Chapter 74
Chapter 74
QUEEN AQUAMARINE’S POV
The vines had loosened while I slept, curling like lazy snakes across my arms. My wrists were sore, but no longer held.
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“Did you sleep well?” Terran’s voice rang in my ears. He asked like this was normal. Like I hadn’t been kidnapped and held in a
forest.
I didn’t answer. Instead, I stood up slowly.
Then everything stopped, there was a sudden opening in the space we were locked in. Then it opened up totally.
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We stood before a massive structure so twisted, so unnatural, I almost didn’t see it as a castle. But it was. A fortress made of thorns
and vines.
Terran stepped out first, holding out his hand like this was some twisted royal arrival.
But I didn’t touch him.
Before I knew it, I was dangling over his shoulder. Kicking and punching him, but it did nothing to him. Terran carried me in like I belonged to him. Like he’d won something.
Then I heard voices.
Louder and louder, a dozen voices, maybe more. The sound swallowed me. My throat tightened when I saw them.
People.
Dozens, maybe hundreds, of people emerging from trees. Eyes glowing faintly. Hair like vines. Skin marked with tattoos of leaves
and bark.
I froze.
“Welcome to the true kingdom. The Heart of Naturellia. Hidden beyond the veil, sealed from human eyes. You’re not in your world anymore.”
I looked around.
It looked darker, too dark for a kingdom of Nature. I expected sunshine, rainbows and maybe other earthy creatures like fairies and
elves.
But this is worse than my pack. Far worse than the Theriakon pack.
“Alexander can’t reach you here,” Terran said. “No one can save you.”
I swallowed hard.
“You’re still his breeder, aren’t you?”
I said nothing.
“I wonder,” he murmured, “how long it will take you to realise that you mean absolutely nothing to him. After you give him a child what would you get? Freedom? Or will you end up making more children till you drop?”
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Chapter 74
“It’s not your business Terran-”
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“Have you ever sat to wonder why he hasn’t gotten an heir for years? Even when he had Gaia?” he asked. “Or why he has soo many secrets that are too much even for a King or why he has numerous enemies after your heart? You should open your eyes and ears
more often.”
He made a point. A solid point I’ve been trying to push aside since the day Gaia first attacked.
He stopped outside a tall, curved door. “Your room. Rest, tomorrow is a big day for both of us.”
The door opened on its own. Then he dropped me and left. The door closed behind me without sound. I backed into a corner and slid down the wall. My chest burned. My heart wouldn’t slow.
I was too far. Too far from him. Alexander… I couldn’t feel him.
No matter what I’d done, how angry he’d been… I knew he would’ve come for me. But now?
Now I wasn’t sure he even could. Especially now that he hated the sight of me.
I sat there for minutes. Hours. I didn’t know.
Then I stood up, throat tight, fingers trembling. I need to leave. I don’t know how and I don’t know where. But I can’t stay here.
I ran to the window but it immediately closed up on it own as it stopping me from looking over. I quietly opened the door and
sneaked out.
I moved toward the far end of the room, where the vines parted slightly into a passage. The passage led into another chamber. It was dark and cold. Like a shrine with a dark feeling to it.
Something called to me and I walked toward it.
A pedestal.
A blade rested there. Blackened metal. Glowing faintly at the edge.
I didn’t think. I just reached out.
The moment my fingers brushed the hilt and the blade flared. Pain shot through my hand but I bit back a scream. The vines in the room shifted but before I could drop it, the hilt wrapped itself around my arm.
“Aquamarine,” a low growl echoed and I felt goosebumps all over my body.
I turned around slowly to see Terran standing at the entrance. He wasn’t smiling this time. His soft brown eyes were almost cold.
“You shouldn’t have wandered,” he said, voice lower than before.
“1–I was looking for the bathroom. “I stammered, hiding my wrist behind me.
He took a step in. “This room is sacred.”
“That blade belonged to Gaia,” he grunted. “Only she, the ruler could wield it. Until now, it seems.”
Only her? Not even him?
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Chapter 74
He moved closer to me, but still left a distance. “Drop it slowly.”
But I refused. With a shaky breath, I lifted the blade. “Stay back,” I warned.
Terran took more steps forward, “You don’t want to hurt me.”
I did. I swung the blade when he was a few steps close to me and it connected.
Barely. A thin line across his chest opened, dark green blood rising.
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He flinched, but just a little before waving his arm. I watched in awe as tiny leaves flew towards him and covered up his wound.
Then something hit the back of my head with full force. I started seeing multiple Terrans at every corner and my knees suddenly grew weak. “What…?” I staggered.
“Gaia paid for her strength,” he said, moving toward me slowly. “You think power comes free?”
The blade released itself from my wrist and fell to the floor. My arm went numb. My body was burning, like something was slowly draining me and burning my sides.
He caught me before I hit the ground. I tried to shove him. He didn’t let go, instead, he pressed his hard chest against mine.
“Next time,” he whispered, brushing my hair back, “don’t try to run. This kingdom is alive. And it still listens to me.”
I blacked out in his arms.
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