Chapter 185: The Wicked Woman
[Music Recommendation: Secession Studios - Music for Dark Legends - Poetry of Madness]
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As the power was released suddenly, she felt lighter, like her powers were calming down, but the sense of foreboding never left her. Her fuzzy mind was trying to make sense of all of it when her thought inevitably went to one man who was not with her. Ivan.
Dread coiled in her stomach at the thought of him. Now she thought of him, ’Why? Why wasn’t he here? Where is Ivan?!’ Her mind screamed as the restlessness in her got worse.
She sat there panting, sweat tickling down her forehead as her eyes turned back to their original blues. Damien, Cece and Edward saw her coming back to normal, scrambled off their feet and rushed closer to her but still maintained a careful distance.
Cece was the first to speak in her gentle voice. "Evelyn? A-are you okay?"
Eve felt her heart twist painfully, and her eyes brimmed with tears. She looked up at Cece with watery eyes, and Cece, unable to stay back any longer, leaned forward and wrapped Eve in a comforting embrace.
Eve clung to her tightly, her voice trembling. "I-I don’t know...what’s happening to me..." she breathed shakily.
"I-Ivan...where is Ivan?" she whispered next, the fear in her tone unmistakable.
Damien’s eyes widened in sudden realisation. ’What if everything Eve was feeling...was connected to Ivan?’ And Ivan had gone to meet the queen alone.
He couldn’t shake off the growing dread clawing at his chest. Eve kept whispering Ivan’s name, repeatedly asking where he was, and each desperate murmur only fed Damien’s fear.
His dark red eyes shifted to Prince Valen, who was still slumped against the wall, sitting in stunned silence, his pale green eyes fixed on Evelyn in utter shock.
A surge of anger rose within Damien....hot, sharp, and unlike anything he had felt until now.
Before he could think twice, he moved. In a blur, he shot forward, grabbed Valen by the throat, and slammed him back against the wall.
His face was utterly devoid of emotion; only a cold, dead stare remained, his glowing blood-red eyes boring into Valen. The prince’s shock-stricken pale green eyes widened as he felt Damien’s fingers tighten around his neck, the pressure increasing with each passing second.
Then Damien spoke, his voice low, chilling, and deadly calm.
"What have you and your mother been up to? What did you do to Ivan?"
"L–Lord Damien! What are you talking about!" Valen choked out, panic creeping into his tone as he clawed at Damien’s iron grip. He could feel his windpipe being crushed, breath strangled out of him, but he was powerless under the vampire’s unyielding strength. One wrong move, and Damien could snap his neck effortlessly.
Eve, Cece, and Edward were completely thrown off by Damien’s sudden reaction, none of them had ever seen him like this. More than anyone, Cece knew her brother would never react this violently unless something was extremely serious. His question left them stunned. ’What could they have done to Ivan?’
The very idea was absurd, yet Damien’s tone made it impossible to shrug off.
Eve felt as though her heart had plummeted straight into her stomach. Damien’s implication hit her like a punch to the gut, knocking the breath from her lungs. ’Did something happen to Ivan? No...no, it can’t be! He was fine just moments ago!’
Her body began to tremble, her throat going dry. Panic churned uncomfortably inside her. She clutched Cece’s hand, gripping tightly as her stomach twisted with rising dread.
Suddenly, a figure dressed in all black appeared out of nowhere, emerging from the open courtyard at the far end of the corridor. His quiet footsteps echoed through the eerily silent hall.
Sensing another presence, Damien’s cold, blood-red eyes shifted toward the figure who came to stand behind him, yet he did not loosen his grip on Valen’s neck.
The figure bowed hurriedly. "I heard a disturbance in the Queen’s study, where His Highness went to meet her. I believe something is terribly wrong, Lord Damien!"
Even with his face covered, Eve and Cece recognised him instantly, it was Alex, the commander of Ivan’s elite squad, the Ignis Blades.
Damien’s jaw tightened as he shifted his icy attention back to Valen.
"What did you all do?" Damien asked, his voice low and menacing.
Valen continued to feign ignorance, forcing out a strained reply as Damien’s grip crushed against his windpipe. "I–I don’t... know... what you’re talking about..."
Damien tightened his grip around Valen’s neck, applying enough pressure that Valen felt his vision begin to blur as oxygen slowly slipped away. His body trembled uncontrollably, his fingers weakening around Damien’s wrist as his strength waned.
Damien didn’t care in the slightest if he killed the prince right then and there; if they had truly done something to Ivan, and he felt they had, then Valen’s life meant nothing to him. A vicious sneer curled across Damien’s lips.
"Last chance," he growled, voice cold enough to freeze blood. "Before I rip your head from your body."
Valen’s heavy eyelids flew open at the threat, terror flashing in his pale green eyes. He knew exactly how ruthless Damien could be when he chose to be. Summoning whatever strength he had left, he forced out a strained denial between gasps:
"I... didn’t... do... anything..."
Damien tilted his head slightly as he regarded him with that ruthless gaze, fully prepared to end him, when another voice rang sharply through the corridor.
A woman’s voice.
"Let go of my son this instant!"
Damien slowly turned his cold crimson eyes toward the source. The wicked queen herself, standing there with her loyal dog Jareld at her side.
"And what if I don’t?" Damien asked coldly.
The queen glared at him before her blood-red lips curled into a smile. "If you don’t...Then I will assume you no longer value your brother’s life."
Cece and Edward’s eyes widened at her words, and Eve felt her greatest fear beginning to materialise. Damien’s expression grew even colder, if that was even possible, but he still didn’t loosen his grip on Valen’s neck. Behind him, Alex glared at the queen, his hand already on his sword, ready to cut her down in the name of his prince.
Damien’s voice dropped to an icy whisper. "What did you do to my brother?"
Queen Viva saw how they all held their breath, waiting for her next words, and she suddenly broke into another peal of malevolent laughter that echoed through the empty corridor. Their faces twisted with resentment and disgust, and though none of them spoke it aloud, every single one of them felt a rising, cold fear for Ivan.
When her laughter finally faded, she flashed them all a cunning smirk and spoke in an almost cheerful voice, "Hmm... let’s see. Should I tell you about how he struggled under the..." Her pale green eyes swept slowly across each of their faces before she finished, "...influence of corruption spreading through his body?"
At her words, every single heart in the corridor skipped a beat.
She drank in the sight of their ashen faces with twisted delight before adding sweetly, "Of course, he is still strong enough to resist it for now. All I need to do is give him just a little more push...and he might forget every single person dear to him for the rest of his life."
She began to walk leisurely around them, her heels clicking sharply against the cold marble floor as she toyed with a strand of her hair. "Or maybe..." she mused aloud, "...I could use him as my puppet."
She turned toward them with a triumphant smile. "You know...like the one you encountered at the inn before entering my kingdom?"
"You wicked woman!" Cece snarled, her nails elongating and her eyes burning bright red as she took a threatening step toward the deranged queen.
But Queen Viva immediately stepped back, wagging a finger with a mocking tut. "Uh-uh-ah... don’t be so hasty, dear. I thought you cared about your brother."
Cece glared at her, and Edward quickly stepped in, placing his hands on her trembling shoulders to keep her from doing something rash...something that might jeopardise Ivan’s life.
Eve remained seated on the ground in shock. Her blood ran cold as Viva’s menacing words echoed over and over in her ears.
Corruption.
That dreadful word struck her like a blade.
Her heart accelerated so violently she felt she might pass out. The only reason she was still conscious was sheer will...will to know if he was still alive...if there was still hope to save him. Silent tears streamed down her face as she kept her wide, stunned eyes locked on the wicked queen.
When Queen Viva realised they couldn’t attack her even if they wanted to, she smiled again. "Now...I’ll ask you once more, let go of my son, and the vampire prince will survive... for now."
Moments later, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor. A swarm of guards flooded in, each gripping their sceptres, forming a semicircle behind the queen. They positioned themselves defensively, ready to strike at anyone who dared to harm their royals.
