Chapter 5: Dare
SERAPHINA
Blood seeped through the ground—Adrian's blood. My hands and legs were frozen; everyone was frozen in shock.
A spear protruded through Adrian's skull, his eyes wide as they stared into space.
"What the fuck just happened?"
Someone screamed in the crowd, and that's when reality snapped back into focus. Instantly, the room became chaotic as six guards rushed toward me, my father quickly standing and running in my direction.
No one understood what had happened.
How had a spear made its way through Adrian's head?
"Seraphina…are you okay?"
My father asked, shaking me with such force that my teeth rattled. But that was when I felt something shift in the air.
The aura changed—thick and dark. No one seemed to notice as everyone scurried toward the hall doors, but before they could reach them, the doors blasted open with such force that anyone within close range was sent flying into different pieces.
It happened so fast—so fast no one saw it coming. That's when I heard it: the screams of people coming from outside the building.
The day had turned dark, and there was smoke in the air—heavy, thick smoke.
But what stood out was the entrance of someone walking through it.
Everyone remained still, staring at the door that had just exploded open and at the figure walking through the smoke.
When the figure finally emerged, his appearance was like something I had never seen before.
My breath hitched. A man—taller than anyone I had ever seen, large in a terrifying way. Hair dark as night itself and arms large enough to break down the pillars of the Celestial Septry.
Thick armor, dark and made of what looked like large thorns sharp enough to slice through skin, covered his torso but stopped at his arms, revealing intricate tattoos that ran from his hands up to his neck.
The moment the figure raised his eyes to stare at me, my breath hitched, and dread washed through my body.
He was roughly breathtaking, but cold. Cold red eyes with dark rings that split his irises in two stared down at me—not with the cold look Adrian would give me, but with something so dark, so cold, filled with hate and disgust enough to send me to my death. The same eyes I had seen in my visions. A scar ran down from his forehead, across his eye, down to his jaw.
I moved my feet backward, watching as everyone stepped back in horror, fear, dread—every terrible emotion you could think of.
"Draven Gravestone."
My father stammered, his voice not coming out gruff and cold as it always did. This time, it trembled with dread.
My eyes widened in shock, confirming my realization.
The letters…the visions…it was all true.
"How dare you walk into my kingdom and cause havoc…how dare you…"
"I wouldn't dare speak if I were you, Henry. Didn't you know your time was near? Didn't you feel my presence closing in on you? Didn't you hear that the Lord of Misery was on his way to capture and turn all of you into my slaves?"
He growled, voice husky like nothing I have ever heard, cutting my father off. His eyes turned to stare at me as they traveled down my body—from my legs, slowly settling on my curves before pushing back to my face.
His eyes remained dark, his face expressionless as he stared at me.
This was the Lord of Misery.
"You walk into my land, my pack, to kill my son-in-law. How dare you? How dare you commit such an abomination… Draven, you have crossed the line."
My father snarled with anger, his fists clenching at both sides, but Draven remained silent.
Then slowly, he walked toward us, his eyes fixed on me, not leaving mine for a second. The hate was still palpable in his gaze, making my stomach churn.
"Don't you dare come any closer to us—to her."
My father warned. For a moment, I wished my father had remained silent, but I was surprised to see Draven instantly stop walking. My heart still drummed even harder, every instinct screaming at me to run, call my dragon, and burn his forces apart.
"Or what will you do, Alpha King Henry?"
A feminine voice said. I hadn't noticed anyone else except Draven Gravestone. My eyes instantly snapped to the woman who had spoken, and I was shocked to see her eyes were trained on mine—disgusting, menacing, filled with so much hate.
"You think you can win? I have dragons…"
"Oh, really? You think you still have dragons?"
Another voice said—a masculine one. This one also looked dreadful, his eyes taking me in lustfully.
"Veythar!"
My father screamed, calling upon his dragon. Instantly, I gave a silent prayer, hoping against hope that Draven would at least show some fear at the fact that my father had summoned his dragon.
"Lunaris…"
I whispered, not audible enough for anyone to hear. But the moment I snapped my head up, I saw Gravestone staring at me, a dark smirk cornering his lips.
Just then, we heard the sound of dragons approaching, their howls crackling through the air as they stopped at the entrance of the Celestial Septry.
First came my father's dragon, Veythar. His enormous, shrieking scream pierced through the entrance of the building, sending everyone backward—everyone except him. The dragon's wings clawed through the building, his sharp talons breaking the entrance walls apart as he stepped in, staring at my father.
"You made a mistake by stepping into my territory. We are no ordinary werewolves—the goddess has blessed us with dragons. Today, you shall see your end, Draven Gravestone. Just like I killed your parents and vandalized your kingdom, I will kill you and end your life with fire."
I stared at my father in shock, not believing his words.
But Draven Gravestone stepped closer to us. I could feel his darkness even more intensely now—his aura was overwhelming, his energy strong enough to make even my own father tremble.
"I see you tremble on your knees, Henry. I can smell your fear from a mile away. You tortured me so badly and broke every shred of humanity in me. Why? Because I was an abomination to your kind? A hybrid?"
He whispered, his neck twisting to stare at me. A dark smile crept across his face before his gaze returned to my father.
"I will make your dear, lovely daughter pay for all the evil you have committed, for all the sins you have brought into this world, for everything—for all the slaves in this room. Your daughter shall atone for your crimes for all eternity."
"Zhorath!"
My father screamed so loudly, with such deafening intensity that it made my blood run cold.
Veythar, his dragon, flew upward, mouth widening open. That was when I saw it—Veythar wasn't targeting the fire at our enemy.
He was targeting the fire at my father.