I watch the room carefully as people swirl around, this is the last place I want to be. A hand appears in front of my face and I look up to see a man bowing in front of me.
“May I have this dance, madam?” I roll my eyes before catching my father’s glare, and I instead smile at the man before taking his hand. He starts to whirl me around the room as a new waltz starts. I feel a tug at the link in my mind and a small smile tugs at my face as I look up at the man. “Pretend to talk to me, I have a call to take.” He raises an eyebrow at me, and I just smile as I tap into the link. “Sebastien, this better be good.” I can almost feel him smile. “Do you have something better to do other than talking to me?” I smile before tuning him into my surroundings. “Are you at a ball?” He chuckles, and I scoff. “Incoming.” I glance to the side to see my father walking up. Sighing I bring the link deeper inside my mind, making it quiet. ‘So, what do you need?’ He sighs, and I keep a straight face as my father reaches us. “Are you nearly finished?” I look at my father as Sebastien takes a deep breath. “No, I quite like dancing with this man.” I push him and whirl us away from him as Sebastien finally speaks. ‘Danielle has been murdered.’ My step falters a bit, but I fall right back in. ‘How are you holding up?’ An overwhelming sense of sadness flows through my mind, and I sigh. ‘I think she’s been dead for years. There’s a reason that he decided to speak up now, he was waiting, for us, he wanted to know who was against him.” I look up at the man with wide eyes, and he looks concerned. ‘This seems to be getting more exciting than choosing a mate.’ He chuckles and takes another breath. ‘Well, I do have a plan… just don’t get too excited yet.’ I feel my heart rate pick up. ‘Oh, so it’s dangerous… good, good, what’s the danger level?’ I ask as we make another turn around the floor. ‘Inferno.’ I shriek internally and tense up making the man look concerned again, ‘we’re going to save the young girl from the cells.’ My excitement dies down. ‘Oh… I hear she hates demons…’ He sighs, and I stop our dancing, finally being tired. ‘Katherine, the girl is 6, and severely diabled from the mixed blood that runs through her. There’s no way she could have done it.’ I sigh as my father walks up and hold out his hand to me. ‘Okay, I can do it, I’ll send my beasts out tonight. Hopefully they can make it in time.’ I cut off the link as I take my father’s hand. He smiles at me as the final waltz starts. The father-’daughter’ dance, a show of dominance to any man who may want to be my mate. Too bad that’ll never happen. “Did you two talk about anything interesting?” I roll my eyes as he tries to talk to me. “There was nothing interesting, just small talk to pass the time.” He glares down at me as the song ends, and everything ends up being really silent. “Have you made your choice?” My father asks, and I look around the room to find the man that I had been dancing with the whole night. “I choose him.” My father looks unimpressed as the man approaches and takes my hand. “You never even cared to learn my name.” The man bends down a kisses my hand, and I stop myself from having a negative reaction as he stands again. “Well, what is your name?” He smiles as he lets go of my hand. “Luka.” My father clears his throat as he glares at me and then Luka. “Well, it seems like it’s time to go.” Luka looks surprised, but follows us out the door anyway. “So what happens now?” I stop in the middle of the hallway as my father goes ahead. “Nothing happens. You seemed to be the best person out of everyone there that could handle taking the blame for my murder.” He looks shocked. “Why? Who would want to murder someon in the royal family?” I smile and shake my head. “There are a lot of things you don’t understand about what has happened tonight. I do appreciate you spending time with me though, it made my last night slightly more enjoyable. Now, I must go stage a jail break, and then prepare myself for torture.” Luka looks shocked, and I smile at him before looking away and tapping into a different link. ‘Axel, Kara, I need you to help me,’ there’s stirring as my beasts awaken. ‘How may we be of service?’ I smile knowing that this is probably my last order. ‘I need you to break the young princess out of the cells in the Inferno. It’s dangerous, please be careful. You will be taking her to an angel that lives in the ninth circle. Ask him to reveal his wings as proof.’ A sigh comes through the link. ‘Is something wrong?’ Axel questions, and I shake my head. ‘No, just do what you’ve been told, you’re no longer under my command after this job. Thank you for being so loyal.’ I cut the link off before I cry and turn back to Luka. “I’m sorry that I did this to you. Please stay safe, I trust that you have resources?” He just nods and I run away toward where my room is in the castle, a sharp pain runs through my chest as I turn for the stairs. “You’ve betrayed me, working with angels,” I cough up blood as he holds me. “You are an angel, your own words betray you.” He shoves the sword deeper in my chest. “You never deserved to live, your existence is a nuisance and inconvenient to everyone.” I smile, and then chuckle a bit. “I’m not afraid to die, I would love to be put out of my misery. Make sure you do it right this time so that I don’t have to see the crimson sun again.” He rips the sword out and drops me to the floor as I bleed out. Darkness takes over as they start moving me out of the castle.
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The screen flashes to life, and I wait, the flames lick up around the city center, the whole Inferno is surrounded by a lake of fire, the place where humans now go when they get damned. A shaky breath brings my attention back to the center, the podium. The man begins to cry as he speaks.
“I regret to inform you that the Queen has been murdered.” He sniffles as he grabs his daughter’s hand and she starts crying too. My fists clench and I grit my teeth. The sounds of sobbing/screaming can be heard from the citizens who ‘loved’ her as their Queen. “Damnit!” My fist slams into the wall leaving a large hole. The humans standing outside stare at me with wide eyes, and a group of soldiers runs up. “Sir, we’ve just recieved word…” the man sighs again and begins to speak. “The hybrid murdered her, she is in holding, and slated for execution come morning.” He says, as a small smile comes across his face, he grabs the young man at his right side by the shoulder and grips tight. The boy doesn’t flinch or change his neutral pose. “Everyone is dismissed, we will meet at the gallows in the morning.” The screen dies again, and I turn back to the soldiers. “Everyone take your time to grieve. Danielle was a very important part of our community. We will pick back up work in a week.” I tell them and they all nod as their shoulders relax and some of their eyes get wet. “Sorry, sir, we know you cared for her, we can’t begin to understand how much it must hurt you, please let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.” One of the men says and I nod with a tight smile as I wave my hand and put the wall back the way it was, blocking them from viewing my office. “Danielle, I’m so sorry.” I slowly sit down in my chair as I bury my face in my hands. It’s my fault, my job was to protect her and get her out of here, and now she’s dead. I slam my fist into my desk before screaming and swiping everything off. My sobs become uncontrollable as all I can do is sit there. Suddenly a pair of arms wraps around me and I feel warm drops on my shoulder. "Sebastien, I'm so sorry." I hug her back instantly. "I'm sorry, she was your best friend. It was my job to protect her, I saved her, and she was about to get out. I failed all of you." A sharp sting spread over the side of my face as I stare at the woman with wide eyes. "Why?" I ask, and she glares at me. "Wake up! We all lost something the day they fell, you lost the one thing that makes you different from us as humans. You're stuck, she was stuck, we all are, all we can do is move forward. So what are you going to do about it now?!" She yells at me and I feel angry. Her eyes widen as she sees the change. "I-I'm so sorry…" she quickly runs out of the room leaving the door open. I wave my hand and it slams shut. Slouching back in my chair I survey the damage to my office. "I guess the only thing I can do is make a call…" I close my eyes and tap into a link I have with a high ranking demon. "Sebastien, this better be good…" their thick accent cuts through my mind. "Do you have better things happening than talking to me?" They chuckle before letting me listen into their surroundings. "Oh you know, just making the most of my final day." I laugh hearing the sound of waltz music in the background. "Are you at a ball?" They sigh before bringing it back to just our minds. “So, what do you need?” I take a deep breath before speaking. “Danielle has been murdered.” The connection goes quiet for a moment. “How are you holding up?” I shake my head even though they can’t see. “I think she’s been dead for years, there’s a reason he decided to speak now. He was waiting, I’m sure he’s waiting for us, to see who is against him.” They sigh, and I lean back waiting for their reply. “I think this is starting to get more exciting than choosing a mate.” I chuckle as I sit forward and rest my elbows on my knees, hands under my chin in fists. “Well, I do have a plan… just don’t get too excited yet.” “Oh, so it’s dangerous… good, good, what danger level?” I feel a big smile split my face. “Inferno,” they shriek in excitement, only internally, “we’re going to save the young princess from the cells.” “Oh… I hear she hates demons…” they trail off, and I sigh as I stand from my seat. “Katherine, the girl is 6, she’s severely disabled due to the mix of blood inside her. There’s no way that she could have done it.” They sigh this time. “Okay, I can do it, I’ll send my beasts out tonight. I hope they can make it in time.” The link cuts off abruptly, and I bend down to pick up a book off the floor. It was one she had given me. “Danielle, I swear I will protect your kids to the best of my ability.” I place the book back on an empty shelf before picking up the rest of the items and replacing them on my desk. Another smile spread across my face as I open the door to my office. If it’s a war he wants, a war he’ll get. It was a dark day in the Inferno, no one knew quite what had happened, or how, but it was quiet, and somber, even the weather which rarely changes was gloomy. A carriage pulls through an anxious crowd of people, waiting to hear news from their King. A man steps out and holds his hand out to a young girl helping her from the carriage, and does the same for the young man behind her. The children are no more than six years old, twins. They follow their father up the winding path to the podium in the city center, making their way through the crowd. The man clears his throat as his eyes become wet, and he struggles to speak.
“I regret to inform you that the Queen has been murdered.” Gasps and cries can be heard throughout the crowd as the news gets broadcast over all 9 circles of this place they call Hell. His tears start to fall as the young girl starts to cry again too, the boy, on the other hand, is stone faced, angry even, as if he knows something the others don’t. “The hybrid killed her, she is in holding, and will be executed come morning." He states with absolution. His objective has been reached and he squeezes the boys shoulder tighter than necessary, a warning. The boy doesn't flinch or waver, his expression stays neutral. He knows very well what waits for him with his act of defiance. "Everyone is dismissed, we will meet at the gallows in the morning." The man grabs his daughter's hand and walks with her back to the carriage with the boy trailing behind. A coachman opens the door as the man helps his daughter into the carriage and then gets in without helping the boy. The coachman lifts the boy and he sits across from his father and sister. "David, what are you thinking about?" The man questions, and David glares at his father. "You're a liar!" He yells and the man's eyebrows raise. "It's my job to take care of my people, do you believe I've failed?" David's fists clench in his lap and he grits his teeth. "You haven't taken care of anyone." He challenges and his father laughs. "My boy, your pure heart will get you killed." David's eyes get dark as he looks into his father's eyes. "Wouldn't it have been just as easy to frame me as it was to frame her? Because I'm not like you?" The man's eyes get dark just as the carriage pulls up in front of the mansion. "You all think the same, don't you?" The man asks as he grabs the boy by his hair and throws him out of the carriage, face first onto the rough clay. David turns around with dirt on his face and a small scratch on his cheek. The man steps on David keeping him in place. "Guards!" Two men come running out of the house. "Sir!" They stand at attention awaiting their orders. "Take this boy to the dungeon." He takes his foot off of the boy’s chest as the guards raise him to his feet. "Which one, sir." The man smirks evilly. "Rewriting." He says and the guards drag David toward the mansion, and open a door that was hidden amongst the bricks on the lower level. David's head hangs, but he doesn't fight them as they take him down the stairs. The door closes behind them leaving the man and his daughter standing outside. "Daddy, was David being bad?" She pulls on the side of his pants, and he smiles down at her before patting her head. "No sweetheart, he's just sick and needs help. Daddy is going to fix him." The girl smiles shyly as her dad gives her a push toward the house. "Let's get some rest, we have a long day tomorrow." They enter the house as the moon turns a darker crimson, signaling night fall. |
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