Chapter Thirteen
Dante gripped Lana’s warm body closer to his own as she tossed and turned in his bed. She looked to be having some sort of nightmare, but he could not seem to wake her. Instead, he tried to comfort her with his body heat, and his arms locked around her. A soft groan met his ears, and he brushed a lock of hair out of her face.
She was sweating.
A measure of alarm passed through him as he tried to shake her awake, having little luck for a long while. Ten minutes must have passed before she shot straight up to a seated position and opened her eyes.
He was taken aback when he realized that they were completely white. Her lips opened and a voice different from her own began to speak. It seemed a sound not of this world, and it unsettled him a great deal. The only other time he had heard such a voice had been when Morgana had spoken the prophecy in which he had been foretold to kill Lana. Thankfully, the results of the prophecy had only been her gaining access to her magical powers, and not her actual death.
“This night, true evil walks the castle walls,
Innocence ensnared will be sacrificed under the light of the three moons,
Captured by shadow,
And released only by the pain of death,
Only then, will the one true king recognize,
The true danger of darkness,
And his commander will be left alone in this world,
To find his true match.
It is up to the king, the wolf, and the commander to recognize the hidden power in plain sight,
And rid the world of shadow once and for all.”
Dante’s eyes grew wide, recognizing the terrifying verses from a book of prophecy that had been discarded long ago. He had read it only once, and it had left him deeply unsettled. Lana’s eyes flew shut and then opened, revealing her ocean blue eyes to his once again.
“Lana, are you alright?”
“Yes,” she said groggily. “What just happened?”
“You spoke a very old and dangerous prophecy. And the last time any sort of prophecy was spoken by a sorceress, the events came true without delay. Something is going to happen tonight, I have no doubt.”
It did not take long for the words of the fate to begin to take effect. His gaze tore to the door as it slammed open, the wooden door frame crashing into the wall behind it. Standing in the entrance, highlighted by moonlight, was a feminine form. Dante breathed a sigh of relief once he realized who it was.
“Emma, get back to bed. Wes is going to be looking for you, and when he realizes you’ve been walking the halls, nearly naked, you are going to be in for one hell of a punishment. I know Wes, and he doesn’t like to parade around his women.”
Emma didn’t respond, but moved further into the room. Dante narrowed his eyes, suddenly suspicious. Something was wrong with her; her movements were foreign, her demure nature masked by something else, something darker.
His eyes met hers, and he knew instantly what was wrong. Her eyes were completely black, the color of shadowy obsidian. She was possessed by Lord Nero’s powers. A sick feeling began to develop deep in his stomach. This wasn’t good.
Dante jumped out of bed, and Lana was not far behind him. He could feel her power begin to crackle throughout the air, a purple aura emanating from her skin. Placing a hand behind him, he steadied her so that his body shielded hers. There was no way he would allow her to put herself in danger, especially if he was there to protect her.
“What do you want, Lord Nero?”
Emma’s body released a strange malicious sort of cackle, and Dante nearly growled in disgust as the hands that controlled her body began to grope her breasts, pinching and pulling on her nipples as a bizarre sense of glee took over the woman’s face.
It wasn’t her though, it was Lord Nero.
“Keep your hands off her, you bastard.”
“Thought you could keep me imprisoned in your sad excuse for a dungeon, huh? Maybe you should have left better guards who didn’t decide it was time for a nap when they were supposed to be looking over me, huh.”
Dante surged forward with a growl, but stopped once Nero held up Emma’s small, childlike hand.
“You might want to hire a few new guards; I think I killed about ten or so in my escape from that jail cell you call a dungeon. But it’s not really your fault that you thought you could contain me. I mean, you don’t really know what I’m capable of, now do you?”
“Leave Emma out of this. The fight is between you and me, not the women.”
A chilling smile graced the woman’s face, unnerving as the black-as-night eyes settled on his, and his alone.
“I just wanted to remind you, my all powerful king, that you are not the only power on our planet. Instead, you have me to worry about. I will see to it that I personally take your seat on the throne, and bed your woman in the near future. Remember that when you fall asleep at night.”
A cold chill passed across the room as a black cloud emerged from Emma’s throat. Her eyes cleared, once again light brown, before they tore open, wide with pain. Her mouth opened with a silent scream as her hands flew to her throat. She grasped at the invisible hand that held her airway shut, keeping air from filling her lungs.
Lana rushed forward, pressing past him to the suffering girl. He grabbed her and held her close to him, knowing that there was nothing they could do to save Emma. It was already too late. The moment Lord Nero had entered the girl’s body; her fate was sealed.
Lana screamed as he forced her to look away, holding her head so that she was staring into his neck. Her small fists pounded on his chest as she began to cry, her tears streaking down her cheeks. Dante tore his eyes away from the dying woman, only looking back when he heard a thump on the floor.
Emma’s body lay still and unmoving on the floor, and the strange chill left the room. The black shadow was gone, but all that it left behind was sadness and emptiness. Lord Nero was gone, most likely having gained enough power from taking over Emma’s mind to escape far away, most likely all the way back to Drentine.
He held Lana close as she fought him to return to Emma’s side. He yelled out for his guards and they rushed to his door, their fists thumping over their hearts in respect. Their faces dropped when they saw the still form lying on the floor.
“Get Wes, now. See to it that he has a chance to say goodbye to her before she is buried.”
“Yes, my king.”
One of the guards hurried off, while another lifted Emma’s small body with little effort. He held her to his chest and looked up at the king, and at Lana’s tear-streaked face.
“I’m sorry for your loss. She was well liked within the castle, and I will see to it that she is treated with respect, and buried in a place full of light and wild flowers.”
“Thank you.”
Neither Dante nor Lana slept that night. She held close to him when they heard Wes’ cry of grief at the loss of his submissive human. It was a sound that he couldn’t ever mask from his mind, so heart-wrenching and sad that even a strong drink couldn’t alleviate it.
Dante woke up the entire guard, and soldiers were posted at every door of the castle. He needed to make sure his people remained safe. He never allowed Lana to leave his side. There was no way Nero was going to sink his claws into his woman tonight, or ever.
Morgana and Kade awoke when he summoned them and joined them in his sitting room. Everyone was numb from the events that had just occurred. Morgana began to cry, blaming herself for Emma’s death, and Dante did his best to assure her that she could never have known what Nero was capable of. He hadn’t even known himself. If anything, he just began to get angry.
Hours later, Wes knocked on the door, his ice blue eyes red with his loss.
“Mind if I join you for a drink?”
“Anytime, brother. Come, have a glass of whiskey with me, so that we may celebrate Emma’s life, rather than focus on her loss.”
“I don’t know if I can, my king.”
“Then, let us drink, and think of how we will find our revenge on Lord Nero and the empire of D’Lormere.”
“Now that is something I can raise a glass to,” Wes said, his face hardening with anger and purpose. “I vow that before I take my last breath, Lord Nero will be long dead for the evil he has done. I will avenge my Emma.”
Dante, Lana, Kade, and Morgana all raised their glasses with Wes. Every single face had a look of grim determination. Lord Nero wouldn’t stand a chance with all of them banded together.