Chapter 35: Chapter 35

She woke up to an excruciating pain in her heart. She squirmed on the cold floor of the ground and began to think of the situation she was. She knew that this wasn’t what it felt in Elfnour. She always woke up to the sound of the waves and on days she was lucky, she heard the bird chirping beautifully on her window. With the bed so warm and sometimes, Lorcán’s warmth around her to make her feel more secured.

But it felt cold now, scary and she was rustling with so much fire, power and anger. She squinted her eyes and that was when she noticed that she was in a very dark place. She couldn’t see any light except for the window on top the wall and the door that seemed like a cage. What the hell is going on? She immediately stood up but felt dizzy and slumped back on the cold floor.

Something so painful surged through her chest when she remembered what had happened, and she had to place her hand to her heart at the pain she felt. Betla was gone, forever. She had seen the last breath she took and had all felt as her body dissipated to vapor until she disappeared completely. She felt as her heart coiled with agony and the tears she was trying to stop spilled out of her eyes.

She revealed out the knife and the hairpin she had kept away and fondled them with tears running down her cheeks. One thing was clear of all the things that weren't making any sense to her at the moment, Lorcán had lured her to Elfnour so he could bring those people to Zinambra to have Betla killed. And he knew, that the hairpin could kill her since that was what he used when he wanted to take revenge on her. And he gave them the hairpin, rage rustled in her mind. And then she remembered the story, how everything unfolded, what Betla had said and wanted her to do...

The door got banged open and she looked up with eyes that were filled with fire. She didn't even mind to have it locked or hidden in her eyes, she let the fire be visible for everyone to see. She didn't care that she was locked in this cage, because she knew if she wanted, she could get out of this place at the very second she had opened her eyes. But she wanted to collect her thoughts in one place. Grief for a moment over her loss and think of what to do to Lorcán for making her lose the only person she had ever known in her life.

She looked at the man that walked into the cage and in a minute, that man had changed into a maid then to an elderly woman and finally to an old woman that had her canine teeth showing. She raked her brain, because it felt like she had seen this woman somewhere in her life. They might’ve spoken already.

“Oh wow, seems like Betla has given you too much power!” She exclaimed, truly fascinated. And that was when Aranya recalled, she saw her in Elara, the woman in the market, she was the one she bought that flower from. She immediately stood up, not taking a step back when the woman approached her because now, she was no longer afraid of the harm she was able to inflict on others. Because the only one she wanted to kill was Lorcán, followed by the revenge Betla wanted all her life. She had to take that revenge.

“Where are we?” She asked, her mouth barely closing as the smoke left her chest as though to cool off the fire within. But nothing was cooled, it felt as it was being more and more fueled by rage and hatred.

“Belrynna. And I suggest you hide all the powers you have for the mean time, if not, King Bhaltair will have you killed at any minute if he knows how powerful you are. And guess what? Keres will hate that, because if you die in the hands of someone apart from herself, she won’t be satisfied by her revenge yet.”

Keres, she said the name again in her mind, trying so hard to remember where she had once heard that name from. “Keres...” She whispered outwardly and Desdemona nodded her head at her with a grin on her lips.

“I'd not be a durush if you can't remember where you’e once heard the name before. Keres, the only dragon princess and the once fiancee of Jaromir, the man that cancelled their engagement to get married to you not knowing he was taking himself to his death...” She wasn’t able to finish when Aranya remembered it all, how he said he was certain that Keres was beautiful but he had never seen someone as beautiful as she was.

She took a step toward Desdemona, who quickly took a step back. “Woah, could you please talk to me from there? I know the kind of danger you accommodate within you, Aranya.” She took a few steps back that made Aranya more hungry for blood.

“I need to meet her, Keres.” She saw the uncertainty in Desdemona’s eyes and as her eyes blinked, the fire flicked in her balls, “Or would you rather I go out of here myself? Because if what you said you know about my power is true, then you wouldn't want that to happen, will you?”

She put up a poised expression but Aranya could see through her fear. If she wished, she could end the life of this woman right here, but there are things she needed to do and as she said she was a durush, then she would surely need. And even before that, she needed her to know where the hell Lorcán was, because before anyone, she wanted to use this power on him first.

“Let’s go out then.” In the blink of an eye, she had turned to a male guard and she led the way outside. Aranya could feel the power running through her veins as she walked as she recollected the last memories she had of her mother, the smile, the agony she saw in her eyes and the quest for revenge was there until the last breath she took.

They went out and she realized she was locked up in the outskirt of what looked like an expensive palace. Wait, where were they? She stopped in track, was she not mistaken when she thought she heard her say King Bhaltair? “Which palace is this?” She asked without hesitation and without turning to look at her, Desdemona answered her.

“We’re in Belrynna, King Bhaltair’s majestic palace.” She felt as everything stopped in her body. She turned out frantically taking in everything she saw in the palace, was it really Belrynna? It seemed her work had been made easier.

They walked for minutes she didn’t care to count for she had alot going in her mind at the moment now. They came to a chamber that seemed new and as much as Aranya wanted to ask her where that was, she kept mum until they went inside and she watched as Desdemona turned into her old self and she turned with a mischievous smile on her lips.

“Don’t you try to hurt her, okay? She’s the new bride of King Bhaltair, he won’t take it lightly with anyone that tries to hurt her no matter how that person is powerful because I'm certain he’s more powerful than you are even though I haven't seen him yet to say that.” Aranya hissed outwardly and found a space for her one of the sofas in the living room.

She looked up at Desdemona with fire rustling out of her eyes and glared at her which caused her to gulp down a breath, “Call her out or I'll go in there myself. As you might've already know, I have a lot of things to do here before I leave.”

‘The guts this woman have, if only she could read through her, but it wasn’t possible with all this power and fire she had in her body.’ Desdemona thought and rolled her eyes distinctly before she walked into a corridor and after a few minutes, she walked out of the corridor with someone walking behind her in majestic steps.

She knew it was expected of her to stand up in the ceremony and say her greetings to the dragon princess and also now, the wife of King Bhaltair as she was expected to be a nobody, the mother she took pride of was no more as well. She would have done that before no matter how she wanted to kill Keres, but right now after she heard of who she really was, she would never do that.

She lifted her eyes to see the woman that had once been loved by Jaromir and knowing his taste in women, it wasn’t a surprise that he loved her. For she was an epitome of beauty herself. She took her eyes off the glare Keres was sending her way which was one, for not greeting her the way she should have, and the other reasons involved killing the man she would have been married to already.

“Aranya,” Keres said and sat down opposite her. “Finally, I could see what had lured...”

Aranya cut her off without showing any emotions or guilt of what she used to feel for what she did to Jaromir, but she felt nothing now. It was clear to her now why Betla felt no feeling of guilt at the game, it was because of this much power and fire that had burnt out any humane feeling she had. “We’ll talk about that later and also...” She had to hide the pain she felt before she continued, “Also, for killing my mother. Has it ever occurred to you that I’ll bring your end for doing that, Keres?” She was certain the look in her eyes, the fire that flow freely through her porcelain skin was enough to scare off everyone, but it seemed Keres was poised enough to show her fear.

She chuckled, “Really? I can see why it has never occurred to both you and your mother I would bring the end of both of you when you killed the man I love?” That was enough, Aranya thought, she had to warn her before things escalated.

She stood up, and with a single flick of her finger, Keres was throw over the wall and she wait out before she involuntarily spurt out the dragon fire within her, which in no way could be compared to that of Aranya. Keres got back to her feet and she stared into her eyes before she fought back, but Aranya only staggered backwards due to the fire and the flimsy strength of her fire. When Aranya stroke back, the loud excruciating sound that escaped her lips was what brought someone in. Or rather, someone barged inside.

“Are you alright, Your highness?” Xanth asked, walking further into the living room but when he saw Desdemona tied up at the far end of the room and Keres grunting on the floor with a woman that looked less human and more of fire and an undeniable power, he wondered what she was.

He rushed to where Keres was and tried to help her up to her feet but she swatted his hand away from him, “Catch her and lock her up for me!” She thundered and when he rushed to where Aranya was, she took a step back because she had no intention of killing anyone before she killed Lorcán.

She released her hold on Desdemona and chuckled, “Tell her, unless the three of you want to loose your lives even though that’s what I want as I know you were the ones I saw together with Betla, I wouldn’t want it to be just now. Let’s negotiate, and we will fight out our indifferences later, but if you want, we could bring an end to everything now.” She comfortably sat back on the sofa as though she hadn’t threatened them.

Desdemona rushed to Keres and whispered something into her ear before she helped her back onto the sofa. “What do we need to negotiate?” She asked with a grunting voice.

“Lorcán, where is he?” The voice she used gave no room for them to lie to her, she wanted to know where the man was, and the hell if she didn't and kill him the very instant she set her eyes on him.