Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Into the Black Hole

Anaya’s P.O.V:

Everything happened in an eerily slow motion.

I watched Lance fall to the floor on his knees in front of me. My father let go of the sword he was holding and backed up, just as shocked as everyone was all around us. The sword was stuck a few inches below Lance’s shoulder, almost halfway down to his chest. For a few agonizing seconds, nothing happened, and then…I watched his shoulder tear in half, blood vessels and nerves snapping in half and his arm sagged to one side as blood erupted from the torn part of his body.

“Lance!” Several people screamed at once, but I saw his body start to fall to the floor. I don’t know how I unfroze myself, but I was reaching for Lance before I knew it.

I was able to grab on to Lance’s uninjured hand, but then Melinda was there beside me, holding Lance upright and pulling the sword out of his wounds. Lance gave a strangled moan as she did so and his fingers tightened around my hand.

“Lance!” I held on to him as he turned his head in my direction with much difficulty.

“S-an-a…” he stuttered out blood, before he lost consciousness and his head fell on Melinda’s chest.

“Antony!” Melinda screamed. “Help him!”

Suddenly, Ace and several of the Incubi guards were beside us and they lifted Lance carefully in their arms, making sure the torn part stayed together. I went to tell Antony that I wanted to come along with them, wherever they were taking Lance, but the accusing look that he gave me made me stop in my tracks. I watched helplessly as Ace and the guards carried Lance out of the room through the elevators. Mary gave me an apologetic look and followed behind Ace.

“What about the hunter?” Someone asked Tiara.

“He’s yours.” She answered to my horror. “He’s broken several protocols and attacked the Incubi Prince, twice, when the Prince had never broken any protocols. He no longer deserves to be a hunter.” With that, she walked out of the hall, the rest of the hunters following behind her silently.

“Capture the hunter and throw him in the dungeon!” Melinda ordered and the remaining guards rushed over to my father, who hadn’t moved from his position on the floor.

He appeared too shocked to offer any resistance and I avoided meeting his eyes at all costs. I couldn’t meet his eyes, not after what he’d just done. And it was even painful to imagine that he’d actually been willing to sacrifice me in order to get to Lance. What would’ve happened if Lance hadn’t been my shield?

“You witch!” The Queen screeched as she appeared in front of my face. “It’s all your fault that my son is dying! You and your wretched father shall die!”

She lifted her hands and her nails extended right before my eyes, forming sharp needle like ends that looked like it could easily cut me in half. I stood frozen in place still, unable to move, unable to speak as she brought her hands down to strike my face.

“Wait!” Melinda caught her hand mere centimeters in front of my face. “Calm yourself, Your Highness.”

My eyes went straight to Melinda’s golden silk dress and the blood that covered the front of it. Lancelot’s blood. It had dried down to a dark brown rather than the vivid scarlet it had been when it had first splattered on her dress. But somewhere in my mind I was aware that Melinda didn’t stop the Queen out of the goodness of her heart. She had other plans in mind, plans that did not involve a quick death by the Queen’s claws.

“Calm myself?” Queen Jalyna snapped her hands free from Melinda. “How can you ask me to calm down when my son’s life is in danger because of her and her hunter father?”

“Are you really alright with killing her so easily?” Melinda gave a cunning smile as she looked in my direction. “Should she not suffer even an ounce of the pain that Lance is suffering?”

Suddenly, Queen Jalyna’s eyes were filled with the same malice that was in Melinda’s eyes. “Guards!” She commanded and suddenly, several men and women circled us wearing similar chainmail’s and the crest of the Royal family. “Capture her and take her to the portals. I want her thrown into Shadowland!”

Several collective gasps were heard from all around me, including from Melinda and instantly, I knew that I’d be suffering a fate far worse than death. But it didn’t affect me anymore. Living in a world where Lance didn’t exist was a fate far worse than anything they could ever do to me. Lance nearly dies because of me. If only it had been me in his place then I’d have died happily, knowing that Lance felt the same way about me as I did for him. But now, after what he’d gone through, even if Lance can survive such a brutal attack, he’ll never look at me the same as he did before. Knowing that my father was the one who nearly ripped him in half…

“Guards!” The Queen screeched once again when no one came forward. They all flinched but stayed in place.

One of them was bold enough to answer. “Your Highness, if the King finds out we have executed a mortal without a proper trial, he’ll-“

“Do not teach me how my husband will react to my decisions!” She snapped. “You’re all worthless scums! Fine, if you won’t obey me, then I’ll have to do this myself!”

Without further ado, the Queen grabbed a hold of my hand and began dragging me out of the hallway. I almost tripped on the length of my dress, but Queen Jalyna kept dragging me anyway until I felt another hand grab a hold of my arm.

“I didn’t want this fate for you, but the Queen has already decided.” Melinda whispered into my ears. But the sound of her voice clearly told me that she didn’t care if I died right then and there. All she cared about was getting to the throne by any means possible.

They led me to the end of the ballroom, near a wall. Then the Queen raised her hand and began moving it in a circular motion while chanting something in a language I couldn’t quite understand.

Soon a small blue circle formed on the wall, made completely of light and then it expanded slowly with each swirl of her hand, before the circle was the large enough that an entire person could fit through it. And I knew exactly whom it was for.

“You know,” Melinda whispered maliciously in my ear. “The great thing about Shadowland is that no one, mortal or immortal, has ever come out of it, alive or dead. So, here’s to hoping to never seeing you again.”

With that, Melinda gave me a hard shove forward and I went right through the circle of blue light, right into the land of eternal darkness.