The Lady of Fire
1598 Words
Asher||
The full moon was coming —a time that only reminded me of our curse.
A curse, I had no control over. Something that befell my father years ago, but somehow, my brothers and I had to suffer the consequences even after his death. Thanks to the bloody Witch who had placed the curse on him.
My hands formed tight fists and I barged out of my room, aiming to wander in the palace till I was sane enough to speak to Ruby —the palace aid, about the preparation of the full moon festival.
Every year, the pack celebrated the festival, a time when young wolves could get the chance to find their mates. But my brothers and I didn’t have that privilege.
Our curse didn’t allow us to be outside during the festival, let alone find a mate, or it was going to be catastrophic. So, while we, the Lycan kings, suffered in the cage, our people got to party and celebrate a new era of love.
Somehow, my eldest brother, Axel, thought it would be wise for me to arrange the preparations for this festival, every year.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I marched down the corridors, my mind filled with rage and irritation, hoping to fix a problem I had no control over.
My father had made it clear before his death that the only way we were going to stop the curse was by using the blood of a witch. For years now we had killed countless witches, yet none broke the damned curse. How could I fix something like that?
When I got out of the palace walls, my eyes met with the stormy blue ones of my second brother, Ares.
“You are in a very sour mood, brother. I felt it from my chambers. What’s the matter?”
I scoffed at his question. “You know what the matter is, Ares. The full moon festival is coming, and I am supposed to —what? Make plans and let the people be happy while we suffer in the cage like animals?”
Ares let out a sigh as his eyes became even more stormy like the strongest winds on a blue sea. “We both know that the festival can’t be bypassed. Not on Axel’s watch —at least.”
I rolled my eyes and glared at him. “So, what, are you saying we should take out Axel’s eyes?”
He shook his head slowly and said, “That would be amusing but no. I have a better idea. I want to help you but in exchange for something else.”
My eyes narrowed in disbelief and without giving it much thought I jumped at it. “I will do anything in return. You can have my girls if you want. Just spare me from this year’s festival preparations or I might poison the food or something.”
A sly smirk appeared on his lips. “I will handle the ceremony this year, but in return, you will have to go to Greenwood Pack to get Alpha Marshal’s signature on these.” He handed me the pile of papers and I breathed in relief.
“Just these?” I asked, raising the papers to his face.
He nodded calmly and I smiled.
“You are the best brother in the entire realm. I will get going right away!” I tucked the pile of papers under my arms and started making my way to the parking lot where the drivers were waiting on standby.
One of them stepped forward as soon as they saw me approaching and bowed. “Where are you headed, my king?”
“Greenwood Pack.”
One of the dark SUVs was instantly opened and I marched into it. In the next few seconds that followed, the vehicle with four others was swerving through the tarred road that divided the dense forest into two sides. In record time, we got to Greenwood.
As one of the men pulled the car open for me, I felt a strange sort of feeling grab at my chest.
My eyes narrowed as I turned around to take a proper look at the small pack. I have been here before on another occasion yet, it felt different for some strange reasons, and I couldn’t put a finger on it.
My thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Alpha Marshal’s heavy steps filled the air, causing me to turn in his direction.
“My king.” He bowed when he got before me spreading his right arm in the direction of his palace entrance. “You are welcome to Greenwood. Your brother, King Ares, already informed me of your arrival.”
The man looked wild, and I decided I didn’t want to spend a second more in the stuffed place. “Yeah, you should sign these,” I announced, handing him the files I came with.
“Yes, my king… of course, I will sign it, but you must watch the execution of the hybrid we found just today. It will bring me immense joy. I will sign the documents as the execution progresses.”
My wolf twisted in irritation, and I knew for certain that this must have been the reason why Ares traded places with me —that and Alpha Marshal’s constant obsession with trying to force his daughter onto one of us.
If I refused, Axel was going to explode like an avalanche. It would be best if I watched the damned execution and got it over with.
With a tight-lipped smile, I nodded at him. “Sure… lead the way.”
The excitement I expected to see in his eyes wasn’t entirely there. It was almost as if he was angry, yet excited about what was happening. He led the way to his execution arena, and I was surprised to find a young girl with piercing amber eyes being chained to the pile of wood.
My wolf jumped within me, and my head c****d to the side as I began to study her. I was almost asking Marshal to stop the execution but something within me stopped me. The crowd was growing wild as the guards finished tying her up, but my chest only tightened.
I could not understand what had come over me. It was like watching someone close to me get executed, yet I knew that wasn’t the case. I didn’t even know who the girl was, yet my wolf was crawling to protect her. Yet something else within me assured me that the girl was going to be fine.
All the while my thoughts were scrambled up, her amber eyes remained fixed on me, and my wolf became even more restless as if it was trying to tell me something —yet all I heard were the chants of the people requesting for the girl to be burned.
When the fire finally lit up the place. Silence filled up the entire space and my stone heart stopped beating as I waited to hear her screams of agony, yet only the sounds of the cackling flames filled the space.
It was as if everyone held their breath waiting to see the movement of the burning lady in the fire but there was simply nothing.
I could see her form still sitting between the pile as if the fire was barely torrents of winds kissing her skin. She wasn’t burning. She was perfectly seated, calming waiting for the drama to be over.
Just when I thought I had seen it all, the flame began to intensify and from where I sat, I felt the scorching heat on my skin. How the girl managed to stay alive in there was a mystery. A mystery I planned to unravel.
Suddenly, Marshal got to his feet, and I could smell the fear swirling around him, and as if on cue, a ringing filled the arena and right before our eyes, the fire came to an abrupt stop, like it was never there.
The only signs left behind were the darkened pieces of wood and the beautifully naked girl left uncharred by the lost flames.
“Impossible!” Marshal breathed and I felt something swell within me.
The girl’s hair was no longer the black color it had been before; it was now a flaming red color as she stared hard in Marshal’s direction.
“Guards! Shoot her down. Kill her. She is a monster!” Marshal screamed as he began to run away from her burning gaze.
A commotion broke out as everyone ran for their lives in fear and even the guards who were meant to shoot her down, struggled with their weapons while all she did, was sit there with her chains and flaming hair, watching them.
I became amused and excited at the same time.
Her naked body was enough to drive me crazy. I couldn’t wait to get her in my room and as for her abilities, she would make a good catch for my brother Axel but first, I had to have my fill of her.
Without thinking it through, I raised my hand at the special guards that had finally filled up the arena.
“Let her live. I want her.”
Marshal’s jaw dropped from the corner he was hurdled at. “My king —she is a monster. What are you saying? She is—”
“Twenty thousand gold coins. Get her into my vehicle now.” I growled in a firm voice, expecting nothing but compliance.
- Writer
