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CHAPTER 17 – WHEN TABLES TURN

The Glenn Woods Wolfen Territory The Realm of Xathos



Ailara jolted awake.

Immediately, her hand went under the cloak she used as a pillow. Normally, there would be a weapon there but now, there was none.

Of course, she was Dimitrios' prisoner and he wouldn't let her anywhere near a weapon.

Slowly, she sat up. The feeling that something was wrong nagged at her. And she was never wrong with these kinds of things. She looked outside the entrance of the cave and only a small amount of orange light filtered through the gaps in the rocks.

It must be close to sunset now.

Ailara wanted to go outside and inspect the perimeter but she couldn't until the sun fully set. If she did, her skin woud burn.

"Hello, darling..." whispered a familiar voice inside her head.

The shock of hearing that voice again caused her to stumble. "Heilen," she hissed. There was no other answer except Heilen's laughter which caused a shiver down her spine. Truly, there's something wrong here. It could be like that time in Dimitios' castle where the Cerran suddenly attacked.

"Dimitrios!" Ailara whispered. She moved towards him but he was deep in slumber. She used her foot and nudged his thigh.

"Wake up!"

And then Ailara felt her skin crawl.

They're here.

Her eyes landed on Dimitrios' sword which was lying beside him. She dived for it at the same time that she saw a ripple in the air. Her hand clutched the cold metal of Dimitrios' sword when he suddenly jolted awake and sat up.

The first thing he saw was her hand on his weapon and he might have thought the worse.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

He pushed her roughly and she rolled to the floor. The action pulled the sword from the sheath and when the ripple in the air took the form of a Cerran, she threw the sword and it went flying straight through the Cerran's heart.

"Move!" Ailara shouted at Dimitrios.

This jolted him out of his shock and instantly, a black mist surrounded him. When it dissipated, a large, black wolf was in his place. A single swipe of its sharp claws wounded two nearby Cerran. Yet more and more traced into the dark confines of the cave.

Ailara raised her sword and sparks flew as the metal of the sword collided with a Cerran's claws. There was only one advantage to this small space: the Cerran couldn't user the sharp tips of their wings to attack.

So Ailara switched to offensive and swung her sword with lethal grace. A Cerran's innards spilled to the ground and it howled in pain. She kicked it backwards and it collided with one more who was attacking.

Ailara took several steps back to avoid the attack and realized that she was now backed into the entrance of the cave which was filled with rocks to block the sunlight. If worse comes to worse, she could knock out these rocks and trace towards the shade of a nearby tree.

"Dimitrios! Watch out!" she shouted.

There was a Cerran who was about to shoot him in the arrow. Fast as lightning, Dimitrios jumped out of the way. He landed on top of a tall rock and then jumped again and landed on top of the Cerran. The wolf opened its jaws and clamped the head of the Cerran. With one mighty twist, Ailara heard a loud crack and then the Cerran lay unmoving.

She lost sight of her own battle for a moment and was jolted back when she felt a searing pain in her arm. She was able to twist away but the Cerran's claws still nicked her.

She hissed and transferred her sword to her left hand. "You will pay for that," she taunted. She lunged but the Cerran in front of her ducked and evaded her attack. The warrior wore a smug smirk as Ailara turned around and swung her sword once more.

Oh how she wanted to wipe the smirk off his arrogant face.

This time, it was the Cerran who lunged for her. Not with his claws but in an attempt to capture her. Ailara shook her head. Heilen would never have her again.

Never.

When the Cerran's arms wrapped around her. She brought her foot up and slammed it back down, hard, on the Cerran's foot. Then, she bent her whole frame and threw the Cerran off her. While he was down, she brought the sword in a wide arc and slit his neck.

From the corner of her eye, Ailara watched the sunlight filtering through the gaps. The orange hue was gone now and everything was darker.

"Dimitrios! We can't fight them off here!" she shouted. The big wolf turned its head and regarded her with eyes as blue as the ocean. Then, it leapt and used the momentum of the jump to push at the rocks covering the entrance.

Ailara followed him outside and her jaw dropped as she witnessed what happened to the camp. All of Dimitrios' warriors lay on the ground. Not a single one of them was fighing and they were surrounded by Cerran.

She heard the wolf beside her howl.

Upon closer look, the warriors were still alive. Their chests rose and fell with every breath. They only seemed to be in some sort of deep slumber.

Suddenly, a shadow emerged from the sleeping warriors. Upon closer look, it was Vicenzo.

"I'll get help, princess!" he shouted as ran away.

"Wait!" Ailara called out.

Then, the air rippled around him and he traced away.

Help? Where the hell would Vicenzo be able to get help in this place? Once more, Ailara looked at her surroundings. Her heart started to pound inside her chest for she recalled a similar scene long ago.

"Witches!" she whispered to Dimitrios.

If Heilen found himself more witches to do his bidding, then he could capture her easily. They could easily amplify Heilen's control over her and that would make any resistance she has harbored over time to be futile.

She was no match for their powers... but she had some tricks she learned a while ago.

"Dimitrios! Here!" she shouted. Quickly she traced away from the warriors and towards an empty space. There were several rocks surrounding it and they could use this as cover for the Cerran warriors that kept on tracing.

From the corner of her eye, Ailara saw the black wolf heading towards her. She knelt to the ground and quickly whispered the words that were taught to her by a witch she knew.

She did not know what the words meant... only that they provided some sort of shield or protection.

Ailra only hoped it would hold against the attacks of the Cerran and the magic of the witches. She lifted the sword and slashed a wide gash on the palm of her hand. Then, she placed her hand on the ground and allowed it to soak up her sacrifice.

She could feel the air hum with magic. But it was weak. She was no witch. But her blood was stronger than theirs and she hoped that would be enough.

"Dimitrios. Now!" she shouted.

She could feel the circle coming to a close and saw the air before her rippled with magic.

At the very last second, Dimitrios leapt and he landed right beside her. It was just in time for the circle closed.

Several Cerran warriors walked around the perimeter of her barrier. She saw some try to trace inside it. They disappeared for a split second and reappeared exactly where they were. Some warriors also tried to ram the barrier with their weapons but the magic held.

Ailara saw black mist and then Dimitrios was standing before her and the black wolf was gone.

"What is this?" he asked. His brows furrowed in confusion.

"A small spell for protection. Let's pray to Selene that it holds," she answered.

Ailara saw Dimitrios look around the camp and his frown deepened. "It's only a spell, Dimitrios. They could be awaken if we could find a witch to reverse the magic," she told him.

"You created this shield. You can wake them."

She shook her head. "A witch taught me a basic protection spell before. This is all I know of magic," she answered. Ailara ripped the hem of her cloak and wrapped it around her bleeding hand. She ripped another length and tied it over her arm tightly to stem the bleeding.

"You're injured!"

"I'll be fine," she answered. "We don't have long. We have to figure out a way to escape."

"Can you trace?"

"Not very far. I don't know the land and this spell weakened me. I'm also not sure if I can trace with you."

Aside from that, there was also the fact that if this circle of protection vanished, Heilen would be waiting outside for her with several witches in tow.

And then it would be guaranteed that she'd fall under his control again.

"If worse comes to worse, hold onto me and trace. Anywhere. That would give us a headstart and then we can run. I can carry you," he offered.

It was not the best plan but desperate times called for desperate measures. Ailara took the opportunity to rest. Her wounds stung and she was out of breath.

"What if it doesn't work?" she asked before she could think. The pessimist in her rose to the fore once more.

"It would."

"But what if it doesn't?"

"Then we have no choice but to fight... until our very last breath."

If worse comes to worse, and Heilen gets control of me once more... I would be fighting you until one of us dies or gets captured.

Ailara lifted her head and her sky-blue eyes clashed with ocean-blue ones. She lifted an eyebrown in inquiry but Dimitrios just kept looking at her with an intense expression. He looked at her like he couldn't quite figure her out but at the same time trying to keep his distance.

Then, she realized it might be because she still had his sword. She lifted it and inspected it. The metal looked very sturdy and the hilt had several jewels inlaid in it. There was a large emerald at the pommel and the edges were surrounded by sapphires. It was perfectly balanced as well.

Reluctantly, she handed it back to him. The king shook his head. "Use it. My claws are sharper than any metal," he told her.

"You never really did tell me how you learned to fight."

Ailara lifted her gaze again. "I needed it to survive," she answered. There was more to it than that but still, what she said was true.

More and more Cerran appeared and surrounded the circle. Once the protection broke, she would have a split second to trace with Dimitrios. She could not trace while the circle was still active.

"These creatures are persistent, huh?" Dimitrios asked. She felt that he was trying to lighten the situation.

"Yes," she answered.

He moved closer to her and bent low while still keeping an eye on the Cerran outside.

"If this was going to be a fight to the death, how would you feel?"

"I'll fight every single second. Every second that I get to live is more than I deserve," she answered.

And for a while, Dimitrios was silent.

"Ailara... If you can go back in time and change anything, what it would be?"

The question totally surprised her.

"We're asking these kind of questions now?" she asked flippantly. This time, it was her who was trying to lighten the mood.

"Humor me," he told her. He raised his arms in a carefree gesture.

"If we die today then at least I've asked what I wanted. Just answer the question, Ailara."

She sighed and stood up. She answered without looking at him. "I would have run to the elders when the blood that was sent to me made me sick. Maybe they would have figured out then that it wasn't your blood and it was switched. And all of this wouldn't have happened."

She heard Dimitrios' sharp intake of breath at her reply. She'd bet her life that he wasn't expecting that answer.

It was true, though. If she could go back in time and change an event, it would be that day. Because if she reported to her parents that she got sick over the blood, they would ask that an investigation be made. It would have been found out that Heilen switched the blood and that there was a traitor in the Wolfen. Then, she wouldn't be dependent on Heilen's blood and he wouldn't be able to control her.

If only that happened, then perhaps she and Dimitrios are reigning over the Vampyr and the Wolfen and the alliance would be stronger than ever.

"And you?" Ailara threw back the question at Dimitrios. He was silent for a long time. And for a while, Ailara thought he wouldn't answer the question.

But then he spoke.

"I would have declared that you lived at my castle under my protection after we wed as children. I would feed you directly from the vein. We could have learned how to fight together. Then there would have been no need to send you blood. My mother would still be alive, the alliance intact. And you would be my mate... in every sense of the word."

It was her turn to be stunned speechless.

She felt her heart stop at his words. It was what she wanted most. It was what she's dreamt of every night when she was imprisoned. It was the vision that kept her sane.

It was her life's biggest what if.

She chose not to reply for those are just what ifs and could have beens.

There's no use getting sentimental over things which cannot be changed.

"Would that have been so bad, Ailara? Being with me?"

Ailara sighed. She felt the magic around them getting weaker. She moved closer to Dimitrios. She didn't know what came over her—perhaps it was knowing that a few seconds later and they could already be dead—that gave her courage.

She looked directly into Dimitrios' ocean-blue eyes.

"No. That would not have been bad at all," she replied with a small smile.

And then the barrier flickered and died. Quickly, she grabbed Dimitrios hand and traced towards the opposite side of the field. Her strength was drained in the blink of an eye and her muscles felt like they were laden with lead.

She and Dimitrios reappeared just a few feet away; nowhere close to her target distance.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered as she drew the sword once more.

"Don't be sorry, li'eras. Now, we fight," Dimtrios told her. Her heart stopped as she recognized the endearment. It meant 'my beloved' in the old language of the gods. He probably did not really mean it. Maybe it was one of those spur-of-the-moment things.

But hearing him say that made her feel like one of her dreams came true.

Ailara raised the sword and Dimitrios shifted to his wolf form once more. He moved forward as though to protect her. But she did not want to be protected. She wanted to fight and fall beside him as his equal.

The Cerran traced before them and Ailara could see the triumph in their gazes.

This was it. This was the moment she's been waiting for. She's wanted death for a long time now so that she could be free.

Yet why did standing beside Dimitrios now make her want to live longer if only she could stand by his side in another time and place?

But no matter.

If she died today, she would be happy because Dimitrios was here.

Ailara raised her sword and prepared herself for battle. Dimitrios snarled and bared his teeth. Then, the Cerran attacked. Some ran while others simply traced towards them.

This was it. The end.

Or not?

Ailara heard the sound of a horn being blown in the distance. Then, the air rippled around them and what seemed to be thousands of Vampyrs appeared. Ailara's jaw dropped as she saw her people again. Her eyes also started to fill with tears.

She dodged a Cerran's attack and when she doubled back to stab him through the heart with her sword, another Vampyr already beat her to it.

"Princess! Are you alright!" Vicenzo shouted as he made his way through her. She could not find the words. She could only nod as she saw several familiar faces in the battle. "I told you I'd get help," Vicenzo added with a wink.

The battle raged on and on.

This would be a swift one though as the Vampyr severely outnumbered the Cerran.





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Chapter 21 (TEASER) - The Queen's Terms

Available on Radish!



"Dimitrios will never find his true mate if we do this," Ailara replied, her voice a mere whisper.

Helena opened her mouth to speak but Dimitrios raised his hand and stopped her.

"The heart of a king is filled with the needs of his people. It does not have room for petty emotions like love and need. The heart of a king does not beat for his mate, not even for himself. It belongs to no one else but his people."



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