A silent scream left me while the deafening roar of excited spectators cheered. The crowd had gone so wild that I was beginning to get pushed backwards. Fala slumped forward, tears streaming down her eyes.
Another first for her.
"Any last words, Fala? The witch that belonged to no coven." Cillian cruelly asked.
The little girl in my mind sobbed, screamed and yet she did nothing. It was all her fault. She had brought all this death and pain into the world.
That little girl who left me with nightmares, the girl who pushed me back into the memories of my past because she ached for them, she missed them. The girl who was banished and deemed to never be loved again.
The girl I hated.
Fala looked up, and stared at me intently as she spoke. I gripped my fire blades; I breathed heavily through my sobs and brought the blade up.
Aiming.
"No,"she mouthed. My arm shook as I lowered it.
She then began to declare loudly in a voice so powerful it had nearly brought me to my knees. "Long live the Queen ofDarkness and Shadows.LONG LIVE SAIYA EREBUS ACHYLS. Rightful ruler of Duvessa. May the Queen forever reign eternally—"A sickeningly wet sound echoed as Cillian brought down his sword. I closed my eyes, hearing what must have been her head thud to the floor.
My heart had now fallen to the deepest pits of my soul. Pain so overwhelming to the senses struck me in waves. First to my brain, then to my stomach and lastly to my heart. My body shook in a tremor, an earthquake beginning to unsettle my bones. The little girl in my mind that I despised screamed and I screamed with her, drowned out by the loudness of the people spectating. The girl in my mind broke through the mental barrier, climbing through—reaching for me in panic. And I let her drag me to the depths of shadows that had been bottled inside me. Let our anger, sorrows, and hurt mix.
I was her.
And I couldn't run from myself anymore.
***
For the first time in over a hundred years, rain befell upon Apollo. The sun hidden by thunderous clouds. Light slowly beginning to dissipate from the land. And as she walked toward the Golden Castle, she discarded her cloak. Letting the rain cover her in its smothering embrace, her tears mixing with the water from the heavens. The Apollons were no fools, they took the rain as a bad omen.
For, they had unleashed the Bane of Apollo.
Let Riaan have mercy on their souls.
Chapter 54
Kinslayer
Adrion
"Why did the Gods have to damn me?"
Adrion said dismally to himself. Stretching his muscles, he cracked his neck from side to side while leaving the royal meeting room. He thrust a hand through his hair, pushing it back, hoping it would stay that way since his curls were beginning to touch his eye, it had become an interference as of late. Adrion had been stationed in meetings since last night's fiasco. The war general had been pleased to see Adrion in the room, only to see the prince's facial reaction when the news of the arena leader being charged with treason was revealed. Adrion's father was in an ember of fury directed at theprince for failing to notice such vital information. His father’s disappointment was clear, yet Adrion couldn't shake the feeling that the king was hiding his own secrets. The king ignored him during the meetings, undermining him in front of everyone. Adrion's frustration deepened as he recalled how they treated him like a naive child who had come face to face with the arena leader without realizing she was a traitor. Though he knew his presence was unnecessary, he remained through the afternoon, sleepless and unable to face Morana. Guilt ate at his gut and his frown now near permanent on his face. He felt like a spineless snake for lacking the courage to tell her that the leader she could not wait to see was guilty of treason against the kingdom. Still, Adrion consoled himself, repeating in his mind.She would understand... once she knows what her arena leader had been conspiring, then she would understand why we did it.
Pushing open the heavy wooden doors, he was in complete disbelief to be met with a chilling cold that rippled through his golden cloak. Adrion hesitantly went toward a hollow window, perplexed by the absence of the Apollon Sun, with grey clouds that loomed over Apollo as if the end was near. Rain lashed his face as the wind howled through the opening of the wall.
"What in Apollo's name is happening...?" Adrion muttered, weary. Never in his existence had Apollo rained in this manner, and seeing this within his kingdom created a worrisome feeling that settled in his soul. The prince swallowed his anxiety, turning his attention away when he heard trickling of droplets on the marble floor, he looked ahead to find Morana, soaked in rain, her hair plastered to her face and armour. He blinked, struggling to believe she stood before him. "Seems like you have had quite an eventful time outside." His teasing tone immediately vanished, his smile disappearing in a heartbeat as he noticed her bloodshot eyes and the scent of salted tears. His heart froze over; she had seen it... she knew what had happened.And he wished he could have protected her heart and eyes from the pain of it all.
"Mor..." The prince's voice was soft with caution, as if approaching a wounded animal. "I am so sorry you had to see that... you shouldn't have had to find out that way. I commanded the palace guards not to let you out." His voice was sincere as he continued, he watched her eyes widen with shocked recognition. "You have to understand why it was done, herself and her followers committed treason." The prince was stunned when he heard her sharp gasp and broken voice.
"You knew? Knew all this time that they were being sentenced to death?" Morana trembled and something within the area seemed to vibrate in a thunderous beat. Adrion had been too focused on the broken girl in front of him to notice it, all he had cared about was her and how his heart was slowly crumbling from seeing her in pain.
"I knew... and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but they were working against the crown. My crown, Morana, and not just mine, but the whole of Terran. They harboured her, Mor... they gave her refuge, she destroyed the kingdom you're from. I know you want the best for Terran. I am unsure if Fala would have let you meet her during your time at the arena... but do you know her location? If we find the Princess of Darkness, we can save the world from further evil and corruption." The prince was in a mess of a state. He had felt immense guilt for the woman he had come to care so much for and yet the glory of finding the princess he once thought was dead would grant him an immediate place on the throne. Morana had bowed her head down... droplets of tears dropping onto the floor. The prince found it painful to look at her, she was devastatingly beautiful in her sorrow. When she finally looked up, her eyes burned with retribution.
"Mor..." Adrion muttered before falling silent. He hadn’t noticed it before—the frenzy in his own powers, how everythingin his blood screamed to draw his magic. He hadn’t noticed the darkness surrounding her, how every time she inhaled, the shadows that leaked from her got reabsorbed into her skin, only to thunder out in watery waves when she exhaled.
Inhaling shadows. Exhaling them right out. They began to cover the room.
"No..." Adrion trailed off in disbelief, stepping back. "NO!" he repeated once again.
