Though neither Ember, Clio and Reya like Isa's presence, none of them outwardly showed their displeasure. In fact, Ember did not even acknowledge her arrival. The elves bowed to her politely.
"Greetings, Young Lady Isa."
Reya could not help but ask, "Young Lady Isa, what brings you to the palace? Shouldn't you be in the Netherfields with your clan?"
"There are more important things to do than being in the field of people who are already gone. Someone has to do something to protect the present and the future," the female red fox replied in a cryptic manner.
Her gaze observed Ember who was looking at the flowers quietly. The human girl didn't even spare a glance to the newcomer, much less bother listening to their conversation.
"Ember," Isa called out to her, causing Ember to face her with a tranquil gaze.
"Why do you look sad? Is it because His Majesty didn't take you with him?"
Ember didn't show any reaction, as if she was calm as still water. After several awkward seconds of silence, she returned her attention to the beautiful yellow flower she was looking at previously.
Despite her sweet smile on the surface, Isa was annoyed. She didn't like that Ember was not reacting to anything.
She continued to talk in a casual manner, as if she was chatting with a friend, "Don't let it get to you. I am sure it is not because he's ashamed of you. His Majesty simply did not bring you to the most important place of our people because even if you are his mate, you are still not one of us. You are an outsider, a human. He's such a thoughtful person to think about the feelings of our kind. Truly an outstanding man."
"Young Lady Isa, Miss is not feeling well," Clio interrupted, seeing how Isa was trying to provoke Ember which was really not good.
Her servants were aware of their master's temper issues, about how volatile her anger was and how strongly her powers reacted to her negative emotions. They felt worried something bad might happen. Worse, the King was away and no one was there to stop Isa's taunting or Ember's resulting rampage.
Isa glared at the two elves. "Both of you, you are the only servants in the palace, yes? Why don't you prepare tea for me, or you have forgotten your positions after serving a human?"
The two were taken aback, but Isa was not wrong in a sense. They indeed have to serve Isa refreshments as it was part of their job as palace servants.
"Apologies, Young Lady. I shall return with fresh tea for you," Clio said as she left.
Isa looked at the other elf. "You, bring some snacks for me as well. I want freshly baked blueberry tarts along with sliced fruits."
Reya glanced at her master who was not paying attention to them and heard Isa's voice rise, "What? You need permission from your master for such an ordinary task? Are you forgetting who I am? Is this how you serve me, the princess of the Divine Fox Clan who His Majesty treats like his own person? "
Reya didn't want to leave Ember's side even for a moment. She lowered her head as she said, "Apologies Young Lady Isa, but I have been told to not leave Miss' side even for a moment and I believe you will not force me to go against the order of His Majesty. About the snacks, Clio will bring them after she returns. I ask for your patience."
"Hmph. Fine! Then get me the flowers from there," Isa said as she signaled towards the freshly bloomed flowers. "I don't need to spell it out to you that I want to talk to your master in private, right? You can see us from that location. Hurry and scram!"
Reya could say nothing and had to listen to her. She made a small bow towards Ember. "Miss, I will be back soon."
Ember simply nodded in her direction and continued to stroll along with the flower-bearing shrubs. Afterwards, she sat on one of the benches under the shade of a tree.
Reya would glance over her shoulder from time to time as she walked away towards the flowers Isa asked her to collect. She was relieved that Ember was still in her line of sight.
"So, Ember," Isa once again targeted the young woman. The red fox walked to stand in front of her, forcing Ember to look at her smiling face.
"Do you want something?" Ember asked as she had started to feel annoyed. She knew Isa was up to no good.
All she wanted was peace. She wanted to think about her life, her past and present, but a certain vixen was disturbing her again and again.
"Yes, I do," Isa said, "but will you give it to me if I ask you to?
"What is it?"
"Leave this kingdom and never return," Isa said, which took Ember by surprise.
But before Ember could say a word, Isa spoke again, "But you can't, right? Rather, you won't because your greedy human heart can't let go of all the luxury and pleasure you are getting after becoming King's mate."
Ember creased her brows as she stared at this young fox in disbelief.
Did she not learn her lesson after provoking her in the past? Wasn't she scared of getting all her pretty fur burned?
"I do not wish to hurt you. It would be better if you leave," Ember warned her calmly.
"Hurt? Me? You good-for-nothing human?" Isa laughed mockingly. "Not only are you uncivilized, you are also pretty barbaric, aren't you? Are you proud that you can't control your power? Try it. Burn me then."
"I am warning you," Ember said as she tried to keep herself calm.
It was an important day for this kingdom, and Ember didn't want to create any trouble on this day.
"Why don't you try it? Let's see if you can really injure me." Her red lips curved into a mocking smirk. "You who don't know how to use your powers, do you want me to help you? Fine, since I am a generous person, I will lend you help. All I need to do is give you a reason to get angry, right? Because you are an uncivilized person who acts based on your emotions rather than your head. Do you want me to talk about how useless your nanny was to raise a filthy being like you?"
"Isa, mind your words," Ember warned.
Isa simply chucked. "Oh, you almost scared me. Shall I act for your sake? Shall I start crying now?"
Ember sighed and decided this was a waste of her time. She stood up, intending to return to her chamber, but just as she turned to leave someone blocked her way, taking Ember by surprise.
It was a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. Seeing the single brown tail swishing behind her, she appeared to be a member of the Divine Fox Clan as well.
"Did I say you can leave, human?" Isa said as Ember looked back at her.
Sensing something was wrong, Reya hurried back carrying flowers in her hand and offered it to Isa. "Young Lady Isa, these are the flowers that you asked for."
"Not enough, get me more," Isa said, not even sparing the elf a glance.
"Apologies, Young Lady Isa, but it's time for Miss Ember to rest and I am taking her back to her chamber."
"Can't you see I am talking to her?"
"Miss Ember is the lady of the house. Please do not overstep your boundaries as a 'guest' of the palace. For now, she needs to rest. She is not well."
"You lowly elf! How dare you go against my words?!" Isa exclaimed with anger, but Ember stepped forward to interrupt her.
"Isa, you better leave the palace. This is not the place you should be in. Shouldn't you pray for your deceased family?"
"The family that your kind killed?" Isa said with an angry scoff.
Reya felt that the situation was about to turn for the worse when she saw two more foxes appear in the garden, approaching their location. Isa brought her friends with her. She would not have invited her fellow clan members without any reason.
"Miss, let's go," Reya said but then something happened.
Ah!
Reya touched her neck and there was a dart which was shot by someone. Isa smiled at the bewildered elf. "It's time for you to rest for a while. Don't worry, I will take care of your master in your stead."
Ember caught Reya who was about to lose her balance. Her eyes were wide with indignation. "You! What did you do to her?"
"Letting her enjoy a short rest as serving you must have tired her so much," Isa replied offhandedly and her friend with a brown fox tail took Reya away from Ember and put her on the ground. Reya helplessly looked at her master with her heavy-lidded eyes.
It just so happened that Clio had returned from the kitchen at this time, and she was shocked by the sight that welcomed her. Her cousin was on the ground, and Isa seemed to have ill intentions towards Ember.
The wooden tray in her hand fell on the ground, spilling tea and cups as she hurried towards Ember. But even before she could reach them, she was shot by the dart as well, causing her steps to falter in place. She felt it hard to move even a bit, her entire body paralyzed.
Anger flashed within Ember's eyes, causing her energy to brew dangerously inside her. "You..."
Another dart flew in the air, and this time, it hit Ember's neck. A sharp pain was all she felt before her senses grew numb. Even when Ember touched her neck and held the dart in between her fingers, she could not feel anything, as if the hand holding the dart was not her own.
"Oh, my bad. You uncultured human probably have no idea what hit you, right? Let me enlighten you.
"The poison applied on this dart will make your brain unable to think straight. It will paralyze not only your body but also your mind, making you numb to everything, but you will have enough awareness to know what is going on around you, as if you are dreaming," Isa narrated as if she was not mocking Ember, but telling her a story.
"Anger makes your power strong, doesn't it? But what are you going to do now? You can't get angry or feel any emotions. Even if I kill your servants at this moment, you cannot do anything.
"Alas, you probably cannot understand me well at this moment as well. Perhaps I shall do a demonstration to illustrate my point?"
Ember stumbled on her feet as she heard Isa. She tried to stand straight, intending to defend herself and her servants from her malice, but Ember could feel her body slowly losing its strength. It was a strange sensation, as if her thoughts were slowly fading away as well.
"Are you shocked, Ember, that you cannot get angry? Are you beginning to lose your senses? You can hear my words but you cannot understand it, and you feel your body slowly getting paralyzed? Soon you will only be able to see me bringing your death to you but you won't be able to do anything.
"I can only imagine how guilt-ridden you will feel later on. How would it feel to watch helplessly as you lose the things you gained? Well, I can only blame your servants' luck. Their only mistake in life is serving a master like you."
Ember's eyes looked around, hoping that someone would discover the situation. Though Reya and Clio were the only servants left in the palace, she knew that several shapeshifters were assigned outside the palace to guard it just in case someone targeted her.
However, her hope was dashed upon seeing two more female foxes approaching them.
"Young Lady Isa, the beastmen outside were already taken care of. No one will come here to meddle in," one of the two foxes informed the red fox. Ember realized they must have launched a sneak attack to paralyze the guards as well. After all, she heard before that the shapeshifters were guarding against human intruders and those hostile elves from the borders--the young beastmen never expected to be attacked by a group of women.
"Did you hear that, human? No one will come to your rescue now. Now, all I need to do is make your soul vanish and never to be born again. That way, everything will return to normal, the way it was before you ruined everything."
At this point, Ember could barely comprehend what Isa was saying. It was as if she was watching the situation as a bystander. Her knees gave out and she was about to fall on the ground.
Isa ordered, "Hold her."
Two foxes hurried towards Ember and held her arms, forcing her to remain on her feet. They were holding onto her so tightly, bruises were forming on her delicate skin. However, due to the effect of the dart poison, Ember could not feel pain.
Isa had a satisfied look on her face.
"Ember, oh, Ember, look at me. I want you to look at me, and I promise you I will give you a swift death. That much dignity, I can give you, right? So generous I am, am I not?"
Isa held a gentle expression on her pretty face, but madness could be seen dancing within her eyes, akin to that of a lunatic. As she let out a dainty giggle so out of place given the situation, she took a few steps away before twirling around to face Ember once more. She let out a soft sigh.
"You have to thank me for this, Ember. You don't know what I am sacrificing for you and for this kingdom. Because of you, the peace of this kingdom is broken. Because of you, His Majesty gained a weakness. Because of you, this kingdom is doomed! Your very existence is a curse to Agartha!"
Three beautiful furry tails appeared behind Isa, their soft reddish fur shining golden under the sunlight. Isa raised a hand and gently hugged one against her chest, caressing it gently with a tender gaze.
"Did you know? Each tail of a Divine Fox is a fruit of countless tears and sweat, earned after bitterly cultivating for years and each of them contain the divine powers of our bloodline. They are the main source of our magic, the same way others harness energy from their cores.
"But... do you know what else this tail can do?"
There was no reply from Ember as she could not say a word. All she could do was to listen, her gaze unable to pull away from the expression on Isa's face that grew more vicious with each word she spoke.
"Legend has it that if I am to sacrifice my tail and convert it into a weapon, that weapon has the power of destroying even the soul of a divine being. Even deities cannot protect their soul if that weapon is used against them. This is actually a secret technique passed down from my ancestors, and only a handful among my clan knows of this. Among the younger generation, only I am aware of this secret.
"Amazing, isn't it? This is the deep foundation of a noble lineage like my Divine Fox Clan. Even souls of divine beings won't be reborn ever, so what more is a lowly human like you? Even if you have divine powers, not only your energy core, even your soul will dissipate into nothingness, not even fragments will remain.
"A special ending for a special human. Befitting, isn't it? I am going to destroy your soul, and this kingdom will get rid of you forever."
At this, a laugh filled with madness escaped Isa's lips.
"Queen of Agartha? Hah! You dare to be a queen of us, supernaturals? You whose people outlawed us, tormented us, you who destroyed our ancestral lands and broke apart our families, forcing us to live in this tiny piece of hidden land? You who robbed my kind of our freedom! You who robbed me of my future!
"You greedy human, you don't deserve to live!"
Isa's eyes were overflowing with hatred and lunacy as she laughed.
A small steel dagger appeared in her hand, and even as she raised the weapon over her head, her deranged gaze didn't leave Ember even for a moment. As the dagger whistled down to slice behind her, Isa let out a silent scream.
Aaaaaaah!!! freewebn(o)vel
The three female foxes could not help but turn away from the sight, and only the paralyzed Ember ended up witnessing the gruesome sight of the three-tailed fox cutting one of her tails.
Isa's pretty face was distorted in pain, covered in tears and bulging veins, but in the end, she did not let out a single sound as she tried to suppress the immense agony similar to her own soul being ripped apart.
Ember watched all these without a single fluctuation on her emotion due to the dampening effect of the poison.
Yet, despite this, she could not help but wonder why Isa was doing this to herself. After reading books about supernatural beings in Agartha, Ember was aware how important a fox's tail was to the Divine Fox Clan. Not to mention the unbearable pain, a fox could lose his or her life upon losing a tail.
'Why would she hurt herself so...?'
Though Ember could not react, her mind was able to form slow thoughts.
'Does she hate me that much?'
The negative thoughts plaguing Ember ever since she found out she was abandoned by her family began to resurface once more.
'Isa hates me so much she's willing to sacrifice her life to kill me...Maybe I really am a disgusting, repulsive person? Perhaps I am truly a cursed child? If not, how come my own family hated me and wanted to kill me as well? How come this lady who only knew me for weeks wants to kill me as well?
'There is no difference here and there. No matter where I am, I am unwanted. There is no place I belong to. Everyone just wants me gone.
'Perhaps this is for the best. I have indeed done nothing for others. Ever since I came to Agartha, I have troubled others and make them worried all the time. If I die, everyone will be happier, right?
'My presence, my existence, I must be really cursed...'
As Ember accepted her fate, a creepy laughter reached her ears, followed by murmurs filled with madness.
"...Wretched human...You greedy and hateful human, you will die by my hands...You hateful human...I will save the kingdom by killing an evil thing like you..."
Isa's bloody hands were holding her cut tail, and as she continued to ramble in lunacy, a bloody red glow enveloped her hands. She coughed out blood and in a matter of seconds, that tail disappeared and a bladed weapon--a straight dagger-- replaced the tail in her hands.
Its golden blade was transparent like crystal made out of solidified magic, the tip as red as blood, but its dark glow gave off a gloomy aura that showed it was a dangerous weapon.
Simply the sight of that golden dagger made Ember feel like thousands of needles were pricking her skin. Her instincts were screaming at her to flee, but even without the paralyzing poison in her body, it would be difficult for her to overpower the hold of the two female shapeshifters keeping her upright.
As she held that golden weapon in her hand, Isa moved her vicious gaze towards Ember.
"Isn't it a beautiful weapon to die with, human? Be thankful, I am allowing a little evil thing like you to die a worthy death."
Not even the potency of the paralysis poison could dampen a human's survival instinct. Even though Ember felt that dying was proper, there was a strong urge deep within her trying to resist her incoming death.
However, Ember could at most move her fingers. Her breathing hitched as Isa was ready to kill her, but not a sound escaped her lips.
"Die, human...Die, die, die!"
The golden dagger in Isa's hand was raised above her head, and as she plunged it down towards the human's heart, Ember closed her eyes, resigning to fate--
--until she caught a whiff of a familiar manly smell, followed by the strong metallic stench of fresh blood.
"Morph!" Ember heard Isa scream.
Ember's eyes flew open as she and the foxes holding her were thrown to the ground by a blast of wind. The death she expected did not come, but she was welcomed by the sight of a man's wide back with outstretched gray wings.
She recognised the person. It was her best friend, Morpheus.
As soon as he appeared, the prickling feeling of a thousand needles disappeared.
Did he destroy the weapon?
Did he come to save her?
That meant she didn't have to die?
Someone...wanted her to live?
Ember still could not move. She could only lay on the ground like a puppet with its string cut. All she could do was watch as things unfold before her. She wanted to call out to Morpheus, to tell him she didn't want to die but she also didn't want to make others unhappy.
Just as tears began to pool in her eyes, she realized something was terribly, terribly wrong.
Morpheus, his strong body swayed before falling down on his knees, and Isa...her face...had tears streaming down?
The female fox kneeled in front of the winged man. "Morph! No, I didn't mean... W-What did you do...why?" Isa cried out.
From her position, Ember could still only see his back but then watched Morpheus turning his face to her, offering her his usual lopsided smile.
"Little female, are you alright?"
Ember could not answer-- she could not even let out a single sound. All she could do was helplessly stare back at him. Still, he continued to smile at her, even after his body collapsed on the ground.
"Morph! No, Morph!" Isa continued to cry out. He coughed out blood, looking to be in immense pain.
Only then did Ember finally see the hilt of the golden straight dagger piercing in Morpheus' heart.
It was as if Ember's own heart was stabbed.
'Morph!'
Tears rolled down from her eyes as clarity returned to Ember's mind.
Isa's earlier words about the weapon surged through her like a nightmare.
'The power to destroy the soul. Souls won't be reborn ever. Even with divine powers, not only your energy core, even your soul will dissipate into nothingness...'
...and not even fragments will remain...?
'No! No, no, not Morph! Morph can't die! Morph can't disappear!'
Ember wanted to go to him, check on him, to pull that dagger off his chest and call for a healer to come.
Why wasn't Isa doing anything? What was the use of crying?
Save Morpheus! They have to save Morpheus! Morpheus can't die!
But Ember could only open her mouth. She could only listen to Morpheus' pained groans and Isa's sobs. She wanted to do something but all she could do was lay on the ground helplessly.
She hated it! She hated that she could not do anything!
Was that how her life would be? She would only always be on the receiving end of things?
Others would dictate her life and death, and she could only accept it? Her family abandoned her and she could only suffer, others wanted to kill her and she could only run, people would sacrifice for her and she could only do nothing but watch and wait...?
Unwilling!
She was extremely unwilling!
"Ember's attention went towards the crying young lady kneeling in front of Morpheus.
'It's her. If not for her, Morph wouldn't...he wouldn't...'
As she had those thoughts, a strange sensation erupted within her chest. It was as if a chaotic ball of fire was growing hotter and hotter with each passing second, devouring her consciousness. Her eyes that were stuck on the bleeding Morpheus began to grow heavy.
She forced herself to stay awake but her eyes were betraying her and she ended up closing them. As her consciousness grew blurry, she seemed to hear some faraway voices.
"You cannot die. I won't let you die. I will kill everyone who hurt you. I will make their souls vanish. I will avenge you, I promise you. I, ______, in my name as the Deity of Fire, vow to avenge you. No one will be spared!"
Suddenly, an invisible power started to surround Ember's body, a divine power so pure the atmosphere around her started to change. Dark clouds began to cover the sky and hide the sun, and strong gusts of wind struck the trees, causing many branches to break.
Not only Isa and the foxes, even the victims of the paralysis poison noticed the growing commotion over their heads, but before anyone could react, a terrifying outburst of power erupted, causing the structures nearby to collapse and the people to grow momentarily blind and deaf from the sound of the resulting shockwave.
By the time people's senses returned, they saw Ember floating amidst the rubble, and her body was surrounded by huge red flames that emitted scorching heat. Her eyes were like living flames, and as her body was wrapped by fire, she looked like a goddess who descended on the land for the sake of destruction.
Isa's three friends, who were merely weak one-tailed foxes, could not help but be suppressed by the pressure of Ember's overwhelming strength. They wanted to run away, but their actions ended up getting Ember's attention and she used her powers to strangle them.
"...Ember?"
Feeling the sudden heat, Morpheus could not help but turn towards its source. He could not believe his eyes. He knew Ember was powerful, but he did not expect it to be to this extent. Even he felt suffocated by the heat. Her powers were so strong that perhaps, no one in Agartha could match it, not even Draven.
But as he met her gaze, he realized she was not the Ember he knew. This being was not human.
She was destruction personified.
The Deity of Fire had awakened.
====
Note- the next chapter "The King of heaven" is the same chapter 668 in the first book "Witch's daughter and the Devil's son." If you had read there, do not unlock it here.
I had to do it for the readers who don't read both the books but I needed to introduce king of heaven to them as well.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺