CHAPTER 107: THE SHADOVAR REALM

A shadow streaked across the Drakonis realm, moving so fast it left no trace behind.

It shot past the last territory of the Drakonis Realm, leaving the territory behind as it crossed into darker ground.

The atmosphere changed at once and the sky turned deep, clouds. Black mountains rose their peaks catching the faint red glow of the moon.

Beneath them lay streets drowned in shadow.

Darkness clung to the ground and from it, other shapes began to stir forming into figures that moved toward the distant palace.

This shadow raced past alleys and bridges until the fortress came into view.

Then a massive palace of deep onyx and dark violet, its spires clawing at the sky as if reaching for the blood-red moon.

Without pause, the shadow slipped through the gates and into the grand palace.

There a man stood with his back to the hall. He wore a long dark robe, its deep purple fabric catching the faint light as it brushed the floor.

A crown of shadowstone rested on his head, its jagged edges glinting like teeth.

The shadow stopped at the foot of the throne and rose, stretching into the shape of a man.

His cloak hung around him, and his breathing was quick, as if he had been running a long way, well he had been running all the way from the Drakonis realm down to this realm and that is because he is the messenger or the king standing before his throne.

The King stood before the throne, his back facing his messenger, but he could feel the presence. When he spoke, his voice was as cold as the night outside.

"Why the sudden appearance?" The messenger dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead to the ground.

"My king... our plan... it is about to be ruined!" The man at the throne slowly turned. One could see how young this king is.

He looked no older than his late twenties. His face was all sharp lines, with high cheekbones, and his eyes, glowing faintly in the dim light. But there was nothing gentle about his expression.

He is the King of the Shadovar Realm, the third most powerful of the four great realms, a place where shadow itself was more than darkness

In Shadovar, the shadow was alive. It obeyed its wielders like a loyal hound, slipping through cracks, carrying whispers, and striking from unseen corners.

His throne sat at the very heart of this realm of night, and every shadow in the great hall seemed to bend toward him as though acknowledging its master.

He was young for a king, still in his late twenties, but power clung to him like a second skin.

Here, in Shadovar, fear and secrecy were weapons as sharp as any sword. And the man who ruled it was feared even by his own council.

"Ruined?" His voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Do you have any idea what you are saying? Ten years! Ten freaking bloody years! And you dare to stand before me and tell me it is ruined?"

He shrank down frustrated "M-my king," he stammered, his body trembling from head to toe.

"Someone told the High King... about the incense."

He went still for some minutes, like he was trying to think of the danger.

"What?"

"They said... They... said it was poisoned."

"No." The word was a snarl, low and dangerous. His fingers curled into a fist so tight the veins in his arm stood out.

"That cannot be. The incense was given by the High Priest himself."

The messenger dared a glance upward. "But... someone recognized it."

"Who?" The King’s voice thundered out.

"Give me his name. I will have his tongue." The messenger swallowed hard, voice dropping to a whisper. "He is not a he, my king."

The king stilled, his eyes flashing with sudden confusion. "What did you say?"

"She," the messenger said, dropping to his knees until his forehead touched the floor, "the one who spoke against us... she is Princess Lumina. The blind princess of the Celestial Realm."

For a moment, silence draped itself over the throne room like a heavy shroud. The king’s fingers tightened against the obsidian table, his jaw working as if he had not heard correctly.

"Princess Lumina?" he repeated at last, the name tasting strange on his tongue. "King Ryker had another daughter hidden from us all this time?"

"Yes, my lord," the messenger rushed out, fear sharpening his words. "I discovered this only recently."

His hand struck the table before him then the black surface fractured beneath the blow, the sharp sound ringing through the chamber.

"Insolence," he roared, the sound reverberating through the hall until even the walls seemed to tremble.

"Do they take me for a fool? Do the Celestial and Drakonis realms dare treat me as though I am beneath them?"

The messenger pressed himself flat against the ground. "My king, forgive me! Tell me what to do, and I will obey. "

"Kill her," he fired at the man. "I do not care how or how. I want her gone. Let her bleed in the dirt if she must, but she will not undo ten years of my work. This ends before the year is over."

"My King..." the messenger began, hesitating, "perhaps we should..."

But he froze before he could complete his sentence. Then Seraphina stepped out of the darkness, her long black veil covering her face, her gown trailing like mist behind her.

Slowly she made her way toward where the king had stood. She touched him and his hand, braced against the fractured table, twitched.

"High Priestess," he called, looking around but he couldn’t see her.

"Are you truly planning to kill her?" Seraphina asked, smirking as he saw the way he was looking for her.

His fist clenched in the way she ignored. "You heard me," he let out, forcing the words past the sudden weight in his chest.

"She has discovered the incense. If she speaks to the High King, all we have built will."

"I do not care about your beef with the High King," Seraphina interrupted. "But you will never touch her."

His eyes darkened at her words. "She is just a blind girl."

But an invincible force smacked the king across his face making him stagger, one hand flying to his cheek where her unseen blow burned like fire.

"You fool," Seraphina yelled out. "Harm a single strand of her hair, and your realm will turn to ash."

"Bit.."

"I came down here because of that, this isn’t a threat but a warning."

For the first time, fear flickered in the king’s eyes.

Before he could speak, Seraphina was gone. Then the king did not move as his hand lingered against his cheek, his thoughts roaring in fury.

"My King... your response is needed.." He looked down at his messenger as Seraphina’s words echoed in his head.

"Get out," he growled.

The messenger needed no further order. He scrambled to his feet and fled.