"Am I being taken to Ravencrest to marry all seven lords?" Meribella asked in a hushed tone, looking at Celina.
They sat by a serene waterfall, and the sound of rushing water provided them a soothing atmosphere for their conversation.
Meribella searched Celina's eyes for an answer she feared might not come. The thought of being bound to seven men was enough to make her jump from the waterfall and leave her fate to heaven. If she survived this fall, she would thank the heavens for giving her a second life.
Celina threw her head back and laughed with such mirth that her whole body shook with laughter. The sound was so unexpected and unguarded that Meribella could only stare. She was perplexed by such a reaction. She had expected a grave answer but not laughter.
"Pardon my behaviour, Miss Meribella," Celina said once she regained her composure and wiped a teardrop from the corner of her eye.
"It's just that the lords might share many things, but a wife? I doubt it. Besides…" She shrugged casually. Her sharp features softened with amusement. "I'm not into women. I would rather have a male partner, personally."
Meribella blinked, her mind struggling to process the words, and confusion was all over her face.
"You… you are one of the lords?" Meribella's voice trembled with shock.
Celina offered a small, knowing smile. "Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Celina Thornvines—Lord of Ravenwood."
The words hit Meribella like a thunderclap. She stood up and immediately bowed her head. Her body reacted reflexively, a practice she had performed countless times before.
"I… I had no idea. Please forgive my ignorance. I never imagined sitting so casually with a lord." Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Celina waved a hand dismissively and gave her a warm and reassuring smile. "You may sit," Celina insisted gently. "You've had quite a day. No need for such formalities right now."
Meribella glanced at Celina and observed her sharp and pointed features. Celina looked like a woman who wouldn't be easily fooled and carried herself with confidence and strength. Yet, unlike the mad lord Raze Azkariel, there was a gentleness to her—a certain calmness that made Meribella feel slightly more at ease.
Meribella hesitated at first but then settled beside Celina. She was still flustered and shocked by the revelation.
Her mind churned with a new wave of questions. She had heard of Ravencrest, which was an unlivable place, a land of dark rumours. Nothing ever mentioned about a woman being a lord. Is that even possible?
She cleared her throat, wanting to ask more, not about Ravenscrest and the lords but about her. "What… what's my future now, Lady Celina?"
Celina's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, and for a brief moment, a thin orange glowing ring formed in her irises before vanishing. Meribella didn't miss it. It was similar to what she had seen in Raze's eyes, though not as prominent as his.
"Meribella, it's time to leave," Celina said abruptly before standing up and stepping out of the water.
Meribella followed, slipping her feet from the stream and drying them as best she could before pulling on her heels. The sudden shift in the conversation left her feeling unsettled, but she didn't press further. Instead, she focused on keeping up with Celina, her mind still swirling with unanswered questions.
"You must be hungry."
At that, Meribella realized she hadn't eaten a bite since the night before when she had been trying to maintain a perfect figure for her wedding dress.
"I am," she admitted softly.
"You should eat something before we continue travelling," Celina said, glancing over her shoulder at Meribella.
Meribella skimmed at the sun, which was already dipping lower in the sky. By her best guess, it was late afternoon. Then she heard Celina say, "We'll be on the road throughout the night."
'Traveling through the night? Do they not require sleep?′
The question lingered in her mind, but she held it back from coming out on her tongue. Now wasn't the time to ask. She would save her questions for later—if she failed to escape.
One thing Meribella was certain about was that she had no intention of willingly following them into unfamiliar territory, no matter how polite the Lord Celina appeared to be.
And though she had learned she wouldn't be forced to marry all seven lords of Ravencrest, it did little to calm her nerves. After all, she was still the bride of Ravencrest... whatever that meant.
Meribella faced a significant problem in her life. She had a tendency to overthink. At times, it aided her in discovering solutions, while other times it kept her awake all night.
'What did that mad lord mean when he called me the Ravencrest bride?' The question continued to gnaw at her.
If Celina was a lord, so the other five were too. And that mad Lord—Raze Azkariel—was presumably in charge. None of them had personally claimed her as a bride, so what did the title mean?
A troubling thought began to form. Could they be some sort of 'modern tribe,' following rituals older than the towns and crowns she knew?
"How far is Ravencrest?" Meribella asked while her eyes were fixed on the ground to avoid tripping. Now that she was in her senses, it made her wonder how did she manage to walk before in heels? They were impractical for this terrain, and every step felt like a struggle.
"It would take three days," Celina replied, her tone matter-of-fact.
Meribella frowned, trying to piece together the geography in her mind.
"Ravencrest is not far, then? It's closer than Frosthearth?"
She needed to understand the distances between her village and other places. If she were to escape, she would need some sense of direction. This was her first time leaving Brindlewood since her birth.
"It is also fifteen days from Brindlewood," Celina corrected her, and Meribella froze. She abruptly stopped walking.
"Did you not say it would take only three days?" she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.
Since meeting the people from Ravencrest, all she felt were confusion, shock, and bewilderment. If this continued, she would soon have wrinkles and a weak heart, which she could not afford. She had to remain beautiful and healthy for Crown Prince Edwyn.
"Yes," Celina said, glancing over her shoulder. "Because our horses are faster than others."
Meribella stared Celina's back, unable to make sense of the explanation.
'How could horses be so fast that they could cover a fifteen-day journey in just three days? Was it even possible? Unless...'
Her mind raced, and a chilling thought crept in. "Are you lords involved in sorcery?" she mustered up the courage to voice the question that had been in her mind for some time after seeing those orange glowing rings in their pupils.
Meribella's question made Celina hold her steps and turn to look at her. Meribella's face reflected confusion and something else—fear, perhaps?
"Let's walk faster, Miss Meribella. Raze is probably getting impatient. He hates waiting!" Instead of responding, Celina quickened her pace, moving faster this time.
Meribella's steps faltered when she heard strange sounds coming from the woods—the ones Celina had warned her to avoid. She turned to see if anyone or anything was in the woods but saw nothing. An unknown worry set in her heart. When she looked back for Celina, she was already far ahead. With her heart racing, Meribella rushed after her.
The rest of the walk passed silently, but Meribella's thoughts were far from quiet.
She recalled the grim stories she had once read in dusty history books about small, secluded tribes that worshipped ancient gods, sometimes offering a "bride" as a sacrifice. Virgin sacrifices, they called them. Often, it was to avert disasters or to ask favour from a deity.
She was a sacrificial lamb to be kept fed and happy until her demise. The thought of becoming a sacrifice threatened to send her into another spiral of panic.
However, she did not lose hope. She has three days left to come up with an escape plan.
They reached the clearing where the carriage and the other lords were gathered around a crackling fire.
Meribella scanned the area, observing everything around. Eight tall rocks encircled the fire. The lords occupied six of them, leaving two rocks empty—one for Celina and one for her. Above the fire, a pot hung balanced by a wooden frame.
The soup's aroma made Meribella's stomach growl despite her unease. She swallowed hard, her mouth watering as she tried to ignore the gnawing hunger in her belly. Then, her eyes were taking on every figure.
The red-hooded figures no longer hid their faces, and each possessed otherworldly beauty, including the height of the two women.
As Meribella and Celina approached, Lords' attention shifted toward Meribella, and they stood in unison to introduce themselves. All except one, of course—Raze. He remained seated on one of the rocks.
His golden eyes flicked toward her with a glare that sent a shiver down her spine while biting an apple. With no change in expression, he turned his attention back to the cooking pot.
"Miss Meribella Faye, I am Malach Saul, lord of Shadowridge," a man said in a voice smoother than polished glass.
"My name is Draziel Void, lord of Blackfeather," the next one in the line greeted, bowing his head with surprising grace.
"Zephyr Forgeborne, lord of Darkwing" the third one with serious eyes murmured, his voice low and controlled.
Next in a line was a woman. Offering Meribella a courteous nod, she said simply, "Lyrith Shades, lord of Wraithhold, "
"I am Kaelith Auron, lord of Nocturne," the last one said, his tone calm but not unkind.
They all had one thing in common: long, raven-like dark hair and dark brown eyes, except the King of Lords.
When everyone had returned to their seats, Celina guided Meribella to an empty rock.
Before Meribella could settle onto the rock, the atmosphere shifted. A silent alarm passed through the seven lords like a ripple in still water. They rose abruptly as if compelled by an invisible signal.
Each pair of eyes was fixed in the same direction she and Celina had travelled earlier.
A thick black fog rolled in from the woods, spreading across the ground with an eerie slowness. But instead of moving closer, it stopped about three hundred meters away as if held back by some unseen force. This made Meribella's stomach drop as she watched.
'Why did it halt? It was strange enough for the fog to behave like this, let alone to stop so precisely.'
Suddenly, in a bizarre motion, the black cloud began to shrink and pull back. It moved as though it had invisible feet stepping in reverse.
Within moments, the heavy mist thinned, and a terrifying sight was revealed—a colossal shape taking form, its outline dark and menacing. Before Meribella could even draw a breath, her heart seized at what she saw next.
A towering, black shape stood upright, glinting like polished armour in the firelight. Two bright red eyes burned with a fierce glow, and a low hiss sounded from deep within its huge body, sending a chill through Meribella.
Only when the light caught the bottom of the creature did Meribella realize what it was—a massive snake, standing at least sixteen feet tall on its tail and thick as a strong man's waist.
"We are so dead!"