Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

THE LION AND THE PRINCESS

Whipping around the trees in the orchard, a broken feeling washed over Zeron. Seraphina’s energy was fading rapidly before vanishing completely from his senses. He sat down at the entrance of the orchard, crossing his legs. There was no time to waste. He began to meditate, pulling in energy. He could no longer feel her presence at all. She must have been killed. He had never expected anyone to be able to handle a supercharged Seraphina or summon a storm of this magnitude. Failure was not an option here. It was his only shot. He had to get past this guard to reach the rift. “They must have sent someone outside the usual guard patrol. Maybe there was a new member of the king’s guard possibly or even the king himself,” he thought to himself.

The flames around him bent and contorted, responding to the flow of natural energy in the air, unimpeded by the rain. The energy he was drawing in was immense. All the trees stood still halting from his magic. All of his focus was on this moment. Nothing else mattered. All other spells under his control ceased. The feeling of this power, the rush of it all flooded his senses. Zeron threw all caution to the wind.

The presence of someone approaching filled the air, the sound of each step, each heartbeat giving him a thrill. A bloodlust was igniting within him. Someone was striding toward him. Someone… who could it be? Who had the fucking backbone to charge at him alone and interfere with him seeing his love once again. He had suspected a group must have taken Seraphina out, but no, it was definitely a single person. He could not detect any other strong magical presence nearby. Only seconds remained before they would arrive. Before they would die.

Having Seraphina fall so quickly, hell, fall at all, had put a damper on his plans. She was supposed to be here. She was supposed to… There was no time to dwell on it. Trees exploded around him as magical blasts rained down, the force of each impact sending bark shrapnel flying in every direction. Everything happened so fast, a blur of motion. In an instant, she was on him. Barely a moment to react. This woman who rushed him was fast, faster than anyone he’d faced. He couldn’t figure out how she masked her steps, throwing off his perception. There should’ve been at least another ten seconds before she arrived in the orchard.

It was only when he caught her fist, stopping the powerful punch aimed at his jaw, that her face came into focus. “Serana, we meet at last, sweetie. No wonder they only sent one. Your father knew no group of soldiers could handle me. I didn’t realize I’d be forced to kill his majesty’s precious princess today, though,” Zeron said, his voice dripping with condescension and filled with malice.

With a swift movement, he yanked her forward by the fist trapped in his grip, and in the same motion, he brought his dagger up. The blade sank into Serana’s side, warm blood spilling down its length. The large amount of warm blood excited Zeron, the mark of a heavy blow.

“Thinking you’re going to kill me is cute, Zeron,” Serana said, her breath coming in ragged gasps from the stabbing. She, however, quickly seemed to regain her focus.

His head collided hard with hers just before she swiftly landed a powerful high kick to Zeron’s lower jaw. The force was explosive. No time for him to react. She was too fast. He rocketed backward, ripping the dagger from her side just before crashing through the trees.

Serana gave him no respite. Blood seeped from her side as she sprang forward, landing on top of him and slamming him into the dense tree roots. She was bleeding heavily but fought with savage ferocity. Her fists rained down, each punch connecting with brutal precision, striking his face. Zeron couldn’t think, couldn’t react, Hell, he was barely able to block, struggling to stay upright. The force of her punches felt as if she were raining down boulders onto him.

With barely enough strength, he managed to get to his feet before Serana was on him again. Zeron whipped his hands up, causing the earth to surge and form dense walls between them. Without wasting a second, he ran, moving faster than any normal human could, using magic to propel himself forward. Fighting through the daze of the thrashing she had applied to his head.

He would win this fight. He just needed to reach the well. Zeron had planned for an unexpected foe.

Charging toward the gemstone floating above the city, Zeron raced with Serana hot on his heels. She tore through the earth walls he’d erected like they were mere dust. I poisoned that blade myself. How is this witch still moving so quickly? he thought in panic, putting every ounce of his energy into each leap. He bounded from rooftop to rooftop, the pressure of his landings and leaps destroying pieces of rooftops, roof pieces exploding in every direction with each step.

Zeron kept his pace until he landed on the roof of the old tavern just above the well. Just as he did, Serana kicked him over the edge, grabbing his ankles mid-air and forcing his body to the ground, two stories below, just short of the old well.

“Give it up, Zeron. We will not allow you to destroy Helliah. Your reign of terror over this continent is finally over,” Serana decreed delivering a powerful kick to his chest, sending his body, just having barely made it to his feet, crashing into the old cobblestone well. His back made an audible cracking noise on impact. Something definitely snapped. He knew it. The pain was so intense he could taste it in his teeth.

Pushing himself to his feet, fiery pain shot through his entire left side.

“It’s a little late for that,” Zeron shouted angrily, wincing with every movement. “If you wanted me to go away, I should have been left alone, but we’re past that now. Your father made sure of that.”

Slamming his hands into the side of the well, Zeron readied himself for what was to come.

The gemstone above the city spun wildly, cracking with energy, shooting bolts of raw power in every direction, ripping visible rows in the clouds allowing thin beams of light through from above.

“Checkmate,” Zeron declared, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

With a deafening force, the gemstone shot into the well as if it had been fired from the heavens by the gods themselves. The ground of Malkii began to shake with mighty tremors, green rings forming rapidly around the well, Shaking the town from its very core.

“You think I didn’t have a backup plan?” Zeron sneered, his voice filled with dark triumph.

He thrust his hand into the brilliant green beam of light now pouring from the well.

“I will transfer the life force of these villagers into a weapon if I have to,” he snarled, the air thick with overwhelming power.

“No one will keep me from my sword, princess. I have no idea what your father did to make you so ferocious, so quickly, but I aim to put an immediate and lethal end to it,” Zeron shouted, feeling triumphant. His words echoed in the chaos of the town, but that confidence shattered in an instant as he suddenly froze in place, unable to move.

Serana curled a wicked smile onto her face, her hands slowly coming together in applause.

“You really are the best sorcerer alive,” she mused. “Too bad your obsession would always be your downfall.” She took a step closer, her eyes narrowing with amusement.

“Also, just a quick note: My father did not make me this way. Just like Sesik did not create that gemstone. He merely purchased it before putting it to use. It’s very unfortunate for you that I laid a simple trap in there. So simple that Sesik himself did not see it before preparing your spell.”

Zeron’s heart raced, panic rising as he struggled against the invisible force locking him in place. “What is this spell?” Zeron choked out

Serana approached him with an air of confidence, lightly pushing him further into the green ring of energy that had been created around him. She pulled a small piece of black leather from her combat pouch, her fingers trailing deliberately around his jawline.

“Do not worry, Zeron,” she said, her voice as smooth and cold as the blade of a knife. “I would say this will hurt me as much as it hurts you… but I don’t like lying.”

With a fluid motion, Serana placed the leather around Zeron’s neck and fastened the buckle with precision. Zeron’s mind raced, his thoughts clouded with confusion. As she snapped her fingers, the green ring vanished. The pressure on his body lifted, and Zeron was free, but the dread that settled in his chest was much heavier than the physical restraints ever could have been.

Zeron’s body jerked forward in a desperate attempt to strike her, but in that instant, he felt the collar’s restraint. He collapsed to his knees, the weight of exhaustion dragging him down. His vision blurred, his limbs trembling with weakness.

The collar… He realized with horror.

It was draining him like a vampire feasting on his very soul. Desperation clawed at him as he grasped the collar with trembling hands, attempting to rip it free. But the moment he made contact, electricity surged through his body, jolting him with such intensity that he collapsed face-first into the dirt, his body convulsing violently.

“Wha… what d—did you do to me?” Zeron gasped, his words weak, his consciousness slipping in and out.

Serana stood over him, her voice dripping with malice as she looked down at him, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “Oh, you mean that?” she said, almost mockingly. She casually lowered the collar from around her neck, revealing an identical one. A dark, almost sinister black piece that matched the one now strapped around his own.

“That,” she continued, her tone rich with scorn, is the Presidium Collar. One of two designed by Merlin himself. The twin to this one, actually.” She let the words linger in the air, savoring his growing panic. “Even as we speak, your life-force is being siphoned. You won’t be able to use your magic anymore, Zeron.”

Zeron’s breath came in ragged gasps as he felt the life draining from him. This is it. The end…

She took a moment, watching him struggle, before casually pressing her hand to her side. “Incendante,” she whispered, a faint, flickering flame sparking in her palm. The fire flared with heat, cauterizing the wound on her side. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air, sharp and acrid.

Zeron’s vision blurred as everything around him began to collapse, the edges of his reality folding in on him. He could feel his mind slipping into darkness, his consciousness waning with every passing second.

Serana leaned down, her voice a soft whisper in his ear. “Do not worry. Death is the least you have to worry about today,” before removing the ring from his finger. “You wont be needing this where you’re going.” she said with a humorous tone. He watched as the ring dissolved in her hand. His hope vanished before him.

With that, his mind went blank, his vision fading completely to black. Zeron’s eyes closed as he fell into the void, lost to everything.

His body slumped to the ground as the remaining life he had left vacated his veins. Serana slid down next to him collapsing back in the mud around the well. She felt the cold rain falling down on her cheeks as she watched the remainder of the fires burn out in town. “One man causing so much destruction. What could have driven him to such carnage?” she thought to herself as a deep sadness overcame her.

The strain of the battle riddled her body. The amount of blood she lost was no secret to her. The march of footsteps in the distance echoed through the air she knew it was almost over. She had won for her kingdom. The kings recovery units would be behind her. After all moving units that large took much longer to cross these distances. None of them wielded the power she did. A muffled groan was approaching in the distance slowly.

Serana turned her head to the side watching as Zeron’s apprentice had somehow survived. She was crawling through her injuries to help her master. “This man really only trains monsters doesn’t he” she thought to herself before raising a shaky hand through blurred vision.

“Fulminare,” Serana barked using the last of her conscious strength. A massive bolt of electricity shot forward, colliding with the young apprentice. She recoiled in pain before going limp in front of Serana.

Her vision was distorted as troops surrounded her. Echoes of the soldiers chimed out. “I found the Princess. Hurry men she’s injured.” These were the last words Serana heard before passing out.