Born in day, under cover of night
A devastating power should they unite
One, a dark fire, another of change
Bringing to life a curse of blind rage
A fall from grace to distract the path
An untrue heart to unleash her wrath
But should one change, the other is made new
And all shall be saved by the lesser of two
---
A fire broke out in the armory. All her weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, and even food supplies, gone up in flames. Curse him. She was going to have a tough time surviving this one. His soldiers had already broken through her defenses, decimated her forces, and trapped her in the hall of the castle. She let out a small laugh in desperation.
"You tried to warn me, Adi, but I didn't want to listen. 'I'm stronger than him. Smarter too. He knows better than to attack my home.' But now look at me. And, where are you?"
At that moment, the castle doors burst open and an overwhelming sense of dread consumed her. It's him. Her worst nightmare seems like a pleasant dream compared to standing in his presence.
"Well, well darling Mia. It seems I've finally found you. Are you planning any last attempts of escape? As much as I love a good hunt, I think it's about time you stop playing hard to get and let me claim my prize."
Damia slowly dropped the sword she was wielding and turned to face him. He came in from the north corridor which means he would have passed Adi's troops. Had he defeated Adi?
"I thought I told you never to call me that 'Xerx'" She glared at him with a fierce hatred.
"Unlike you, Mia, I'm rather fond of your pet name for me. It means you thought enough of me to give me one. And besides, you are in fact mine, so why call you anything else."
He looked at her with unyielding eyes. Were she any other girl, she would have fallen for that line, and soon after, fallen for him. With his dark, short cropped hair, lean, strong build, and eyes as crystal blue as the waters off the shores of the Isles of Mer, he was every female's fantasy. But she knew more about him than they could ever know.
Behind that smoldering gaze and charming smile lay a demon soul whose hunger for power could never be satiated. If she gave in, he would consume her powers and discard her empty shell. She would never again be used by a man in his quest for domination. Ultimate King was her title and she planned on keeping it until old age called for her spirit's rebirth. And even then, as long as he didn't get his hands on her, she could reclaim it.
But Xerxes' aura now was overwhelming and she was having a tough time standing. His demon power, Subjugation, was hard to resist in this form. Lesser beings would be forced to their knees in his presence unless he allowed otherwise. As a shifter, Damia could turn into any being, but her powers would be limited to whatever that form could handle. If she shifted into a goddess form, she would be unaffected, but she'd risk losing control of her powers and everything within a 10-kilometer radius would be leveled. If Adi was still alive, he wouldn't be after that. No, she had to escape some other way.
Moving towards her, with his soldiers falling back, and combing his hair back with his right hand, Xerxes' eyes take on a cold, possessive look, as he smiles at her. "Come with me, Mia. I promise I won't take it all. I want you alive after all. Be my queen and rule with me. With you as my mate, I can share your powers of Rebirth and we will rule for all eternity. You'll share my powers as well, and I will be the only man to whose will you will bend. You will have supremacy over all men in this world. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"
He finally reached her and came down on one knee so his face could be level with hers. She turned her face to look away and down at her sword.
She spoke, barely above a whisper, "That is my wish. But that wish can never be fulfilled as long as you exist!"
With that, she grabbed the hilt of her sword to stab it into Xerxes. She knew it wouldn't kill him. But she spelled the sword so that even the smallest of cuts would paralyze the victim for a few seconds, giving her just long enough to run through his soldiers that had fallen back. If she could make it through, she could look for Adi and they could escape together to come up with an alternate plan of attack for next time.
But she wasn't fast enough. Xerxes caught the blade with his left hand, and, as if it was nothing more than a mere twig, pulled it out of her hands, tossing it far to the side. With his right hand, he reached for her, turning her face towards him and then taking her mouth with his, ravaging her lips like a lover separated from her for countless years.
In that instance, his dark aura expanded from him, engulfing her body, and slowly, her world went dark.