New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

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Archdemon Empress Luna

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'Luna glanced up at him as skin bunched around her eyes, giving him a pained stare, "What if your mother blamed me for this again?" There was audible stress in her tone as she clutched each side of his tunic, clinging unto him with desperation. "That I was the one who made the fire explode on her engagement party?"

"No, wife." You had nothing to do with this. They would accuse me first before they would do that to you." Apollyon stared at her as he pinched his lips in a grim line. "This isn't your fault. I am her son. I will not allow her to disrespect you."

"She already hated me, Apollyon." Her fingers were getting restless as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "And the fire started where I stood. She will do everything in my power to pin me down—"

"And I will everything in my power to defend you from any allegations against you." Apollyon muttered under his breath with gritted teeth, feeling rage boiling over just from the thought of it. "The first person who opened their dumb mouth and utter your name, accusing you of the person behind this explosion, I will make sure I will squash their faces with their bare hands until their head explode."

"I don't think—"

"Wife. I was the person she had a bad blood with. Not you. Being my wife does not give Princess Ourania the right to blame you for anything just because she hated my guts. " Apollyon reasoned out. "Now, you must tell me what happened before that bastard laid his dirty hands on you and during the explosion. Do it."

Shaking her head, Luna caressed Apollyon's back repeatedly to soothe herself. "Apollyon. I'm worried about this. The fire." She raised her arm to point at it, and Apollon looked over her shoulder. "It's still there. Nobody managed to put it out yet." The Great Hall was too large, and all the stained glass from the tall arched rectangular windows and the skylights cracked and shattered into pieces from the loud blast. "The smoke is suffocating the--"

"Their wings can fly them the nearest exit, beloved." He interrupted bluntly with a frown.

"Some fairies are hurt."

The flames rose with impatience to challenge the Summer Monarchs, who helped the sentinels and the aristocrats extinguish the flames.

The sulfurous scent of burnt hair clung to her nostrils.

She almost puked with disgust when it was followed by an awful acrid odor of burnt flesh.

There was no bloody death. But the way the flames destroyed the Great Hall was crude and cruel, demanding to consume everything it pleased and turn them into ashes using the eternal fire the doppelganger brought over the engagement party.

Turning faerie sentinels into a shriveled mass of black soot must have brought this arsonist joy.

"The Summer Monarchs are already doing something about it. King Oberon and Queen Titania didn't rule the Summer Monarchs if they couldn't solve the problem without any help from outsiders." Apollyon's explanation was a slight reassurance, but she couldn't help but retort, "Summer Faeries aren't impervious to fire."

Apollyon shot back. "Out of all the Courts, they can stand scorching heat compared to the rest of the fairies."

"We must help them." Luna pleaded with her eyes and hope for the best that her husband would fall for it.

"I would rather get you out of here." Apollyon scowled at her. "We must go."

Luna's feet rose from the ground as he lifted her off to deposit her in his shoulders. But her hands were quick to shove his chest hard that it threw him off two steps backward.

"You stubborn little—" His Prussian Blue eyes glittered dangerously as he stalked towards her. He clamped his large hands around her waist. "You will not go near that eternal fire, do you understand?"

"No, Apollyon." She stood her ground and lifted her chin. "We will help them. If we escaped, they might think we are behind this."

"Luna. I can't let you go near the fire, alright? He might come back if he saw you." Apollyon growled and brought her closer. "Stay in my line of sight."

"Husband. We must--" Luna paused, and then she shook her head in frustration. She disliked that Apollyon's eyes lacked compassion for other people. "This isn't the time to talk."

Apollyon was quick to change his mind when he saw her upset. "I will agree to help them put out this fire if you just talk about what happened. I will make sure everyone will see what we have contributed to their safety. Hell, I could even hire some witnesses if they wanted."

"Alright. " Closing her eyes, Luna sighed with relief, and she began, "I was busy watching your mother and Sir Tristan but the colorful petals falling from the ceiling caught my attention. When I looked up, there are children holding their flower-filled baskets. I also saw Princess Sapphire overlooking the entire event. Until someone asked me if I loved the kids since my eyes were probably sparkling at how adorable they looked. He called me with the pet name you used —"

"The bastard must have observed us for a while to pick that up." Her husband's forehead creased with worry. "But, what was the reason?"

Luna looked him in the eye and replied, "He had the same voice as you have and I also thought he was also referring to our Leo. He looked like you, Apollyon. But now that I remember, there is something strange about him."

Apollyon's voice raised, "Did Luxen slither from the hole he lived in just to taunt us?"

"No, it wasn't him."

He pressed on, "Ravin?"

"I almost saw his face behind his glamour because I have focused all my power to see through it. But the last thing I witnessed were dark green eyes—not gold or silver."

"Not an Archdemon." Apollyon cursed quietly at the revelation. "It must be a Summer Fae playing tricks on you and using glamour."

Luna nodded in agreement. "He must be powerful if he was a Fae, husband. It's impossible for a simple aristocrat to maintain his mask for a few minutes enough to fool an Archdemon."