Chapter 26: Chapter 26

“It is getting denser day by day. My Lord, and closer to our borders.” Eren only nodded at the old man standing a couple of steps behind him while they both stared outside the black glass.

The glass tower was one of his favorite places in the world, it highest room, where he was standing now, had only the four pillars and the roof made out of stones, the walls were completely made of black yet translucid volcanic glass, allowing him to watch his empire from all directions.

The shadows empire.

For centuries the humans thought that the outcaste demons were living like wild animals in the dark forest, lurking around like rogues, hunting and feeding on everything that moved, and it was true at first. The demons, right after being cursed and banned by the so-called Gods, had no idea how to survive in those impossible conditions right at the edges of the world were darkness and death took over, and the sun never graced the lands with its warmth and light.

Many of them died, those who were too kind and peaceful to fight and shed blood were the first to be killed, only the strongest, the sneakiest and most vicious ones survived, and little by little, they established their own empires, their own civilizations, ones that don’t bend to the laws of the Gods.

It was not easy, Eren thought, it was almost a miracle for his people to survive in the first place, let alone build civilizations and turn the dead lands into living ones, it wasn’t for free though, the price they had to pay, and still paying every single day wasn’t a cheap one in any way, and the empires they had were built on death and pain, on the corpses of not only their victims but of their own.

Sometimes, it was hard to believe that he had become the lord of this empire, and not the terrified and wounded two years old left at the edge of the forest to be devoured, it was a long journey, one that shattered him completely and rebuilt him to be the person he is now. A monster.

“It is.” Eren said as he stared at the far darkness in the horizon, for now it only looked like dark clouds but he knew better, and just like his advisor said, it was getting closer and darker each day.

“What do we do, My lord?”

“What we need to do, Joseph.” The young lord turned to look at his most trusted advisor, Joseph, the old man who saved him many years ago then watched over him until he became the man he is, the old man, who was no more than a skeleton covered in wrinkled skin, was the closest thin the shadows lord had to a father, the sound of reason that outvoiced the monstrous howls inside his head.

Eren hoped, as he looked at the deep red eyes, that he would find any sign of refusal, he wanted a single voice, just one voice to tell him there was another way and he would immediately release the innocent girl, but there was no traces of any of that, and Eren understood why.

There was no other way.

“Let us not keep our guest waiting then.” Eren said as he gulped down the blood on his cup, and his eyes hardened right after it as his demonic half took over, that is what he needed, to harden up, to live up to his own title, reputation and responsibility, to think about the thousands of people counting on him to save them, and not just one girl, no matter how innocent she was.

the past few weeks he was playing a role, and somehow he came to love that role more than the reality to the point where he almost forgot that it was just a lie, he felt liberated when he was with her, all he had to do was live, talk, smile, without all the weights on burdens, and when he sensed the feelings between them growing stronger, he became worried, he didn’t want to hurt her in that way as well but in the same time, he couldn’t stay away from her, for he, just like her, was too attached to the sweet dream.

The sweet lie they both fell in love with, her in the charming gentleman he pretended to be, and him in the innocent princess he knew she was.

And that is what it was, a dream, a role to be played, and a mission to be accomplished, Eren thought as he walked down the dark corridors of the dungeons where the hybrid was being held captive, burying what ever feelings he had under the weights of obligation and duty, under the centuries of death and suffering, and under the crippling fact that it was the only way to save his people.

“Wa…ta” Eren heard the unconscious girl’s mumble, her voice weak and faint but not to his demonic ears, taking a deep breath, he walked inside the cell where Geraldine was waiting…

“What are you doing here?” Eren asked although he had a very clear idea about the reason she was there, she smiled at him coyly, a smile he used to like, but not now and not in this situation.

“I just want to see it myself, the moment of her awakening.” She answered with the same evil smile while pointing at the girl hanging from her wrists with her feet barely touching the ground, Eren kept his face expressionless even though he felt his heart bleed at the sight of his fair lady, the one he treated like the most precious and delicate jasmine until last night, her face was severely bruised because of the strike she received from non-other than himself the night he had ambushed her right in front of the shack, her lower lip busted open with a bit of dry blood on the corner of her delicious mouth, her dress was no longer the fabulous piece of art it was, but instead torn rags stained with mud and blood, her wrists were swollen due to the heavy shackles around them.

Walking back to the black haired demoness, Eren grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him, her body slammed at his and she welcomed the contact, taking her lower lip between his teeth, he gave it a naughty bite which she smiled at, once he released it, she reached forward to get herself a full kiss, but he denied her that by pushing his thumb inside her mouth which she sucked on erotically while giving him her sexiest look, her red eyes looking seductive and confident but Eren knew better, he what was hiding behind those coy and confident red irises.

Doubt, jealousy and insecurity…

“You are more needed somewhere else; Sweetness, I need you to keep an eye on Micka and Rima.” He said while pulling his thumb out of her mouth, not missing the anger that began to bubble in her eyes.

“I want to stay here.” Geraldine voiced her defiance, sounding a little bit unsure as her tone shook a bit with the last words, she cursed internally, not letting it show on her face as she kept that defiant face of hers, with the red lips pressed tightly and a raised eyebrow, she didn’t want to seem weak nor jealous, for she knew better than anyone how much the man standing next to her hated such behaviors, he killed people for less, not that he would kill her, not in a million years.

She just felt that if she voiced out her fears, about him falling for the silver haired hybrid, it would all turn into a reality, he had assured her that it was all an act, a trap he was weaving around the hybrid to insure that she falls into his grasp, but a small part told her something wasn’t right about the way he looked at the other girl, the way he moved around her, how carful he was with the words he said and the things he did, as if he feared that one wrong step or action can shatter the little thing, it all seemed too much to be but a mere act, unless his acting skills were that good, and from what she knew, the man was never the actor as he never cared about what others thought, let alone try and pretend to be something or doing something out of his character.

“Sweetness, I don’t like to repeat myself.” His tone remained the same as it was before, but Geraldine felt the atmosphere turning colder, it was that scary effect he had when he was getting irritated by something, when his shadows would start lurking around, ready to demolish any nuisance.

“Don’t worry, I will get back to you once I am done here, for I have missed your body so very much.” Offering her a sweet smile, he leaned forward to kiss her lips, he knew she was not convinced but he didn’t need her around him, for this was going to be hard enough as it is without the audience.