"Shit!" My tone is held under as I'm being held back by Trika. The lightning's stick out like sore thumbs in their dumb white armour. I see Ryan, there is a knife to his throat. Anger is boiling inside my blood but I know, the camouflage of the tree's shadows is our only advantage. They don't know we are here. Watching them. I can't give that away. I scan the area. All our Soilders were caught off guard, all of them on their knees. The castle is won. Then I remember.
"Where is MY father?" I whisper to Trika.
"He took a few days leave. Went away somewhere. To the outer islands for retirement." I didn't really care. All I knew was that he was away and safe. And my chest became lighter. I then saw Ryan, his jaw tightening by the second with his fists balled up tight. His head jerks away from the sting of the blade as it reels closer to his throat. His hands are up, he is unarmed. The king looms over him, a sadistic grin plastered as he now has the king of shadows on his knees.
"You see here everyone!" He shouts to get his soilders attention. His knife plastered to his throat. "They are not to be feared. Their king has already surrendered!" The soilders laugh, and I watch, I can feel Trikas grip tightening on my shoulders.
"Wait.." Drake said. He watched and scanned the open area looking for a place to attack. Trika held on tight.
"You must be patient my queen." he said as I resisted his pull. Damien took my arm, as a backup in case I do something stupid. He can barely tear his eyes away. The man he once called his father had now become a monster. before his eyes. He can't deny it anymore. It's right infront of him.
"Tell me King Ryan..where is my son and your sister?" Ryan smiles at the kings taunts. That idiotic smile he has perfected since childhood. Why must he be an idiot!? Ryan looks down and spits at the kings shoes. The Nightslayers snicker and spit also following in his lead. It was not liked as they retaliated with blood clenching punches to the jaws. One after another I heard them snap followed by the groans of men. I twist in Trikas grip.
"Wait.." Trika repeated. The king grabbed Ryan by his hair jerking It upwards, clenching harder and harder until Ryan's face bled with pain. They were eye to eye, Ryan's breath was slow and steady, watching the king. The blade was so close pressing up against his vein, I began to tremble.
"STOP!" I heard. My head jerked around. Coming through the crowd, Lavria. Oh god! They will kill her.
"DAMIEN we have to stop this!" I said resisting his grip even more, but it was louder than intended. Damien pulled me from behind and put his hand over my mouth resting his lips in my hair. He wiped the tear from my face. And he squeezed tight, almost like he was apologising. He was sorry. We couldn't help right now. We watched but something wasn't right. Nobody was grabbing or attacking Lavria. She moved through the crowd like an arrow towards the king with no one stopping her.
"You promised you wouldn't hurt him." She said to King Lucent.
"Wait-what's-whats going on?" Ryan stuttered with his eyes wide open.
"Ryan.. I'm so sorry please forgive me!" She shouted. The king laughed. Manically. He walked over to Lavria and patted her on the head.
"Ahh my darling, you have played your part well. But, your prize will be one chance at freedom, I'm afraid, it will be WITHOUT RYAN-"
"That was not what we agreed." She protested. She was close to tears. She tucked her hair behind her ears rocking herself in her arms.
"Wait What's going on here?!" Ryan's voice broke, he was distraught but he held together for the sake of standing strong for his people.
"Oh right. You two were 'in love' with eachother." He snickered. "No, she didn't love you, she was playing you. I needed someone on the inside of your little group. Before I visited Damien, I saw her in the opposite cell. We made a deal and I would give her freedom. She would get into your little group and feed me information. Everything that you were doing, everything that you thought you knew.. i knew it too. She was my little bird. When you got to Haydren, she stayed behind in the castle. To give me any information she had. You were DECEIVED KING RYAN!... By her..And played by me." He spat in his face. The king placed his hand on Lavria's shoulder and curled his eyebrows. "However I didn't expect you to get back so quickly. I wanted to finish the job whilst you were still in Haydren. It would've been a better surprise. At least now, you will witness the end of Dark magic." Ryan was barely holding it together. I saw his heart break through his eyes. I wanted to run in to save him. But there were too many soilders around. Lavria looked at Ryan's face but she couldn't take the sight of his disappointment. So she cut her eyes away from him folding her arms rocking herself.
"Lavria, I was going to propose to you. I -wanted to marry you! Make you my queen and the queen of this land... Instead you will be the death of it." Ryan's face soured and curled inwards as he fought back his tears.
"Bitch.." I whisper to myself shaking my head. I will kill her. She played with my brothers heart. She played with my husbands friendship. And she played with my peoples lives. She will die for that. She will die slowly for that.
"So King Ryan, Where is your lovely sister and my Traitor of a son hmmm?!" He asks in a sarcastic tone. Nothing happens. He presses his knife harder to Ryan's throat threatening to spill its content. The knife provoked the blood, as all of it rushed out of Ryan's face. Ryan's air was being cut off, he was squealing as the knife got closer.
"Where is my son-"
"Here!" I turn my head and over in the far corner I see Damien step out of the woods away from the wolves. He must've moved when we weren't looking.
"Oh the idiot." Drake said shaking his head.
"On my signal attack!" I say to Trika. He nods and let's go of my wrist. He shifts back into a wolf and moves his pack to circle the soilders.
"Karina don't!" Drake says stepping infront of me.
"Go with Trika." I simply say. He doesn't move, I see his hesitation but he knows I'm right. He sighs loudly annoyed but Eventually he runs after him and I ready my tone.
"Here!" I shout and step out of the safety of the shadows, and into the dangers of light.
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Three soilders approach me and grab me roughly by my shoulders. Ripping my sword off my waist and knife out of my thigh patch they guide me towards the king. I feel a pain in the back of my legs and I have dropped to my knees. My hands still up as the soilders loom over me. Damien thuds beside me, the soilders berating him with insults as they pick at his black dressing and pull at his locket. They really to pull it off him but He snatches it out of their hands and gets met with an agonising blow to his jaw. I shudder slightly, as his body hits the floor. But he gets up on his knees almost instantly, wiping his mouth from all the fresh blood oozing from his lip. But he does it with a smile. Taunting the sons of bitches.
"Ahh...my son." The king starts.
"Asshole." Damien replies. I smile at his bravery, and shake my head at his stupidity. Something sharp hits my cheek. The stings starts. I touch it and feel a liquid coming from my cheek. Blood. The king had cut me.
"Show some damn respect boy. Hold your tongue or i'll cut hers out." The king said. Damien sits back, but his cockiness had now been replaced by sourness as he rolled his jaw and tightened his fists. His face hardened and his eyes glass over. I could see the pumps in his chest get heavier and more aggressive. He was ready to fight. But right now. We are not ready. I try to look around for Trika, but they are not in formation yet. Shit.
"Leave her be!" Ryan shouts Trying to stand up. But the guards wrestle him down and push his neck down.
"I'm going to make an example out of you." His neck was being pushed down even further. (No) his eyes were lowered. (Is he going to kill him!?) his arms were outstretched by the guards.
"No..." My eyes must be deceiving me. I try to summon the forces but it's not working. I then realise that the knights have their arms on me, pushing their power of light into me so my dark magic is disabled. I can't summon the forces because they are being drowned out by the extreme forces of light. I'm still learning, yet I'm not strong enough the challenge the power of 4 fully grown Lightning's. Ryan looks up at me, and takes a large gulp nodding to me slightly. He winks and lowers his head. With one swift motion of the kings blade. I saw red. Ryan's head..rolled across the floor and landed infront of my feet. I was going to be sick. The venomous feeling of anger-sadness-frustration all came out through shakes. I was shaking. I couldn't cry. Nothing was happening. His head lay infrint of me. My eyes dried. I couldn't blink. My breath hardened. I couldn't breathe. My body stiffened. I couldn't move. My hands shook. My legs shook. I fell deeper into the floor. I couldn't take my eyes off his lifeless body. Being tossed to one side. Lavria has her hand over her mouth muffling her tears and some soilders usher her into the woods. Damien closed his eyes and bowed his head in grief.
"To end the game, you must kill the king."
———————
"YOU BASTARD!" I can't hold it in, Ryan's body lay lifeless. The king smacked me hard and I heard Damien's shouts. They soilders had let go of me as I fell to the floor. I couldn't even feel the pain. I just couldn't tear my eyes away.
"What have you done!?" I hear Damien shout. His eyes blood shot. King Lucent looked directly at me. He crouched down next to my ear.
"You see Princess, I didn't do this out of hate. This was all for a reason. A promise I had vowed to keep. And now, once Dark magic is gone. My vow would be kept." I looked around. My cheeks wet, I saw Trika get into position. They were waiting on my signal.
"You're promise, didn't involve my brother. He had shown you nothing but kindness, and that is how you honor him..by giving him a merciless death." My throat clogged up. "Now King Lucent, I can guarantee, you will be shown no mercy." I felt the forces alive in me again. Using my magic, I throw a black ball of fire into the air. My signal. Wolves emerge from every creves of the forest . The soilders are mildy in shock as they arm themselves wondering in what direction to attack. Their snarls were huge, for they were to avenge their king. I see Drake run to Damien. With one slash the two men go down. Damien gets up and sprints over to me, throwing down 2 soilders as he ran to me. Using my ball of fire I want it through the crowd as they all jump for cover, some men squeal as the fire burns as their fresh skin, corroding the raw meat.
"We have to go." Damien says. "Not all the men are here. They're going to the tree." I look back over to Ryan and I close my eyes. (I'll be back) I think. (I'll avenge you, I promise. Love you.) I think before I remember.
"Where is Lavria?" Comes out through my teeth. I needed to kill something, someone.
"What are YOU GUYS DOING!?" I hear Drake shout and saw a Lightning drop to the floor at the swing of his fist. "You need to go now. We got this." Drake nods to me to leave. The number of Lightning soilders had declined and we saw ours rise up and fight. I look at Trika and he snarls telling me to go. Me and Damien share a mutual look of trust and take off in the Direction of the Tree. We took the Shadows to find the Light.