paintings of nobles all of which had the same scarlet colored hair as Lyon.
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They sat down on a bench in front of a painting of two small boys with long red hair. One of the boys looked familiar.
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The pair sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. Cora wondered why Prince Lyon would possibly to need to speak with her alone.
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He tightly squeezed her hand which made her flinch. Was Prince Lyon in love with her? "Your Highness_" She began but was cut off.
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He placed a finger on her lips silencing her. "There's no need to be so formal."
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He tried to wrap an arm around her but she pulled away. "Listen, I really don't feel comfortable with this."
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He let go of her. "My apologies, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He turned to his bodyguard. "Why don't you go get us some tea."
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"But, Your Highness," he protested.
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Lyon locked eyes with the guard for a long time before the guard begrudgingly exited the room muttering something incoherent.
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Lyon let out a long sigh. "I thought he'd never leave," He stood up. "Now I can tell you the real reason I called you here. I trust you'll keep this confidential."
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The blonde slowly nodded.
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He gently ran his fingers down the side of the painting. Do you remember the day my brother, Prince Liam was killed?"
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She shook her head. She was too young to remember the day it happened but her parents or the news would occasionally bring up the tragedy of the the two year old prince that was murdered in cold blood but it wasn't talked about often.
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"I remember it perfectly. I was out playing in the courtyard and then a group of palace servants came to tell me the news. They kept apologizing to me but no words could fix the damage that had been done, I lost my best friend that day. Father didn't eat or sleep for weeks after the incident. He hasn't been the same since."Tears welled up in his eyes. "I've come to the conclusion that the royal guard is incompetent."
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Cora was speechless. She had learned so much new information and she had so many questions. "But, the royal guard, they caught the killer right?" She stuttered.
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Prince Lyon shook his head. "They executed the wrong man and then covered it up," He banged his fists against the wall. He took a deep breath and regained his composure then continued. "Which is why I'm putting together a team of the best warriors I can find to protect me from these kinds of threats." He handed her a business card. "Think about it."
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Cora walked down the hallways all alone. Everyone else had left awhile ago. She was tired and her throat felt dry. She never did get that tea. She turned down a corridor heading towards the exit when she saw the dead body of Prince Lyon's bodyguard with the words.
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TIME IS RUNNING OUT! Written in blood.
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