Chapter 184: A Heart Under Siege
[Music Recommendation: Secession Studios - The World Will Know]
A guttural groan tore from his throat as he felt his fangs forcefully extend on their own. His eyes darkened rapidly, turning pitch-black as root-like veins spread across the skin around them. His nails lengthened into sharp claws and dug into his own chest in a desperate attempt to fight the invading darkness.
His vision blurred....then vanished entirely, as the black smoke consumed him.
Darkness swallowed his mind...his body...his soul.
Raw, excruciating pain shot through every fibre of his being, drowning out all thought, leaving room for nothing else but agony.
Blood seeped from his mouth, dripping down his clenched jaw. The brooch in his hand pulsed with golden light, fighting ferociously against the darkness that was trying to take complete possession of Ivan.
Queen Viva began chanting dark spells, quickening the spread of the corruption so it could consume him fully. She watched, amused and irritated, at how fiercely the prince resisted.
Anyone else would have been engulfed within seconds, yet this prince withstood the darkness for so long. No wonder he was called the strongest man alive. She had known it wouldn’t be easy to possess him completely...but even then, his resistance was uncanny.
Her blackened eyes caught the faint glow in his hand, and she thought, ’What is that?’ Narrowing her gaze, she realised that whatever it was, it needed to be destroyed. With a sharp flick of her wrist, she swished her hand through the air and sent a thick burst of black smoke hurling directly at Ivan’s hand, the one clutching the brooch.
At the impact, the brooch collided with the dark power she had hurled at it. The pulsing golden light suddenly flared as it clashed with her magic, forming a powerful protective dome around Ivan’s trembling form, as if shielding him with everything it had.
Queen Viva’s eyes widened at the sight of the pure light barrier forming around Ivan, panic flashing through her as she realised she might fail to gain full control over him if the barrier held.
She hastily chanted another dark incantation and hurled it with full force at the dome surrounding Ivan, who was still struggling as the darkness tightened its grip on him, winding through him without restraint.
The moment her attack struck the barrier again, it erupted with a brilliant burst of golden light that blasted Viva backwards, slamming her into the wall and forcing a low whimper of pain from her lips.
....
Not too far away in the Palace of Demos, as Eve walked back through the familiar corridor leading to the powder room, she was escorted by Prince Valen, who seemed to be in a good mood. He kept asking her questions every now and then about the courses she studied, and whether she missed her home in the Kingdom of Luminear.
He was fully aware of how his conniving aunt had abused her since childhood, yet he felt no guilt or disgust over it. In his twisted mind, looking at her strong attitude now, he believed it had been necessary to "discipline" her every now and then.
He could only chuckle inwardly at the thought of his Aunt Elara struggling to control his feisty little cat. He was certain his mother would share the same opinion if she ever spoke with Evelyn.
All the while, neither of them noticed the dark shadow trailing behind them. Eve had the faint sensation of being watched, but she assumed it was just Cece, who surely wasn’t far. Still, she couldn’t help worrying that her friend might get spotted by someone.
On top of this, she began to feel a creeping sense of foreboding...as if something was terribly wrong, as if something bad was about to happen. Her brows furrowed as unease coiled in her chest. ’What is this? Why am I feeling so restless?’ she wondered.
She was lost in her thoughts when a familiar voice snapped her out of her daze.
"Evelyn!"
Eve looked ahead and spotted Damien and Edward striding toward her. Surprised to see them suddenly appear, she asked, "Damien, Edward...what are you two doing here?"
Damien tilted his head and said, "I should be the one asking you that, Evelyn." His dark red eyes shifted to Valen, who stood beside her, looking completely unfazed.
Valen offered them a lazy smirk and dipped his head in greeting. "Lord Damien. Lord Edward."
Damien remained silent, fixing him with a pointed stare, when Evelyn quickly added, "Well," she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear in nervous haste, "I met His Highness on my way back to the dining hall."
She lied smoothly to cover up what she had truly been doing, but Damien already had a good idea.
His lips curled into a knowing grin. "I see..."
His keen eyes then shifted behind Evelyn toward the floor, where a shadow slipped across the tiles and vanished behind the same powder room Eve and Cece had disappeared into earlier.
Edward, noticing that Cece wasn’t with Evelyn, was just about to ask when the door opened and Cece stepped out, looking calm and composed as if nothing were amiss.
Everyone turned at the sound, and Eve’s eyes widened in surprise. How did Cece step out of the powder room? Did she not follow her? Confusion swirled in Eve’s mind.
Cece glanced at the group and said dryly, "A whole audience waiting outside the ladies’ powder room? Should I be flattered or concerned?"
She narrowed her eyes at all the men standing there. Damien, fully aware of what his sister had been up to, played along in front of the sleazy prince and said, "Ah, sister, I came looking for you and Evelyn since the two of you decided to vanish from our sight for so long."
"I see," Cece replied coolly. "As you can see, there’s nothing to worry about." She fixed Damien with a pointed, knowing stare, clearly aware that he had already figured out what she and Eve had been doing.
Edward narrowed his eyes at both Cece and Eve. Suspicion crossed his face, but he chose to remain silent in the presence of the prince.
Damien clapped his hands together and said, "Right, since we’re all here, let’s get back to the dining room, shall we?"
Valen glanced at each of them one by one. Though he didn’t suspect anything, he still kept his watchful eyes open for anything amiss.
Eve quickly nodded, relieved to finally have the others with her so she no longer had to stay so painfully cautious around the prince.
Just as they all began to move, Eve’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, making both pure-blooded vampires freeze and turn toward her at once. Her pulse spiked sharply, and she raised a hand to her chest, her brows knitting together. ’What is this?!’ she thought in alarm.
"Evelyn?" Both Damien and Cece spoke her name in unison, having heard her heart rate spike alarmingly fast.
Valen, who stood beside her, noticed the sudden distress on her face. As he reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, a sharp pulse of power surged from within Eve, repelling him and everyone else slightly away from her.
A cold shudder rippled through her body as her breathing turned ragged.
Her bright blue pupils flickered into glowing gold, and suddenly she felt her powers collide with something overwhelmingly dark and sinister. Her knees buckled beneath her, and she collapsed to the ground.
Valen, struck by the sudden burst of energy, staggered back in shock. His pale green eyes widened as he watched the scene unfold, completely taken aback.
Meanwhile, Cece, Edward, and Damien recovered almost instantly and rushed toward Eve.
"Evelyn! What’s wrong?" they exclaimed in unison.
All three crouched around her. Cece gripped her trembling shoulder, while Damien and Edward knelt in front of her, each holding one of her hands....hands she had clenched so tightly that her knuckles had turned stark white.
"Evelyn! Talk to us! What is happening?" Cece asked, her voice tight with worry.
Eve didn’t know what she was feeling, only that she had come into contact with something deeply sinister. The sense of foreboding that had plagued her moments ago intensified tenfold, tightening around her like an invisible vice. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening to her.
Then suddenly, she felt another pulse of power surge through her. Weakly, she forced out a warning, "G–get away...now!"
Damien and Cece felt their senses prickle sharply with danger and reacted instantly. Damien grabbed Edward and pulled him with him as they all moved back to a safe distance, just in time. A second pulse of energy rippled violently out of Evelyn’s body, but thankfully, it didn’t reach them, but made Valen skid to the wall.
This was the same repelling power that burst out of Evelyn when Queen Viva’s dark magic slammed into the barrier, sending the queen flying until her back struck the stone wall with force. Of course, Eve had no idea what was happening in the other part of the castle, where her brooch was channelling her power due to their close proximity.
