Page 135 of A Rising Hope

“Well, I guess I won’t need these.” Priya dropped a ring with keys she swiped from two dead guards hidden in the shadows. The metal clunked, falling against the stone, echoing in the dreadful silence.

“It’s too quiet,” I murmured as we stepped over the melted metal into complete dark.

“Fuckers . . . ” Priya ducked, but there was no need, as I had already shielded us from the arrows that flew towards us. My eyes flickered with fire as I let a burning sphere fly over the vast chamber. The scorching flames illuminated dozens of Royal soldiers, dressed in full armor with a crown carved over theirhearts. Their spears pointed towards us; their faces drenched in fear behind their tight helms.

“No.” I blocked Priya as she took a step forward, ready to kill them all.

“I have no desire to kill you,” I proclaimed, my voice echoed in multiple waves through the vast dark chamber. “Drop your weapons, swear your allegiance to me as your Empress and you shall live.” None of them spoke. None of them dared to move. “Or”—I let the flames in my eyes spark brighter—“die in a blazing death.”

“We are wasting our time,” Priya murmured near me. But I waited, giving them a chance. Blood rushed to my ears, the muscle in my jaw locked as fire scratched the surface, itching to get out. Another second and they’d die.

“So be it,” I uttered with a heavy heart. Raising my hand as infernos swirled at my fingertips.

“Wait!” one soldier shouted, dropping his weapons. “I swear my allegiance to the Dragon Queen and the Protector of Justice. I swear my allegiance to you, Destroyer Empress.” He took off his helm, dropping to his knees as he bowed until his forehead touched the ground. One by one, each of them followed, bowing low after scattering their weapons far.

Until the very last one.

He recognized me.

“The rebel from the winter ball.” His lips frowned.

“Captain of the Royal guard,” I snarled back, ignoring a flash flood of memories from the night I worked so hard to forget. “Bow,” I commanded, my voice lacking the mercy I had offered before. He dropped to his knees, throwing his sword far from him. His despicable face lined with nothing but hatred.

I strode through the rows of the bowed men.

“If any of you so much as think about moving, you’ll be dead before you finish the thought,” Priya threatened, following meas she glared at each one of their bowed heads. Her copper eyes glittered under the flickering glow of the infernos floating above us.

I stopped right in front of royal captain, picking up his discarded sword. Though the blade was sparkling clean, it felt tainted, sticky. I extended my arm holding his sword, the tip of the weapon lifting his chin as he looked up.

My eyes met his.

“This is for Kaius.” I sliced deep into his cheek. He winced as the bright blood trickled down his face. “But this”—I raised the sword—“this is for the dog.”

“Fate will come for you too,” he spat angrily in the last seconds of his life.

“I am my own fate. And I shall be yours,” I uttered his verdict, swinging the sword. His head rolled, headless body swayed, dropping flat on the floor as blood pooled at my feet.

I shifted then, calling upon my divine powers, as I saw his book of life. Pages stained with hatred, hatred that had no root other than his selfish craving for power.

No, there was no mercy for him. Justice, as if the soaring word of truth demanded to be answered. His rotten soul forever to suffer to repay his sins.

A flicker of shadows, Death had appeared, capturing the black light of his soul, silently asking me.

Make sure he suffers, I told her. She gave me an acknowledging nod, vanishing within a blink, taking his lost soul with her to b left in the realm of screams and gnashing teeth.

Another blink and I was back in the dark chambers illuminated by my fire, standing in the pool of blood surrounded by the bowing soldiers. Their fear coated my tongue as time resumed its beat.

“That’ll be a bitch to get out of those leathers,” Priya scoffed, arms folded as she watched.

“Go to your families. Go home,” I bellowed to the frozen soldiers, my eyes glued to the dead body of the cruel captain of the guard. “Know that justice was served and mercy prevailed in your lives today.” I dropped the bloodied sword. The blade hit the ground; the splashing sound of blood echoed through the tall ceilings.

Without looking back, I marched forward. Priya’s silent steps followed.

“Well, that was dramatic,” she scoffed, as we trudged forward in the dark, but I didn’t reply. My mind was lost. Each thought was a thread in the universe, with no beginning or end. Justice and mercy, beginning and end, all intertwined into a truth, one my mortal body couldn’t comprehend.

“What now?” Priya hissed as the walls of the castle shook. The earth’s trembling pulled me out of my haze.

“They are not here,” I replied, realizing that the monsters had been freed before we arrived.

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