"By the time Cora took over, they were already dead." He said calmly, and she looked at him with puffy red eyes.

"I could feel a haze of evilness enclosing the castle, and I was already on my way to see your mother. But by the time I arrived, they had accomplished their mission. Your mother and father bleed out in my arms." His words were laced with grief, guilt, and sorrow.

"Then what was it that I saw?" With desperate eyes, she questioned.

"I believe just a figment, created by a witch. The aura of dark magic was too great that night!" King Emmerich possessed the ability to intercept evilness, dark magic, fear, blood, and death. He was drawn to it from a young age, and the wildness within him ran by, devouring them. He is mighty, and his vision can travel any distance to identify the source of the evilness or dark motives. And, when it comes to his family and himself, he can sense when someone is plotting something evil to harm them. He can directly draw power from hell; he is said to be Lucifer's first born, and his demon is said to be Calcifer, or the fire of hell.

Seraphina was deep in thought when Emmerich put his hand on her shoulder and said,

"Believe me when I say that you are not to be blamed for their death. I'm not sure what you saw, what they told you, or why you left without even giving me a glance. But I'm not going to let you punish yourself in this way anymore." He said, and she looked at him, perplexed.

"Of course, I am aware that you left on your own. No living being is strong enough to repel the Mirties Angelas. I should have been able to find you sooner, but it appears that you learned well from the lessons I gave you." She chuckled as he said proudly with a smirk on his lips. Mirties Angelas, he had given her this nickname since she was a child.

(Angel of Death)

"I've missed you Tėtis."

"I and your Močiutė have missed you even more kruvinas mėnulis."

(Grandmother. Blood moon.)

She gave him a sad smile, and he returned it.

"Despite the fact that I adore your mother's hair and eyes on you, I prefer the look you were born with. It reminded me of your father in so many ways." With a smirk, he said.

"Didn't you say you didn't like my father?" He rolled his eyes as she raised her brow.

"Of course not, he took away my Princess, and she hardly ever paid me attention after they met." She chuckled.

"Even so, I preferred you that way." He said this, and she sighed and looked down.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to change them back."

"What do you mean?" she asked timidly.

"I changed my hair and eyes because they said it would help me disguise, but I couldn't change back after the first few times." Her smile faded, and he knew it was something that bothered her. The Throndsens are thought to be direct descendants of the Goddess. Every Throndsen heir's first child was born with distinctive platinum hair and violet eyes. It was thought to be a sign that the heir had been blessed by the Goddess. If the firstborn lacked these distinguishing characteristics, he or she was deemed unfit for the throne, and the elders pressed the Alpha couple to conceive again. If the first child is not blessed, the second child usually is. And the fact that she couldn't change back could only mean that the Goddess had revoked her blessing. It bothered and saddened her, no matter how much she despised the Goddess. She had kept the feeling buried all these years, but now that he had mentioned it, she was truly tormented. Emmerich facepalmed in his mind as he watched his granddaughter's face fall.

"But don't you think red is not really a subtle color." He chuckled as he attempted to change the subject.

"I know, but I couldn't keep black for more than two hours, so I had to settle for red. It feels kinda natural too."

"I'm sure if you hadn't been the heir of Auhesraivia, you would've been born with red hair like your mother." She smiled sadly as she was reminded of her mother once more.

"I'll leave now, and you rest."

"Are you leaving?" With urgent eyes, she inquired

"Just your chamber. I'll see you at the dinner table. And I'm going to have a word with that mate of yours." Her eyes widened slightly,

"I saw what he did even before I reached you. He's lucky to be even breathing."

She noticed his eyes darken with evilness. He kissed her temple tenderly before leaving her alone and silently closing the doors.

He stormed out of the castle and quickly made his way through the dense forest to the cellar. The armed guards bowed and opened the massive metal gates. He made his way down a long row of dimly lit stone steps to the main cellars, where the fugitives were kept. The entire stairwell was adorned with armed mighty warriors. The metal double doors at the bottom of the stairs were guarded by two sets of armed guards. They yanked open the doors, allowing the Prince to enter. The cellar's head warrior greeted him and led him to the main prison, which was guarded by thick silver walls, six armed guards, and endless enchantment. Making it nearly impossible for any of the inmates to escape. As they approached the prison's entrance, a warlock emerged from the dark corners and bowed. He quickly chanted a spell, and the metal doors cringed open with a wave of his hand. When he saw the Prince, the man inside the prison stood up from the ground. He smirked as he dipped his hands into his pockets.

"So, Your Highness, you discovered who killed your brother?"

"You bloodthirsty lice! You have the audacity to try to manipulate me!" He growled and the guards stood behind him, blocking the entrance so the inmate couldn't flee.

"What kind of King gets manipulated so easily? Oh right, you're not yet the King. Even worse, you aren't even the heir!" He burst out laughing. Aiden's eyes glowed with rage, and he was soon pinning him to the stone wall with his claws molded around the inmate's neck.

"You had your last chance served Johan! I told you I'd rip out your head the next time I came down here!" Aiden growled and he smirked

"Of course, I wasn't planning on staying here any longer either." As soon as Johan finished his sentence, a hooded female figure appeared from the shadows, and all Aiden could see were her yellow eyes before his body froze. Johan freed himself from Aiden's claws.

"Wait till the Princess finds out you had Malcolm captive here when she was searching for him desperately!" He laughed and took a step closer to the door. With a smirk, he turned around and said.

"And wait till you find out who actually killed your brother. Boy I have to say what a scene it would be! Ciao!" He fled with a wave of his hand. The spell was broken, and Aide was set free, but the guards, warriors, and warlock all fell to the floor with loud thuds, much to his surprise. Their split necks bled profusely. Aiden growled and slammed his fist against the stone wall.

As the night spread its wings and engulfed the earth, she freshened up and dressed for dinner. She put on a classy black off-the-shoulder backless dress and wore her hair in a low bun. She stood in front of the mirror, scrutinizing her appearance. A lot has happened recently, and she hasn't even had a chance to take a good look at herself. She could feel the wings poking the skin of her back. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes she mustered up all her strength to free the wings. She felt the skin tear itself, but the pain was much less intense than the previous time. The wings broke free and spread across the room. She tilted her head as the wings flapped as if they had a mind of their own.

The wings settled down on her back as if sensing her confusion, and a smile crept across her lips. If her grandfather saw the wings, he'd say they're exactly like her grandmother's. With a smile on her lips, she swirled around looking at the wings. She felt the same way she did when her father presented her with her crown. She remembered that she wore it all day and even insisted on sleeping with it on. Her father's amused and loving eyes made her bleed on the inside. A knock on the door startled her, and her wings shrank back into their place as if scared. She composed herself and said

"Come in!"

The doors creaked open, and a timid female walked in, whom she instantly recognized.

"The dinner is ready to be served, My Lady," the female said as she bowed.

"Forgive me, I can't recall your name," Seraphina said with a kind smile, and the young lady raised her eyes.

"Freya, Your Highness." She said it with a lot more confidence than she did the last time she was here.

"Freya, it's good to see you again. But where is Megan?"

"She went on leave for a few days, My Lady," Freya replied and Seraphina frowned.

"All right, I'll be down there shortly." She said, and Freya walked away with a deep bow.

Seraphina was finding her way through the castle's various halls on her way to the dining hall. She heard low growls and a female voice as she passed by a dark, narrow hall. She strode into the hallway, like the inquisitive creature she was, looking for the voice.

"You should have known you were playing in dangerous waters before you decided to provoke me, my Angel." She came to a halt when she heard the voice.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Let me go." The female squirmed

"I believe I've already been starved enough. Don't you think I should at least take a taste?" The male growled in husky tones, and the female squealed. Seraphina rushed to find the switches and turned them on, instantly lighting up the entire hall. With wide eyes, the male and female turned their heads to where she was standing.

"Nick!" Seraphina exclaimed when she noticed a female caged against the wall by the Beta. They were flushed, with strong pheromones all around them. The female flushed red and delved into Nicholas's chest.

"I assumed someone was being hunted and about to be eaten alive." Seraphina sighed and rolled her eyes.

"In that regard, Your Highness, you are correct. Someone was about to be devoured." Nicholas finished the sentence silently, staring at the female in his arms with hungry eyes. Seraphina rolled her eyes once more.

"You should have got a room before this hallway."

"Will do next time!" Hilda slapped Nick's chest playfully after he fake saluted. Seraphina chuckled as the Beta couple approached her.

"You didn't mention you found your mate or that she's this lovely!" Hilda blushed slightly as she exclaimed.

"I was planning on introducing her to you at dinner."

"Well, then, why don't you introduce her right now?"

"Of course!" says one. Nicholas cleared his throat and straightened up. With a bow of his head, he introduced them in a formal manner.

"Your Royal Highness, this is my mate Hilda Alvarado."

"Alvarado?" Seraphina's eyes widened as she shifted her glanced at Hilda.

"I never expected we'd meet again," Hilda said gingerly.

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I'm equally excited and saddened. We are so close to finishing this journey. More frequent updates♡

Not gonna say much, just I'm feeling very very emotional and we are not even at the end yet 😭

Love you guys♡♡♡♡