Page 64 of Red Queen

“Filth,” I spit out, turning to face another pair of enemies who dare challenge me.

They circle me like vultures, sneering and snapping their jaws.

I can’t help but smile—a wicked, sharp thing. “Come on then, taste your mortality.”

They charge, weapons drawn, but they’re nothing compared to the inferno burning inside me. I block a strike, then another, my blade lethal. With a swift kick, I send one staggering back. The other lunges, but I’m ready—my sword arcs up, slicing through his throat.

He gurgles, clutching at the gaping wound, then falls. His body hits the ground with a finality that echoes in my bones.

“Is this all you have, Catarina?” I scream into the night, my voice hoarse with fury. “Your army falls like wheat before the scythe!”

A soldier charges at me, his axe raised high. I sidestep, letting the blade whistle past, then thrust my sword deep into his chest. He gurgles, red bubbles frothing from his lips, eyes wide with shock. Yanking my blade free, I don’t give him the luxury of watching his life bleed out. Another takes his place, and I meet him head-on, our swords clashing with a sound like shattering glass.

“Die, you fucking cowards!” I scream, slashing and parrying with lethal precision.

Each move is a guarantee of pain, each blow the harsh sound of battle. I am a whirlwind of fury, each strike fueled by the loss and rage coiled tight within my heart.

I focus on the enemy before me, trying to push through to where Catarina stands with that smug smile plastered across her face.

“Come on, you bastards,” I taunt, grinning wickedly as I dispatch one vampire after another. “Is that all you’ve got?”

The battle rages on, no end in sight, the air heavy with the copper tang of spilled blood. We fight as if possessed by demons, every swing, every lunge proof of our undying will.

“Queen of Sagori!” someone jeers, coming at me with a broadsword. “Your reign ends here.”

I parry his attack and kick him in the stomach, sending him reeling back. “I’ve only just begun, fucker,” I growl, lunging forward to drive my blade through his heart.

Our two armies strike with the ferocity of ancient hatred and rebellion, metal striking metal like a grim spectacle of the struggle for life. My blade sings through the air, finding its mark in the flesh of Catarina’s soldiers. Blood sprays, hot and vibrant, tarnishing the snow beneath our feet in the color of retribution.

Marianne swings her broadsword with preternatural skill, severing limbs and heads with each pass. “Die, you bastards!”

The taste of battle’s thick on my tongue, and the screams and echoes of iron is a perverse melody that spurs me on.

“Eleanna, look out!” Alexandru’s warning slices through the din just as an enemy soldier lunges at me from behind.

With supernatural speed, I spin and thrust my sword deep into his chest, feeling the life ebb from his body with a satisfying jerk.

Our swords meet in a vicious conflict, and with every life I claim, the closer I come to my vengeance. Catarina’s forces falter under our relentless assault, but The Darkened Pulse continues pulsing ominously, a reminder of the true threat that looms before us.

“Keep fighting!” Ivan roars, his loud voice echoing over the field.

I raise my blade in the air. “For the Sagori!”

Blood and fury, a cardinal flow, washes against the stones of my lost castle as I stand among the fray. Catarina’s madness-driven army collides with ours, vampire against vampire, in an unholy rivalry destined for destruction.

“Push forward!” Alexandru’s voice is a clarion call above the din.

His silver eyes are bright with battle lust, and his form is a blur as he cuts down enemy after enemy. Nicolai and Marianne flank him, their blades swift, sure, and unforgiving.

I feel the rush of air as a rogue vampiric soldier lunges at me, fangs bared, seeking my blood. With a swift parry, I drive my sword through his heart, his body dissolving to ash before it even hits the ground.

But through it all, Catarina’s talisman thrums with power and pulls at my attention like a siren’s call. There she stands, shrouded in the glow of its eldritch light, her eyes wild. She tears through our ranks with the ease of a tempest, her laughter a twisted melody amid the screams of the fallen.

Another of her minions comes at me. Our swords connect, sparks flying from the impact as we test each other’s strength. His mistake. With a vicious twist, I disarm him, then follow through, my blade slicing across his throat.

“Advance! Advance!” I shout to Alexandru’s soldiers, urging them on.

His garrison cuts a swathe toward our enemy. We move as one, a relentless surge of vampire might in this eternal night, the crunch of snow beneath our boots mingling with the wet sounds of combat.

---