Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Chapter 348 The Dance [Part 2]

snow was against this entire plan.

from the very beginning everything about this idea was awful. however, there was nothing she could do about it. when lucius made up his mind, it was impossible to change. on top of that, his voice, his commands, his desires...they all stirred the darkness hidden within her soul. the darkness spurred her to action. it desired to serve, to fulfill his orders.

that same darkness sent an icy jolt of terror down her spine the moment she dared to utter the word 'pet' in relation to him. even if it was for the purposes of maintaining a guise under indarel's watchful gaze, the darkness punished her for her heresy. maintaining a pleasant smile on her face to satiate the disgusting elf noble before her was a challenge.

"my lady everia, you would do me honor to accompany me for the rest of this party. your grace and beauty are unlike other in attendance." indarel cooed. his honeyed words brought sighs of contentment and jealousy from the women surrounding them. however, for snow, they made her skin crawl.

she smiled despite the disgust and answered, "it would bring me great pleasure lord varris."

"please, just indarel. might i simply call you everia?"

"you may, indarel."

for the next few hours snow was swept up in a torrent of dances, idle conversations, political debates, and other random interactions. not many were of any import, however several discussions were had that were of interest as it related to the internal power structure of ayalla's forces. it seemed that her followers were not as unified as one would have believed. the princess pulled many political favors and made promises that would have been impossible to keep.

it seemed she had hoped some of the nobility who had been promised the same prizes would kill themselves off, leaving only one to collect on her debts to them. however, she was unable to keep these promises under wraps and several had begun to question her true ability to lead. if she had to resort to treachery and lies in order to lead this fight, what would that say about her actions when she ruled.

"guards! to arms! defend the estate! send word to all stations to support! these damned rebels have made their move and it is time we finally remove this festering disease once and for all." indarel commanded. he then turned to the bald elf. "if you could let go of my lady everia, i would appreciate it. you may be an ally, but i will not have my future wife..."

the haeddan elf quickly ripped the elbow-length gloves covering snow's left hand from her. exposing the mark. "she carries a holy sigil..." the elf coughed. "i mean she is a marked one. surely you do not desire one within your family line."

indarel's look of offense turned to one of disgust as he looked at snow in a new light. "take her to my dungeons then. while i won't take a creature into my family, she can still be enjoyed. when you are done, return the ring to my treasury. we can handle these cretins alone, but i will not have any sneakthief make away with my family's treasures."

the haeddan elf nodded, receiving the ring from indarel and yanking snow through the halls. dozens of guards and soldiers rushed past them as she was forcefully guided toward the dungeons. she attempted to activate her mark, hoping that if she shadowstepped, then maybe... read new adventures at empire

her wrist bones started to creak and blood started to drip from her nose. "i would not do that if i were you. this gem will weaken you. it is your antithesis. a poisonous light to your darkness."

snow remained silent for a moment before asking, "how do you know about the darkness."

"i can read the ancient language. unlike you fools who deny ancient knowledge, our people learn from it and accept it. to fear that which is unknown instead of learn and benefit from it is foolishness." the elf stated, then shook his head. "not only that, i also know who it is that attacks these walls. your lord will come for you. he will also come for this ring's twin. it is also within this estate's vaults."

"you know nothing! i serve no lord, but a lady."

the elf stopped in his tracks, spinning around to meet snow's glare directly. "lucius kane is the man to whom you are bound. your soul knows this even if your heart and mind do not. you feel it, yet you deny it. a fool like the rest. he will come, and then i will have my answers. he was the last to see her."

"see who?" snow's question went unanswered as she was once again tugged forward.

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