Xerxes sighed. ’You are too good for this world, my love.
Fine then . . .we can at least keep the gaurdian from dying in the meantime.’
He waved his hand and Hera vanished from within my arms.
A lump formed in my throat. I demanded, rushing towards Xerxes. , ’what did you-?’
’No, child’ Fey cautioned while placing a palm on my shoulder. ’Worry not, our healers will soothe her pain— allow her to rest peacefully in her dreams until finally passes.
Then she turned to Xerxes. ’Your grace, is there not more we can do for them?’
’No, my love. The injuries she sustained are too grave. Even with our magic and science, its all we can do to keep her alive for barely a week.’ He replied.
’And I dont see why we are even doing this much,’ Xerxes grumbled as he turned to me. ’Your mother had a gift from the gods— I had never observed anything like her talents.
But Uttara had already laid claim to her.
And so I started a war.
But then she perished and I lost all hope of attaining her.
Imagine my excitement when I heard of a descendant she left in the human world.
And then imagine my disappointment when I realised she had not passed her miraculous gifts on to you.’
’You’re crazy,’ I said. ’Whether me or her . . We are both living sentient beings . . you cant treat us like . ..’
’Tools,’ Xerxes finished. ’Yes, that’s all you both are. What greater purpose could there be to your puny lives than to increase my clans power, boy?
When’s the last time anyone considered the rights of a weakling?’
Don’t feel too bad, Mason Quill.’ Xerxes spread out his hands. ’Your future here will not be so bleak.
You shall be given a days respite, consider it a courtesy.
Then my scientists and scribes will pry you open to see if anything like your mother talents sleeps within you.
I can assure you that this will be better than any boring life you would’ve lived in Uttara.’
Then he smiled. ’Its going to a be long gory process. Try not to get too much blood on my tiles, okay.’
My prison had no gate, no windows to let in light, not even bars to restrain me.
The armored guards shoved me straight through an obsidian wall and it solodified behind me.
Under different circumstances, that would amaze me.. .but now . . .
Somewhere in this palace, Hera was drifting slowly into death’s embrace, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.
I sat on the cold stone floor hating myself.
I didn’t know how long I sat for — there was no way to tell how much time was passed in this lightness prison.
It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours.
I only got more irritable with each passing moment.
Suddenly I felt a presence nearing. A figure phased through the obsidian walls, then a voice hissed from within the darkness:
Child!
I lunged out blindly. Before I came to my senses, I had Fey pinned to the wall of the cell with my canines at her throat.
We were close enough that her features were clear to me.
Crescent eyes, bewitching eyelashes, and plump rosy lips.
She had changed clothes:
A dark gown slid over her curvaceous body. And as she breathed, her massive breasts rose and fell, stirring a dark sinful hunger in me.
’Want – to – help,’ she choked. Her soft satin skin was warm to the touch.
Anger cleared my head. ’Oh, really? And why should I trust you?’ I sneered.
’Do you have a choice?’ She giggled effortlessly through my chokehold.
I hated that she was right. I reluctantly stepped away from her.
She let out a breath and gently caressed the marks my fingers had left on her neck.
"Oh goodie." She moaned as her pearly tongue licked over her plump lips seductively. "You know what I like."
I froze— that one motion threatening to yank my soul out of my body.
Finally, she took a bold step toward me, eyeing me with interest. She wasn’t the slightest bit afraid, for she was much stronger than I was.
I suppose if she’d wanted to kill me, she could’ve done the moment she walked in.
Still, I didn’t trust her.
’We have to leave,’ she said.
’We?’ I repeated skeptically. ’What do you mean we? And why do you want to help me?’
She smiled. ’I admire your spirit. And it is indeed regrettable what happened to your gaurdian. So perhaps we can help eachother.’
’I don’t believe you!’ I replied coldly.
’Would you prefer to waste our time arguing instead of excaping?
I have knocked out all the nearby gaurds, but it won’t be long before someone senses something amiss’
I was very reluctant to trust her. But unfortunately, she was right.
I didnt have much time, and I was in desperate need of her help.
She placed her palm on the the wall. And the whole section dissolved, revealing a dimly lit corridor.
’Come.’ She beckoned, leading the way.
I was wary of her intentions at first, but it turned out I was worrying too much.
Every time we came to a palace guard,
Fey just stretched out har hand and a dark fog gathered around them. Their eyes dimmed, and they fell sleeping to the ground.
We walked through a several pavilions and archways filled with guards. By the time we reached the palaces great hate, we had left heaps of bodies litering the palace courtyards.
We continued silently across a moat and through the common areas.
I almost felt relieved until I heard the sound of collective turmoil and alramed voices clamoring in the distance.
’They’ve noticed our absence,’ Fey softly murmured.
’What do we do?’
She looked at me like I was retarded.
’How about ... run?’
Together we burst into a sprint, a spirited race straight north, think only about leaving the the territory of the Serzar behind.
And I kept running. Not stopping until Hera’s image flashed across my mind.
I halted, my bare feet digging deep grooves in the sand. My eyes flitted back to the castle— now a mere dot on the horizon.
I had taken a step forward when I felt Feys soft palm curl around my wrist. ’No child.’
’Don’t call me that.’ I curtly said as I shook my hand free.
’Your going back will do nothing for her.. .’ She insisted. ’Listen to me .. her fate may not be as hopeless as you think.
She may be beyond the aid of our science and magic. But I believe there is is something out there that can save her.
In the deapths of the Nether— lies an object that could reverse even her condition.’
I trembled ’What was she saying?’.
’All Im asking is for you to hear me out before making any rash decisions,’ Fey pleaded.
She could see the rationality return to my face as I calmed down. ’What are you talking about?’
She sighed. ’To fully understand the breadth of what I’m about to tell you, we must go back to before the dark times:
When gods walked the earth in their true forms.
Next Chapter title: The first Murder