The Eternal Guardians: Book 1: The Missing Heir

Chapter 37

Contently, Rian was out in her garden with her daughter Destiny, when a group of Selvempt guards stormed onto her farmland. Immediately, she pulled her daughter into her arms, protectively.

“What is the meaning of this?” she snarled, as the guards spread out across the property and barged into the house.

Two of the guards stood in front of Riah and Destiny, and they pulled their swords. They pointed them straight at her and Destiny’s faces, and Riah looked at them as if they had lost their minds.

At that moment, Riah heard the blood-curdling screams from her husband, her brother and her sister, and her eyes went wide as she turned her head toward the house.

“No!” Riah cried as she turned back and looked at the guards.

“Mama!” Her son screamed and then there was silence.

Suddenly, Riah realized that the Selvempt guards had murdered her family for no reason at all and she looked down at her daughter with a serious look on her face. Fearfully, Destiny looked up at her mother with wide eyes. Riah knew she was scared, and she could admit that she was scared too.

“Run!” she said quickly to Destiny, and then she pushed the little girl.

Immediately, Destiny used her superspeed and Riah stared after her in surprise. She didn’t know her daughter could do that. Evidently, Riah turned to the guards and she glared at the men.

“You think you can just come onto my land, and kill my family for no apparent reason, and think you are going to get away with it?” snarled Riah, as two guards stepped closer to her.

“Get the girl,” said one of the men, and the other man nodded, as a couple more guards surrounded Riah. Surprisingly, the man disappeared.

Damn it! Riah thought, as she shook her shoulders. So, these guys wanted a fight? Well, then let’s fight.

Angrily, Riah took a fighting stance and one of the men chuckled.

“I got this one,” said the man, and the other guards took a few steps back.

Oddly, Riah looked at the man that stood before her. He was tall and very muscular, and he seemed to think it was funny that he was about to battle with a girl. Thoughtfully, Riah looked at the guard and she smirked at him. Her father told her when she was a little girl that she was not like any ordinary girl. She was granted very special gifts by the gods.

“Oh, you got this? Are you sure?” she asked, as she dug her foot into the dirt. The man laughed and the other guards laughed with him.

“Come on, sweetheart. Just come with us peacefully and no one has to get hurt,” the man lied, as he raised his hands, and Riah angrily glared at the guards.

At that moment, she heard the blood-curdling scream of her daughter and Riah felt a stabbing pain in her heart and she knew that her daughter was gone. A snarl ripped from Riah’s throat as she turned an angry glare on the men.

“You have already taken everything from me,” she growled, as she looked down at the ground, and then she looked back up at the men with glowing eyes.

“You are going to pay for all of what you have done!” she growled, as she curled her lip at the man in front of her.

Suddenly, the men all looked up and then looked at the guard that was standing in front of Riah. He nodded to them and then looked back at Riah.

“Go! I will take care of this one and then catch up,” the man said deeply. The other guards nodded and then they took off through the forest.

Evidently, Riah was already running at the man when he had turned back toward her. Swiftly, she jumped into the air, pulled her fist back and punched the man in the jaw. The man’s head snapped to the side as she landed on the ground, and then suddenly the guard grabbed her by the arm firmly.

At that moment, the guard picked her up and then he slammed her hard on her back, back down on the ground. Seemingly, Riah coughed and then she felt the impact of the guard's fist hit her in the face and then everything went dark.

“Monty, come on!” yelled a guard, as he ran past.

The guard nodded and ran off with the others as he left Riah’s unconscious body lying on the ground.

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Immediately, Ashta hit her knees and Damian’s hand slipped from her waist. Gale, Liam and Damian exchanged looks, and then they looked down at Ashta.

“They’re gone!” she cried, as she began to sob.

“It’s all his fault!” Ashta growled through her tears, as she looked up at Damian, Gale, and Liam.

“Who?” asked Liam, confused.

“Roman!” she snarled, angrily, as she stared at the floor, and Liam looked at Damian in question.

“Where is Xavier and her human friend?”

“Lashanna, her name is Lashanna, not human, and she and Xavier are gone,” she mumbled, as she began to rock back and forth.

“Are you hurt?” Liam asked, concerned, and she only shook her head, as she continued to rock her body and hug her knees.

Seemingly, Damian hung his head in defeat and he stifled a sob.

*****************

Slowly, Riah opened her eyes and she blinked a few times. A few moments later, memories of the Selvempt guards storming her farm and killing her family invaded her mind. Tears welled up in her eyes, as she sat up quickly and looked around.Surprisingly, she was alone and all of the guards were gone.

Where did they go? she wondered, as she got to her feet quickly.

Frantically, she huffed a sob as she ran into the house.

“No!” she murmured, as she saw her brother and her sister’s slaughtered bodies in the kitchen. Both of them laid in a pool of blood and she could see the stab wounds in their chests.

Immediately, she turned and she saw her husband and son’s lifeless bodies lying in the hallway, and Riah sank to her knees and she sobbed over their mutilated bodies. Sadly, her whole family was gone; her husband, her children, and even her brother and sister.

Suddenly, Riah scrambled to her feet as she thought of her daughter and she ran outside.

“Destiny?” Riah called, and there was no answer.

“Destiny!” She called again, as she searched through the forest for her little girl.

She quickly stopped when she saw her daughter’s body with a Selvempt guard’s sword sticking out of her chest. Her heart stopped and she began to sob as her face contorted. Her baby girl, she was innocent, and she nor did the rest of her family deserve this.

Angrily, Riah pulled the sword from the little girl’s body.

“I vow, little one. The ones who are responsible for this will pay!” she growled, as her tears flowed down her cheeks.

Evidently, Riah packed a few things in a bag and then she decided to head to the castle and talk to King Gale. The king was always grateful for her services she provided for the kingdom, and he too had gotten close to her family. She hoped that he would be able to help her sort out this mess.

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Roman angrily stormed into the throne room. Startled, Maya turned to him and noticed that he was soaked in blood. She smiled at him triumphantly.

“How does it feel having the blood of our enemies on your hands? You have made your kingdom proud,” she purred, and he looked down at his clothes and then he looked back up at her, as he growled angrily.

“This isn’t Slayer blood. This is the blood of my father,” he snarled angrily at her, and she looked at him with wide eyes.

“Rocco is dead?” Maya asked, as her hand flew up to her mouth.

“Yes, my father is dead, and this is all because of you!”

Dramatically, Maya flew to the bar, poured a drink, and then she handed it to him.

“I am so sorry. I never meant for this to happen!” she lied.

Angrily, Roman sneered at her as he took the glass and then he downed its contents. At that moment, the toxic poison rushed through his veins and his pain faded into anger as he crushed the glass in his hand and glared at Maya.

“From now on, I will make the rules. This is my house, not yours!” he snapped at her, and then he smirked, as he tried to hold his composure.

Seemingly, Maya looked like she was about to protest, but he snarled angrily at her.

“We will no longer associate ourselves with the Slayer kingdom. They have their elemental being, and we have ours,” he snarled, as he walked over to the bar and he poured himself another drink. To her surprise, he had so much of the toxic drink in his system, that it would make him turn on someone in an instant.

“The only Slayer that is allowed in my kingdom is my mother,” he said, as he took a swig of his drink.

Evidently, Maya only nodded as she realized that she had turned her stepson into a monster, and now that his father was gone, there would be no one around to keep Roman level-headed. Maya feared that she may have taken things too far, and now she had no way to undo the damage that had already been done.

******************

Ashta showered and scrubbed all of the blood off of her body. She decided to go talk to her uncles. Enough was enough! All the Slayers were to cut all ties with the Selvempts! She was not going to let this happen ever again and when the time was right, she would challenge that bastard prince to a battle to the death. She was going to make that son of a b***h pay for all of the loss he had caused with his war and distraction. Quickly, she ran down to the throne room.

“Uncle Gale?” she called, and she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She saw her uncles speaking with a woman and at that moment she recognized the woman was Riah.

“Riah!”

Riah turned to Ashta, and then Ashta gasped, as she saw her bruised and swollen face.

“Oh, my,” Ashta gasped, as Riah ran to her and threw her arms around her friend.

“What happened? Where is your family?” she asked, as she rubbed Riah’s back, and noticeably she felt the sword that was strapped on Riah’s back.

“They are all gone, including Michael and Destiny. The Selvempt guards took their lives,” Riah sobbed, and Ashta held onto her tighter.

Confidently, Ashta looked up at her uncles with a determined look on her face.

“She is staying with us!” she stated firmly, and they only nodded.

“Come on, let’s go upstairs,” Ashta said softly, and Riah nodded.

Ashta nodded to her uncles and then she led Riah up the staircase. At that moment, Damian walked out of his room and he looked at Ashta sadly.

“I am sorry, princess, but once the kingdom recovers, I am challenging him to a fight to the death.”

In that moment, Ashta only nodded. She knew that everyone was upset, and that rational thinking at this point in time was not an option.

*********************

It took months to rebuild Nemiph after the Selvempts had attacked that day. A ceremony was held in honor for the fallen Slayers, including Riah’s family, Xavier and Lashanna. Ashta vowed to make the Selvempts pay for this by challenging their prince to a fight to the death duel.

Seemingly, Damian grew angrier and angrier as each day passed. Every chance he got, he trained and exercised to become stronger and better, determined to challenge Roman and to kill him. Evidently, Ashta had begged him many times to reconsider his decision, but he would not change his mind.

Riah was given time to mourn her family, and she was given Lashanna’s old room, so she would be close to Ashta. Seemingly, Ashta spent many nights in that room, holding Riah as she sobbed her pain away. They had also spent many nights talking and became the best of friends.

Ashta took more interest in keeping Nemiph safe from the Selvempts, and the only contact they had was when the prince would send an invitation to the fight club to the princess. Evidently, Ashta always happened to deny his request. She didn’t want anything to do with the arrogant, mean prince.

Roman turned his kingdom into a darker world than what it was before. The villagers were beneath him and he created curfews, he didn’t allow any festivals of any kind, and for the Selvempts that lived closest to the castle, he made them pay high taxes. He appointed Ray as his right-hand man, and he went with Roman wherever he went. The prince also let him have a few small matches in the arena, and Ray won every time.

What Roman and Ashta weren’t aware of was that the gods were growing angrier and impatient with their behavior. The gods had planned to meet with the two of them when the time was right. They would make the elemental children see the errors of their ways, and they would make them see what they were meant to do by any means necessary.