Page 63 of Red Queen

Chapter

Twelve

Eleanna

The frostbitten wind howls like a banshee as we approach the dark silhouette of my stolen home. I can barely distinguish its ancient spires through the thickening fog, but the sight of that loathsome banner—Catarina’s mark—sends a venomous chill through my blood.

“Bitch,” I hiss under my breath, the familiar burn of hatred igniting in my gut.

Beside me, Alexandru stands as an unyielding pillar of strength, his silver eyes reflecting the pale winter landscape like twin moons. Nicolai and Marianne flank him, resolute and grim, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords. The rest of Alexandru’s garrison, a legion of nightmares made flesh, stand ready behind us, their anticipation for the coming battle almost palpable in the frigid air.

“Today, we reclaim what was usurped,” Alexandru says.

His jet-black hair moves slightly with the wind, framing his face in a savage portrait of our purpose here. A surge of ruthless determination courses through me at his words.

As soon as the gates of the castle groan open, Catarina’s army spills forth like vermin from a sewer. They march with weapons gleaming, their clanking armor a clamor of impending doom. And for a fleeting moment, the world holds its breath.

“Fuck them all,” I spit out, gripping the hilt of my sword until my knuckles turn white. “They’ll drown in their own blood before they take another day from us.”

“Let’s tear them apart!” Marianne roars, her blonde hair a wild mane around her warrior’s face.

Nicolai nods once, his dark eyes burning with a fire that could rival the sun itself.

Our garrison steps from the twilight, ferocity within their glowing eyes.

“Queen Eleanna,” Ivan says, his figure a steadfast presence beside me. His dark eyes meet mine. “We’ll take back what’s rightfully yours.”

My throat constricts with the weight of my vengeance as I nod, my hand still tight on the sword that thirsts for Catarina’s blood.

Marianne strides forward, her stance unwavering despite the biting wind that lashes at us like an enemy’s whip. “We won’t fail you, General,” she says to Alexandru.

From the thickening fog, a figure emerges, commanding the space before her army like a dark queen. Catarina, with her smile a slash across her face, cruel and confident. She raises her hand, revealing The Darkened Pulse, a talisman pulsating with the wretched magic.

“Your little rebellion ends today, you foolish vampires!” Catarina’s voice carries over the battlefield, dripping with malice. “I am almighty and immortal.”

“Immortal, my ass,” I snarl under my breath.

The heart-shaped talisman throbs with a sinister energy, and I know it’s the twisted source of her power. My own heart beatsa furious rhythm, aching to shatter that cursed stone and watch her invulnerability crumble.

Alexandru narrows his eyes as he takes in Catarina’s display of power. “We will end this today,” he says, low and menacing. He turns to me, his silver eyes filled with determination. “Prepare yourself, my beloved.”

My pulse races as I nod, my fingers clenching into fists at my sides. “I’m ready.”

“Charge!” Ivan’s command erupts from him like a war cry from the old gods, and the vampire legion unleashes.

Steel screams against steel as I lunge into the fray, my blade cutting through the icy air. The two armies strike with the force of colliding tornadoes, and the world narrows to the pulse of battle, to blood and vengeance.

“Die, usurpers!” A vampire from Catarina’s ranks leaps at me, fangs bared, sword aiming for my heart.

But I’m faster, crueler—I’ve been honed by betrayal and loss. I sidestep, and with a vicious twist, I drive my sword through his chest. His eyes dim as he crumples, his lifeblood staining the snow beneath us in a river of red.

I turn just in time to see Alexandru engage two vampires at once, his movements an untamed supernatural force of accuracy and power. His silver gaze is like ice, his black hair a shadowy mane framing his warrior’s face.

“Fall to darkness,” one of his opponents snarls, swinging a mace with brutal force.

“Never!” Alexandru parries and thrusts, silver flashing.

The clatter of metal echoes as his foe stumbles back, only to be swiftly decapitated by a single, fluid motion. The severed head hits the ground with a thud, rolling away as its body collapses.

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