Aannnnddddd we're BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3



Hi everyone!!!!

Thank you so much for the patience with this story! You guys are absolutely phenomenal! I was so wrapped up in the publishing of Beauty and the Pharaoh, and then once that was done, I had a bit of burnout, hahahaha! I'm so sorry for having to make you all wait!

BUT I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This story will definitely continue and there will be uploads on Fridays!!! Hope you all are excited!!

I know it's been a while, so I hope you guys haven't forgotten what's happened so far, haha! I'll probably do a bit of a summary for next week!

ALSO! While I was going through the story again, I've decided that I did want to rewrite it to clean it up a little! So I will be doing that and posting it on the side as a side project! Don't worry, this won't hinder the uploads here! Hopefully it'll give you a chance to reread a more cleaned up version of the story and refresh your memory!

Anyways, I REALLY REALLY hope you enjoy this upload and it gets you right back into the story!

Please be sure to vote and comment!! Reading your thoughts really motivates me and makes me so happy!

Thank you!!!!!

Love,

Luckycharms!



P.S. If you're looking for something to read while you're waiting for the Little Crow uploads throughout the week, be sure to check out the new version of Beauty and the Pharaoh!! The book is available as an ebook, paperback and hardcover on Amazon (will like in the comment here)

You can also get a bunch of deluxe content with the book from my website! <3

Enjoy!!



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Rivier's family residence was situated at the southernmost point of Acteon, far enough away from the Capital to necessitate a journey by train to reach it. The closer they got, however, Niall could easily begin to see that estate was so expansive that he could catch glimpses of the mansion in the distance as the train sped through the rolling hills.

Niall never understood why these wealthy politicians were so keen on having these vast estates that spanned acres. It especially made less sense to him when he considered that these men were never home. They spent most of the year at their smaller, though luxurious, residences in the Capital, after all, only ever leaving here and there–probably only to remind the servants and housekeepers that they were still alive.

And Rivier's estate... well, it was one of the largest Niall had ever seen. It could house hundreds of people, and that was not including all the servants, yet its only resident was Rivier.

He had no parents. No siblings. No wife. And of course, no daughter.

What did men like that do with all that space?

Niall could only ever imagine it being lonely and quiet... especially when the weather was as bad as it was that day.

It was pouring rain, the sound of it so loud against the already loud train that any thunder was muffled out, and Niall knew that though it was inconvenient and unpleasant, it would prove helpful today.

As he leaned back in the seat of his private cabin, not noticing the concerned gaze from Julian, who was sitting across from him, he fell deep into thought.

There was a lot to do in such a small amount of time... and one wrong move could prove to be more detrimental than anyone could ever imagine.

Niall knew there could be no mistakes.

Not a single one.

"We'll get him, Niall," Julian suddenly said, not taking his eyes off of Niall. "And even if he did try to flee, he wouldn't get far in this weather."

When Niall looked up at his friend, he let out a breath. Julian was right, of course, but that wasn't really what was bothering him.

Yes, the weather was perfect. The heavy rain would provide the small force that was tasked to handle the arrest some cover as they approached Rivier's estate... and like Julian said, if the man tried to flee–let it be by foot or by vehicle–he would not get very far at all.

What Niall was mostly concerned about was the fact that they needed him alive.

Rivier was a loose cannon... a ticking time bomb.

His reputation, generations in the making, had been entirely ruined and his life and livelihood were destroyed. He was an alcoholic with a history of immense violence and Niall worried more than anything that they were moments away from having to take him by deadly force.

Or worse...

He would kill himself.

If he killed himself, all of their plans would be derailed as there would no longer be a need for a trial. They needed Rivier alive. They needed him to stand trial in order to get sympathy for Rue from the public. If he died, all of this work... all of his crimes... all of it would soon be forgotten by easily distractible citizens who would move onto whatever newer drama that was surely to unfold at the State soon enough.

They could not risk letting him kill himself.

Did he have the capacity to do such a thing? Even Niall didn't know the answer to that.

Nevertheless, not wanting to worry Julian too much, he sighed before smiling. "Yes, you're right," he said. "We'll get him."







When the train pulled into the station, Niall's small group of soldiers–as well as the search team assigned with finding Miriella's body–was met by the local police.

Then, once everyone was briefed on the expectations as well as the significance of bringing Rivier in alive, they were off.

In all honesty, Niall expected a spectacle. He expected Rivier to barricade himself within his estate and cause a scene.

However, when the military trucks drove towards the estate, they were met with open gates and nothing more than the sound of the continuous downpour of rain.

The vehicles rolled to a stop in front of the main entrance, and Niall was first to exit, soaked by the rain well before Julian was able to get out the umbrella. When they made it up the stairs and towards the door, they were greeted by a lineup and servants. They bowed at the sight of him, before an older woman straightened up and spoke. "We presume you are here to arrest the Lord?"

The Lord? Niall held back a smirk. Only a man like Rivier would want to be referred to as a Lord. "Yes, we are," Niall responded. "Is he here?"

"He has been anticipating your arrival for a few days now," the woman said. "He's been locked in his study since he realized he was probably going to be arrested."

"You will take me to him," Niall ordered, before turning to the men. "The search team will stay behind until Rivier is apprehended. The soldiers who arrived with me and the police force who joined this effort, spread out around the estate and ensure that there are no means for him to escape."

"And arresting Rivier, Sir? Seeing as things are quieter than we expected, how will that occur" One of the soldiers asked.

"I will handle it," Niall responded, unholstering his gun. When he was ready, he turned to Julian. "You know what to do."

"Yes Sir," Julian said before turning to the servants. "take me to a high point on the estate. Somewhere I can monitor what's going on in Rivier's study," he ordered before vanishing with one of them.

"Now go," Niall said to the others. "The mission starts now." Once the soldiers and officers saluted him, the rushed off, spreading around the grounds of the estate as planned. Satisfied, Niall turned to the older woman. "Take me to the study."

The woman bowed before leading the way.

Niall walked behind her, his long coat feeling heavy from the rain that drenched it. Of course, he had no intention of taking it off. Frankly, he hoped this would be done quickly so they could move on with their tasks... he hoped he wouldn't need to make himself comfortable.

When they arrived at the massive double doors of Rivier's study, the woman tried her hand at opening it, but they remained locked. "Leave it," Niall said. "And get as far away from here as possible. Get to somewhere safe."

The woman nodded before turning and rushing off.

Once she was out of sight, Niall took a deep breath and tried to open the door once more. When he confirmed that the woman was right and that it was locked, he took a few steps back and pointed his gun at it.

The shot that came out of it was loud and hit the lock with a sharp pang.

If Rivier hadn't already noticed that they were here, he would certainly know now.

Without wasting another moment, Niall pushed the doors open and walked into a horribly messy room riddled with empty bottles of alcohol, shattered glass, torn papers, and God knows what else.

Rivier was standing at the window, eyeing what was happening with an amused expression before turning to face Niall. After watching him for a brief moment, the obviously drunk man staggered over to a chair in the middle of the room, spun it around to face Niall before taking a seat. "I knew they'd send you," he snapped before spitting in Niall's direction. "The half-breed bastard who orchestrated all of this! This is your fault!"

Niall took note of the fact that he was armed, his gun tucked haphazardly into the belt of his trousers. "That's where you're wrong, Rivier. I had nothing to do with you murdering your daughter."

"You know nothing!"

"You did the unthinkable. You killed your own child. Your blood–"

"I killed her because she was tainted!" he spat. "She was tainted with him. With that disgusting Crow–"

"She was in love," Niall responded, trying to hold back an eyeroll. "You killed your child because she found love–"

"With a Crow! The enemy of our State! The enemy of our people!"

Niall scoffed. "Are you hearing yourself, Rivier?" he asked. "Does that foolish State propaganda mean so much to you that you would kill your only child over it? Your beautiful daughter? A girl with so much hope and life and love in her despite being the offspring of someone so... evil?"

"Of course a pathetic half breed like yourself would never understand the significance of the purity of blood... of upholding the name that my father, and his father, and even his father before him worked so hard to protect–"

"Yet look at you now," Niall countered. "After all these attempts at... protecting this name of yours... look at you now. A disgusting, drunk, pathetic excuse of a man who is now a wanted criminal for killing his own daughter. What becomes of your name now?"

Rivier scowled.

"We are going to find her body... and once we do, you will spend the rest of your life in prison now. You will be locked away knowing simply that the name you worked so hard to protect means nothing," Niall frowned deeply. "Any respect held by that name of yours died with your daughter."

"I am not going to prison," Rivier snarled. "You cannot do this to me."

Niall lifted his gun, holding it in both his hands and before pointing it at him. "Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be, Rivier," he said. "I have my orders to bring you in and I have no intention of not following them."

Rivier hesitated for a moment. "You fool," he hissed. "You have no idea do you? You think they care for you? You think following their orders will win you any favors? They will chew you up and spit you out before you even know it–"

"Well I'm lucky that I care nothing for their favor."

"Then why are you doing this?" Rivier asked. "Achlis is cold and ruthless. I know you, Killian. I know you do not have it in you to take on my role. You will not survive this... especially when you've got the blood of the filthy Elorians coursing through your veins. You will get no honor or glory from this... once you ruin me, your ruin will come shortly after."

"I'm not doing this for honor or glory. I'm not even planning on surviving it all," Niall responded, lowering his weapon and looking directly into the green eyes of the man who Niall now knew was so hopelessly brainwashed that there was no turning back. There was no redemption for this man. Not ever. "That's the difference between you and I, Rivier. Everything you have ever done in your pitiful life has selfishly been for yourself. Me, on the other hand? I am simply playing my part for all the innocent people in these lands who deserve happiness. For people like your daughter. Whether I come out of the other end successful... or alive, for that matter... well, we'll just have to wait and see."

"You naive fool," he was grinning now. "You will never succeed."

"I suppose you will see soon enough from your prison cell," Niall lifted his weapon again. "Now raise your hands where I can see them."

"I'm not going to prison, you son of a bitch," Rivier snarled before, in one swift move, he grabbed his gun and pressed the barrel to his temple. "But be sure that I'll be watching you as you fail from hell."

Niall felt the blood drain from his face as the loud sound of the gunshot exploded into the room. Glass shattered, blood splattered, and he cursed, sprinting toward Rivier. But he skidded to a stop when Rivier screamed curses and collapsed to the floor, the gun flying away from his hand.

Niall hesitated, his racing heart slowing ever so slightly as he saw that Rivier was very much alive. When he turned his head towards one of the windows in the room, he quickly spotted the bullet hole. Stepping forward and looking out, he saw Julian standing at the window in the opposite wing of Rivier's mansion, a sniper rifle in his arms.

Julian saluted, to which Niall nodded his head in return.

Of course it was Julian.

Niall was suddenly reminded of their time in the civil war together...of how Julian, a sniper, had saved him countless times from a distance—a guardian angel of sorts.

Taking a deep breath, Niall turned back to Rivier, watching as he clutched his bloodied hand and screamed in pain, Julian's shot having gone right through it. Adrenaline still coursed through Niall as he kicked Rivier's gun away and pointed his own at him.

Without a second thought, he shot Rivier in the left calf. "That's for attacking Theavi," Niall said over Rivier's cries. Then he shot him in the right thigh. "That's for blinding Rue."

Rivier screamed some more before clenching his teeth and hissing through them, glaring at Niall with a ferocity so carnal that it might have frightened just about anyone else.

But Niall remained unmoved.

In the life that he had lived, he'd seen worse.

So, he knelt down in front of Rivier, grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forward, caring very little about the pain the man was surely in. "I'd shoot you again for killing your daughter, but you have much worse coming for you anyways," Niall growled, "because yes, you will be watching me from hell... just not the hell you were expecting. A hell worse than anything some demons and devils can conjure up."