CHAPTER 467: ATONE FOR SINS (1)

The words shook Ash out of whatever was going on in her. Simon was her most beloved and like any mother, Ash wanted nothing to ever happen to her son, but life and fate always had their own thoughts.

Shelby straightened up, wondering why the whole place seemed to have dropped a notch in terms of mood, but she soon found out.

The grand hall, once filled with quiet murmurs, was shattered by another heart-wrenching scream. This brought goosebumps to most of them,

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!"

Ash had always been a woman of poise, of refinement. Her every movement was measured, every word was always precise. But all of that crumbled in an instant.

"MY SON! ’Ai, léth siúren! Násh iel sárh!’ [Oh, cruel stars! Take me instead!]"

She lunged forward, skirts billowing behind her, even forgetting that she could have flown there faster, ignoring the gasps of the gathered nobles and the whole Fae populace. There was no dignity in grief, no grace in desperation.

Despite this, she was still too late.

The floor that had been bare just moments ago .... smooth, unmarred by a single vine or leaf started to change. Shelby gripped Ian tightly, and Ian nuzzled her in response as if someone was not in distress right in front of them.

The fae-crafted halls were always lush. If Simon knew that all the efforts that had been put in for this ’forced’ ceremony would be his undoing, one wondered if he would have made a different choice. This was supposed to be his enthronement ceremony, but it turned out to be the worst day of his life. The foliage that clung to the walls, weaving through columns in a beautiful way, never once tainting the pristine floor, started to obtain a life of its own.

A chilling crack tore through the air as the colourful flowery vines turned black, growing thorns at a speed naked to the eyes. They moved forward, gliding like conscious shadows. They twisted over the polished stone, their jagged tips pulsing as if drawn by a sinister force.

Faster than a blink, they coiled around Simon, who already looked to be out of his mind, fighting shadows and inner demons that only he could see. They wound up his legs, surging over his arms and torso ... piercing through cloth and flesh alike.

One could say that Prince Simon was a warrior, and such should not have been a big deal for him, but he had grown up in a royal household and had never suffered such level pain or torture.

Humiliation aside, it felt as if his very bones were being gnawed on from the inside. It was an experience best left to be experienced instead of explained. It felt as if sharp thorns were being pushed through every single crevice in his skin. It almost felt as if molten iron had been poured through his veins, scorching everything in its path. Every nerve in his body screamed, his muscles spasming against the relentless agony.

It was a pain beyond wounds, beyond battle. It felt like something was unmaking him, tearing at the very fabric of his existence, unravelling him thread by thread. His breath came in ragged gasps, his vision darkening at the edges, but the torment would not grant him the mercy of unconsciousness.

The onlookers took several steps back. Yes, Prince Simon was authoritative, just like his father and a jerk to most of them, but they wondered if his crimes warranted such extremeness.

Simon screamed so loud that some infants broke into tears, as did his mother. He had endured countless bruises, a few broken ribs, and deep gashes on the ’battlefield’, but this.... this was something else entirely. This battlefield was merely his training grounds

His strangled scream filled the chamber, his body jerking as though something unseen was pulling him apart from the inside.

The thorns pulsed. Alive.

A curse made manifest.

"Leve my SON ALONE!!!! Take me instead!" Ash shouted again, for the two perpetrators could care less.

Shelby burrowed deeper into Ian, finding comfort in his sturdy heartbeat.

"Should I let him go?"

Shelby shook her head, "I’m sure you would not do this... if he did not deserve it."

Ian smiled. This was his first genuine smile since coming into the Fae-land. It drastically changed his outlook so much that there were some gasps from the female onlookers. As if in another world, the air shimmered with dark-like energy, ancient and unyielding.

The more Prince Simon struggled, the tighter the thorns gripped, sinking deeper into his skin and drawing crimson lines across his body. His mother reached out, fingers trembling, only for the thorns to lash out at her, halting her in place.

"No... NO!" Her wail shattered the last remnants of decorum. "Let him go!"

It was unclear to whom she was asking this, as no one moved.

Obviously, no one paid her heed. The hall was filled with their ragged cries, the ominous rustling of the thorned tendrils tightening their hold. The onlookers trembled as they realized.... This was not just an attack.

It was a statement. The stranger wanted to make a statement about his bonded one. They had read of this... They all knew, at least from the books, how territorial and protective the bonded ones were of their partners. Looking at how the man looked at their Prince with indifference, they all started to move in unison backwards.

They were not entirely blameless because they had all come to observe the coronation and the possible killing of her fetus. Did that mean that they would also be subjected to something similar?

The Old Faes were the ones who started trembling the most.

In all this, Prince Syla had yet to react. It was like he was frozen.

"YOU!"

Ash did not bother confronting Ian directly. She was terrified of the ’monster’ who had sat on the throne that bother her husband and son failed to get. However, that did not mean that she could not attack the other; after all, there had been two curses placed on her son.

She bellowed, her voice cracking under the weight of her anguish, but anger was clearly evident from her. Ash’s trembling hand shot out, pointing directly at them as if they were the root of this nightmare.

She zapped up with her wings supporting her and rushed towards the Timeless Witch. This action caught Ian’s attention, for he also wanted to find out why the witch was still helping them. She had nothing to do with the coward Prince, so exactly why?

Ash’s breath hitched as she staggered forward, her elegant composure long shattered. Maybe she thought that the Timeless Witch in a child’s form was an easier one out of the two... but she was sadly mistaken.

"You were supposed to help!" Ash shrieked, her voice laced with betrayal. "Why are you doing this?!"

The raw emotion in her tone made even the most hardened warriors shift uneasily. And then, her voice dropped, hoarse and breaking, her disbelief laid bare.

"After taking the payment...?"

Ash’s fingers curled into fists, her entire body shaking. The unspoken words, the sheer devastation, hung heavy in the air. She had placed everything in this coronation and day. But now, her son was suffering for it.

"You are sadly mistaken.... You paid my sister...."

The Timeless Witch pointed at her sister’s body, which was still where she had died.

"You sought her help... not mine!"

Ash pushed forward, wanting to claw at the ’child’, but she could not move forward no matter what she did. A force surrounded the Timeless Witch that prevented her from moving.

"Besides, I do what I want to do..." The Timeless Witch shrugged as if the curse she had placed on Simon was an everyday action.

Her actions puzzled Ian’s team so much because she was doing things without asking for payment, which was so out of character. However, she was right. The Fae royals had not solicited her help. That aside, it made them wonder....

’What was the story between her and Shelby that was pushing her to do this?’

"Place him in the dungeon, where he placed my wife."

Surprisingly, it was the head guard who moved to acknowledge this. Simon’s heart sank, as did his parents. In the dungeon, there were more plants and therefore, his distress and ordeal would be too much.

The guard bowed, and that was when Shelby remembered her funny friend.

"Bring him out when you do." The guard bowed again and then dragged Simon out.

Even though Shelby had not been explicit, the guard knew of whom she was referring to.

"I’m So-rry.... I will ne-ver.... P-lease...."

This finally got a reaction from Syla. Prince Simon was Syla’s hard work, and to see it all go down the drain.

Prince Syla raised his red eyes and trembling hands and then turned to look at the Timeless Witch. The royal couple seemed to think that the Timeless Witch was an easier target than Ian was.

There were very mixed emotions about all that was going on, but if the strongest and most powerful people could do nothing, what could they do? Besides, there was a strong reverence for Ian that made the people hesitant to retort and also see everything in a good light. It was like a ’do not question the leader’ kind of scene. This did not apply to Syla, though....

"OMG! Is Prince Syla going to make his ultimate move?"

"Is he crazy?"

"Oh no!"

"We need to get out of here!"

"Bitch! Let my son go! I said that you can take me instead...."

Just then, all playfulness disappeared from the Timeless Witch’s face,

"Your son is only paying for his parent’s sins... plus the fact that he was born of you."

She stepped off her chair,

"Also, why are you in a hurry to bring yourself when you are next for the punishment? Your son warrants his own, and you also do so...."

The Timeless Witch raised her arm, and her next words plunged the room into another round of silence....

"You should atone for the sins of the one you killed... shouldn’t you?"

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