Chapter 72 - This is treason!

  Sir Eldridge colpsed fully now, his body numb and his mind reeling. He could only wat mute horror as Luxana leaned in close to what remained of Hades' face. Her breath ghosted over the charred ruin of his features, her words a venomous hiss.

  "IF ONLY YOU HAD TAKEN CARE OF HELIOS!" she shrieked, yanking the bde free only to plu into his abdomen. The sound of tearing flesh was like wet paper being ripped apart.

  "IF ONLY YOU NEVER DESTROYED KIOR!" Another savage thrust, another fountain of blood.

  With each accusation, Luxana's strikes became more frenzied, more brutal. The sword found Hades' colrbone, shattering it with a siing crack before plunging deeper. It pierced his shoulder , pinning him to the ground like a grotesque butterfly spe.

  Hades wheezed, barely able to form words. His body was an unreizable mass of char and gore, held together by sheer stubborn will.

  Luxana's face torted with raw fury as she leaned in close, her lips nearly brushing what remained of his ear. "If only you had a brain, Hades," she snarled, her voice dripping with pt. "Even if it were the size of a pigeon's, this kingdom might have survived."

  With a final, vicious yank, she tore the sword free. The siing squelch of steel leaving flesh was the period at the end of Hades' life. He slumped forward, the st ember of life extinguished.

  The fmes roared higher, as if eager to cim their prize. They engulfed Hades' corpse, redug the once-mighty king to nothing more than ash and memory.

  Sir Eldridge, paralyzed with fear and disbelief, could only stare as Luxana stood tall amidst the inferno. Blood-soaked and backlit by fmes, her shadow danced on the walls like a demon given form.

  In a final, surreal act, Luxana k beside the sm remains of her father. Her hands csped before her in a mockery of prayer, she spoke with a voice as gentle as a lulby. "Please die happily. May God bless your demise."

  The chamber fell silent as Luxana rose, her eyes refleg the dying embers of the inferno that had ed her father. "In your life, please attempt to bee a better human," she said, her voice a chilling blend of sweetness and malice. The twisted beion hung in the air, a final mockery of the man who had once ruled with an iron fist.

  Her gaze shifted, nding on Sir Eldridge. The man stood frozen, his back pressed against the exit as if he could meld with the wood and disappear. His breath came in ragged gasps, eahale a struggle against the terror that gripped him.

  Luxana moved towards him with an otherworldly grace, her dress stained crimson, her face spattered with blood. The sword in her hand dripped a steady rhythm of scarlet onto the floor. As she approached, the remaining fmes sputtered and died, as if even they feared her presence.

  She stopped mere timeters from Sir Eldridge, close enough that he could feel the heat radiating from her body. Her smile was a thing of nightmares - bright aiful, yet tinged with an undercurrent of pure malevolence.

  "Now, then," Luxana purred, her voice soft as silk and sharp as a bde.

  Sir Eldridge's eyes widened, his body trembling untrolbly. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound emerged.

  "Please summon all the members of the Royal Family for me," she requested, her smile never wavering. It was the grin of death itself, promising pain and suffering with every fsh of teeth.

  The man's trembling intensified, his voice caught in his throat like a trapped animal. Luxana loomed over him, her eyes wide and glinting with an unholy light. "e on now," she cooed, her tone dripping with horror. "Don't keep me waiting."

  Those words seemed to break the spell of paralysis that had gripped Sir Eldridge. With a strangled gasp, he spun around, fumbling with the lo the door. His fingers, slick with sweat, slipped owice, before finally managing to turn the key.

  As the door swung open, Sir Eldridge bolted from the room, his footsteps eg down the corridor as he rushed to plete the task given to him. Whether it was out of loyalty to his new mistress or sheer terror, he moved with a speed born of desperation.

  In the chamber, Luxana threw her head back, a sound esg her lips that art ugh, part scream, and wholly inhuman. "HAAAAAAAAH!" The cry echoed off the stone walls, a procmation of triumph and the promise of more horrors to e.

  -Midnight in Domino; Helia Pace; Entrance Hall-

  The grarance Hall of Helia Pace stood silent and imposing in the midnight hour. Moonlight filtered through the tall, arched windows, casting long shadows across the polished marble floor. The spaormally bustling with courtiers and servants during the day, now held an eerie stillness broken only by the soft whispers of the assembled royal family members.

  Lady Aeliana Emberheart stood near one of the massive firepces, her four children clustered around her. Prince Baelor, the eldest, kept a protective stance, his haing on the hilt of his sword. The three princesses - Arabel, Seraphina, and Astrid - huddled close to their mother, their eyes wide with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

  Across the hall, Princess Lilith De Lyria Von Draken Mistglen De Zorathian paced restlessly, her ornate gown rustling with each step. Her three sons - Prince Fenris, Prince Eamon, and Prince Idris - watched her with growing , exging worried gnces among themselves.

  Queen Daleyza Limonizer De a Domino sat regally on a high-backed chair, her daughter Princess Isabel standing dutifully by her side. The absence of her son, Priarian was noted by all, though none dared to mention it.

  Lady Lily Furia leaned against a pilr, her arms crossed, her sharp eyes taking in every detail of the se before her.

  The tension in the air alpable as Prince Fenris finally broke the silence, his voice eg in the cavernous space. "Why have we been summoned so te at night?"

  His question hung in the air, unanswered. The assembled royals shifted uneasily, each lost in their own thoughts and specutions. The unusual hour, the urgency of the summons, and the ret, unspokes that had rocked the kingdom to its core - all of these factors tributed to the growing sense of uhat permeated the Entrance Hall.

  As they waited, the great clo the er struck the hour, its deep, resonant chimes seeming to herald the arrival of something momentous and potentially terrible. The royal family of Domino stood on the precipice of ge, unaware of the storm that was about to break upon them all.

  "I agree," Lady Aeliana added, her voice firm but trolled. "This is most unusual. What could possibly require our prese su hour?"

  Queen Daleyza leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "Indeed, it's not often that we're called together in the dead of night. There must be something grave that requires our attention."

  Princess Lilith stopped pag and turo face the others. "I fear it may have something to do with the ret...disturbances," she said, her voice low and cautious.

  Lady Lily Furia pushed off from the pilr, her keen eyes sing the opulent room. "Disturbances?" she echoed, her voice carrying a hint of skepticism. "I believe not. Perhaps this summons s Lady Vespera Thornfield. Her arrival has been long overdue."

  "She's dead," a voice procimed from the elevated dais reserved exclusively for the monard sort.

  All eyes widened in shock as the source of the decration revealed herself. Lily's voice trembled as she excimed, "LUXANA!"

  The assembled royals stood transfixed, their faces a tableau of disbelief as they beheld Luxana's blood-stained form. With graceful nonce, she draped her arms over the gilded railing, one elbow resting upon it as she cradled her jaw in her palm. Her other arm y nguidly across the ornate balustrade.

  A smirk pyed across her lips as she gazed down upon them, her eyes glinting with an air of superiority. "Lady Vespera Thornfield has indeed perished," she announced, her voice carrying a note of cold amusement. "And her son's whereabouts remain a mystery."

  Princess Arabel's posure wavered momentarily, a bead of cold sweat f on her brow. Luxana's gaze sharpened, her eyes narrowing as she addressed the princess. "My, my, Arabel. Why such distress? Your terays you."

  The princess's sisters and mother turard her with , but Arabel's carefully structed facade remained intact. "I'm afraid I don't prehend your meaning," she replied, her tone measured and cool as she tilted her head in feigned fusion.

  Prince Fenris stepped forward, worry etched across his noble features. "What has befallen you, Luxana?" he inquired, his voice den with .

  Luxana's ughter rang out, a chilling sound that echoed through the hall. "Me? Oh, no, no, no," she said, shaking her head in mock denial. Her eyes snapped open, fixing them with a peing stare. "The more perti question is: what shall befall you?"

  Queen Daleyza's voice dripped with disdain as she demanded, "What is the meaning of this?"

  "THIS!" Luxana cried, her arm thrust skyward in a dramatic gesture.

  A deafening roar filled the air as an infered from her palm. The fgration ectabsp;of terrifyiy, a writhing mass of crimson and gold that seemed to touch the very ceiling of the grand hall. The assembled royals stood rooted in pce, their faces masks of fear and awe.

  With a graceful turn of her wrist, Luxana ied her hand. The massive fme obeyed her and, casg down like a waterfall of fire. As it struck the polished marble floor, it spread with unnatural speed and precision, encirg the royal family but oug them.

  The fire danced around them, a mesmerizing dispy of destru. The heat pressive, causing sweat to bead on their brows and their fine silks to g unfortably to their bodies. The opulent tapestries that had adorhe walls feions bed and curled, their intricate designs ed by the hungry fmes. Priceless paintings bubbled and ed, their subjects' faces twisting into grotesque expressions as if in silent screams.

  Queen Daleyza rose from her chair, her voice ringing with authority. "By what right do you threaten us, Luxana? I and you to cease this madness at once!"

  The ornate deliers, with their thousands of crystals, began to melt, raining down a shower of molten gss that hissed and steamed as it struck the marble floor. The gilded furniture, symbols of royal power and wealth, crackled and splintered as the fire devoured them, redug turies of craftsmanship to ash in mere moments.

  The fmes danced around them, growing ever closer. Lady Aeliana pulled her children close, her eyes fshing with defiance. "You'll not harm my children, witch. I'll die before I let you touch them!"

  Yet, as if guided by an unseen hand, the fmes parted to allow passage for the royal knights who ehe hall. Their armleamed in the firelight as they approached the huddled royals, produg shackles of cold iron.

  Prince Fenris stepped forward, his hand outstretched in a pg gesture. "Luxana, please, let us talk about this. Whatever grievances you have, surely we resolve them without violence!"

  "What is the meaning of this e?" Prince Baelor demanded, his voice quaverie his attempt at bravado.

  "This is treason!" Prince Idris shouted, drawing his sword. "Guards! Seize this usurper!"

  "Silence!" ahe lead knight, his voice eg within his helm. "By order of Her Majesty, you are all to be escorted to the dungeons."

  Protests and cries of indignation filled the air, but the suffog heat and the impcable advance of the armored figures soon quelled their resistance. One by ohey were led away, their wrists bound in iron, their heads bowed i.

  "Unhand me, you curs!" Princess Lilith spat as the guards approached with shackles. "Do you not know who I am? I'll have your heads for this!"

  Lady Lily Furia fought back, kig and scratg at the knights. "You dare y hands on a he king will hear of this e!"

  Prince Idris attempted to rally the others. "Stand together! We outhem. We fight our way out!"

  Even as they were being led away, their protests echoed through the burning hall.

  "This won't stand!" Queen Daleyza called out. "The other noble houses will rise up when they hear of this treachery!"

  Prince Baelor, struggling against his captors, shouted, "Mark my words, Luxana. You'll rue this day. The throne will never be yours!"

  As Arabel, the st in line, was about to be led from the hall, Luxana's voice rang out onbsp;more. "You may have sold young Rowan to secure your fn trade agreements, anticipating that upon the flourishing of your ventures, you would fabricate his discovery and elevate your standing in court. As, I must dash your aspirations. Such a sario shall not e to pass."

  Arabel froze, her face a mask of shock. "How...how did you e by this knowledge?" she stammered, her carefully cultivated poise crumbling.

  Luxana's smile was a thing of terrible beauty, her eyes closed in an expression of serene malevolence. She resumed her pose at the railing, one hand supp her as she gazed down at the shattered princess. "My dear Arabel, I am privy to all," she purred, her voice dripping with sinister satisfa.

  As the knights forcibly removed Arabel from the hall, Luxana's expression smoothed into aionless mask. With a mere thought, the raging inferno that had ed the grand hall died away, leaving behind a se of utter devastation – a fitting backdrop for the fall of a dynasty.

  -A few mier. Night; Amoria Pace, Guest Room-

  Click

  The baly door lock turhe sound impossibly loud iense silence of the room. Helios' head sowards the sound, his body tensing like a coiled spring.

  There, framed by the moonlight, stood a figure that made both men's hearts stop. Luxana, Helios' daughter, her dress a deep reddish-bck that seemed to absorb the moonlight. But it wasn't the dress that drew their attention - it was the thick, glistening coat of blood that covered her from head to toe.

  "Greetings, Father," Luxana's voice dripped with sarcasm as she bowed low, a mockery of respect.

  As she straightened, her eyes met Helios', a smug smile pying across her blood-spattered face. The sight was so ingruous, so terrifying, that for a moment, her Helios nor Kyle could process what they were seeing.

  Then, with a casual grace that belied the horror of her appearance, Luxana raised her left arm. Her index finger poi Kyle, who stood frozen at the far end of the room.

  SKEACH

  To be tinued...