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Archdemon Empress Luna

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Luna screamed when she fell into the water.

Two traumatic memories flashed in her mind as she flailed her arms around in the water in a panic because she couldn't swim.

Shutting her eyes tight so that the water wouldn't burn her eyeballs like acid, she recalled the moment Jon had brought her to the underground caves for her High Priestess initiation and the first time she used Archdemon Magic on Luxen and punctured a hole in his wing.

It made her submerge into the defrosted lake as demonic sirens preyed on her.

Pain ripped her in the chest, lungs, and throat, and she felt like giving up—giving in and lose consciousness.

Luna hated drowning in bodies of water—the sensation of her lungs burning with the lack of oxygen when she held her breath, of water filling her ears, and of feeling hopelessness when she the water kept her limbs sluggish underwater.

The terror of drowning made her mind blank as if the currents had washed away all of her common sense.

Few minutes have passed by as she blindly thrashed with her arms and legs.

Luna was forced to open her mouth as she choked and inhaled the water running out of the air.

Before it could render her unconscious, she felt someone grab her wrist and quickly pulled her upward.

Luna's face hit the water surface, and she gasped while her short savior kept her afloat by holding on to her waist.

A large animal with thick and wet fur shifted underneath her and carried her weight.

When she wiped the water off her face with a palm, she opened her eyes to see Apollyon's sister dragging her to the crest of the waterfall.

She swallowed, breathing hard as she paddled her useless arms. "Where is Apollyon?"

"The Vampire King is still on the other side. I didn't call him here yet to save you first because it appeared like You're Highness didn't know how to swim." Apollyon's sister answered loudly while the wet faerie wings on each side of her head fluttered rapidly to dry herself.

You're right. I don't." Grimacing, Luna turned her head away from her, allowing the summer to continue without the droplets pattering straight into her eyes.

Her yellow and blue faerie wings stopped flitting across her face so that she could tilt her head and stared at Luna. "My brother is safeguarding the barriers in the cabin to fight off the Spring Faeries."

Luna's body felt weakened when she found out as if she was zapped out of her energy.

"I know that, but what is he doing?!" She asked impatiently as she clicked her tongue in disappointment. "He should be following us right now! It wouldn't be long for them to figure out that the ghosts weren't demons!"

"I heard you tell the Vampire King that it was your first time doing this, so I screamed at my brother to wait in the Spring Realms just in case you're unconscious." The summer faerie explained as she pointed a forefinger upwards, and Luna looked up in her direction.

Instead of seeing a wide-open sky framed by a green canopy, Luna saw the portal, which showed her the ceiling of their cabin, and her eyes widened in surprise.

Wow!

Luna couldn't believe what she saw right now.

She was successful in opening portals to different Realm!

But her happy days would be over once the Archdemons found out how to create them.

"My wings are wet now, so I will have a hard time flying above. The portal is pretty high, so I guess we are just going to shout our commands." She let out a good-natured laugh as they swam together. " It must have been a unique experience for someone like me to shout at a pure-blood Vampire King."

"I find it great that you didn't open your portal on top of the rocky outcroppings, or I will be dead the moment you dropped us here without warning. But still, your ability to open portals to different Realms is amazing." She gave Luna a slow disbelieving shake in the head. "How did you learn to do that? I didn't know that anyone could do that for real. Pureblood Vampires can materialize from one place to another, but I have never seen a creature in all of the Realms—much less a Vampire—who can open portals through different Realms from the mere access of another person's memory and summon ghosts—"

Her posture stiffened at her queries, and she contemplated on telling her the truth.

Yet, one thing Luna learned was she couldn't trust someone blindly without proving themselves worthy.

Luna would have preferred that her sister-in-law didn't figure this out.

She fixed a cold gaze at her and said in a veiled threat, "I would prefer if you don't tell anyone."

"So what happened at the Massacre of Krinoniapolis was true?" Apollyon's sister covered her mouth in shock as she asked in a high-pitched tone that pierced her ears up close. "Were the shape-shifting demons of Ostara under your control so that you could scare the Spring Monarchs and eat them afterward?"

Luna sighed—how many times did she have to address this question?

"No, the shape-shifting demons at Krinoniapolis weren't under my control." Luna pinched her lips together when her anger with the Spring Monarch's betrayal flared once again. "I ate them for their benefit of the Spring Courts so that the legion would not possess a spring faerie and kill the rest before they transfer to another vessel. It's getting out of hand, and I have no choice. It would be a repetitive cycle until all of them were dead. I need to sacrifice myself."

Her eyebrows raised at that. "All these powers I have witnessed from you in such a short time, are you sure that you are still a Vampire, sister, or where you like what the rumors said an Archdemon?"

Luna ran her fingers over her slicked hair against her scalp. "Later, young lady. I will answer your questions later."

Trees clung to the cliffs full of ledges and crevices of the waterfalls, ferns grew in the shade while lichen and moss clung to the boulders and tree trunks as a frothy cascade of water plunged through the pool.

Sunlight glittered across the water as the dragonflies fluttered about.

The summer faerie climbed out of the wet rock platforms first, and when it was Luna's turn, the girl assisted her by pulling her forearms as the large wolf pushed her upward with its head to support her weight.

The mossy boulders were a bit slippery when she climbed out of the water, but she managed.

As Luna stood up and tugged at her wet skirts to squeeze the water off the fabric.

Luna shivered when the cold water seeped into her bones.

She also plucked a few slimy algae sticking unto her clothes when she climbed from the rocks.

Her face flushed in chagrin when she realized that the wolf could swim compared to her.

This was one of those times where she wished she was a dog.

She could feel the heat of the sunbaked rocks and pebbles underneath her thin sandals as they pressed into the soles of her feet.

The air was saturated with water despite the summer heat.

Luna inhaled the scent of rich earth as flowers perfumed the air.

'Goddess!' Beads of sweat trickled from her forehead, and she wiped it with the back of her hand. ' It was hot in here compared to the cabin.'

Tall grasses slid across her calves.

The power and brilliance of the roaring waterfalls as they fell towards the pool made her desire to stay still and enjoy this beautiful dream—the fish scales flashing through the clear turquoise waters as lush grasses and wildflowers and foliage surrounding them.

Luna was in the Summer Courts, and she had successfully created a portal just like what the Archdemons had taught her so that she could free that monstrosity.

Ha!

As if she would do that!

Luna locked his fist in determination.

That wouldn't happen unless they get their hands on her.

She had to find a way to remove the other Archdemon inside her, but she still had urgent things to do.

There was another loud cry coming from above, and Luna flinched, startled. "Meowwwwwwwwwww~"

"Wife. I'm descending with the cat." Luna heard Apollyon's voice boomed in the quiet of the woods, but it was overwhelmed by the sound of the roaring waters and the birdcalls when he shouted at her from above. "The witch doctor told me that she would get the cat after three days of guarding you, but she didn't come."

It was amusing how he was close to sounding like a god.

Luna placed a hand at each corner of her mouth, and she shouted back, "Let' leave it there just in case the witch doctor returned to this cabin. I think it's good enough to hunt when it is that fat."

Water splashed and sprayed at them when the cat jumped from the portal into the water.

Luna squinted at the black cat, who dropped like a rock. "Well. I guess not."

A few seconds later, the cat didn't rose to the surface.

It didn't know how to swim, so the large wolf who was still lounging in the water found it his mission to save it.

"The aerial barriers I made will disappear once I'm not here in this Realm," Apollyon called out again. "Are you ready to close them?"

"Yes, husband. I'm prepared to close them right now." Luna replied, yelling at the portal. "Let go of the barriers and descend this instant. I don't want to leave you behind."