“You won, again” Dracian said annoyed now, he had been sitting in this chair for hours and

losing every time now his back was starting to ache but it looked like Serena wasn’t even
considering about letting him go. She looked down at the pieces again and played the whole
game in her mind , she so liked making her opponent think that they were winning at first make
them feel powerful but nothing satisfied her more than watching the light die from their eyes
or hear the little shivers that went through their spine when they realized they were losing to
her it was always the same satisfaction no matter how many games she played. Serena looked
at Dracian now with a faint smile on her face as she kicked his leg from under the table and he
winced but she contained her laugh “I see that you got tired of getting your ads beaten so
you’re free to go.” As soon as she said those words he looked like she had told him that his life
had been pardoned and he was free again which was not so different from the situation but she
rolled her eyes again. Dracian got up from the table and stretched his arms than took the glass
of wine in his hand and started making his way out “The sun will be rising soon you should
come and celebrate Arbain with us and not stay locked inside this house playing boring games
with cards by yourself" he called from the hallway. “You still here boy- if you don’t want to go
I'm up for another game"
“No thanks I was just making my way out, Happy Arbain “ he said a little to quickly eager to go
out and celebrate not stay here and play cards and she heard the soft click of the gate closing .
But what Dracian didn’t know was that Serena didn’t plan to play cards today oh not at all, she
had to get ready so she got up from the table and went quickly upstairs to her room , the room
was big enough and it’s walls were painted black and with silver decoration her bed was made
up as always because she didn’t sleep here much but she went towards her wardrobe. She
opened the doors of the wardrobe and went inside another room this one big as well with any
type of clothes from armour to silk nightclothes she searched with her eyes for a little until she
found what she was searching for : a long red dress with two splits on both sides of her legs and
with a bare back. She let her pants and sweater slid off into the ground and changed into the
dress than quickly put on a long black fury mantel , the house was warm enough but she
wanted to be prepared anyway than she took a sharp gold hairpin and put her hair into an
elegant bun and went downstairs again poured herself one more glass of wine and sat on the
couch waiting. Outside the wind was howling and it was snowing heavily typical for the month
of Arbain the coldest one from all the other months, it was said that this month was so cold
that the gods gave permission to wolves to eat anything they found even humans but luckily
the wolves in the kingdom of Dasaretia never ate their own people even if they were starving
but that didn’t apply to the people from other kingdoms. And that was why the first day of
Arbain was always celebrated to remind people of loyalty to enjoy life and because during this
month even humans or the other creatures could kill anyone trespassing into the territory and
there would be no war, which was perfect for Serena after what she did on this day for over 30
years now. She had a book in her hands and took a sip of wine but she wasn’t focusing in that at
all , the alcohol burned her throat but than came the pleasant sensation of the earth spreading
inside her now she only had to wait for the assassin to come. It was more like a tradition now
every year on the first day of Arbain the prince of Molosia would sent someone to try and kill
her the assassin always failed and she would sent his head back to prince to let him know he
failed once more and that he was a coward for not trying himself. Serena was almost convinced
he would never try himself because his mother the Queen had already lost her daughter to
Serena's father she wouldn’t let her son fall in the hands of the enemy as well but it seemed
like Aiden didn’t share the same opinion as her, maybe he thought that if he kidnapped Serena
than Emir would trade his sister for her but she knew that would never happen first because
her father hated her second because Aiden's sister was already brainwashed for years by her
father and he even cared enough for the enemy's daughter that he had made her his own and
declared her a princess letting her stay in the palace get all the riches and become a spoiled
brat while Serena was dumped at the army since the age of seven and thirdly ne sure it was of
the old laws as old as the humans itself , Queen Katrina had made a fatal mistake by attacking
Dasaretia thinking she could win and for that failure as the old law proclaimed she would have
to give up her heir to the other part and pay a large sum for the damage so even if Aiden
managed to kidnap Serena , Amirah would always belong to Emir and there was no place in the
world where she could hide from that magic would always tie her and Emir. But may be she
was right maybe it was more of a symbolical thing now between them her lips formed a smirk
as she was thinking about who the assassin would be this time she didn’t feel bad about killing
them after all it was him or getting herself killed. She heard the noise of light steps on the
balcony and her eyes sparked as adrenaline started flowing into her veins her mind was filled
with so many different ways to kill this one But she reminded herself to be patient her fingers
curled around the familiar hilt of her dagger and she crossed her legs letting her long powerful
thighs on display oh she was so ready to play but only that she was the huntress and she was
waiting for the prey to come to her feet having a little fun before killing him never bored her
because she knew that losing was not an option.

Calandra checked for her weapons again before approaching the house, it was still dark some
hours before the sunrise but she couldn’t take any chances. The house which was more like a
palace compared to the small building where she spent her nights looked very beautiful to be
true which was definitely a trap. She looked around once more checking for guards or anything
that could be protecting her target but nothing was visible so the general trusted herself too
much or she knew that Calandra was coming. First she hadn’t wanted to accept this offer but if
she managed to capture the general than she wouldn’t have to work for the rest of her life and
she could get married to Istra and together they would live in peace. She took a deep breath
and closed her eyes to feel any potential sorce of power or magic but the only thing that
radiated was inside the house, luckily for her the sooner she got out of here the better she
wasn’t a fool if she would be captured here during Arbain than certain death awaited her. The
new bronze sword was strapped on her back a short sword on her waist and two daggers on
her boots, it was so damned cold out here so she cluched her jacket tighter around her, as she
approached the house she saw that it had only one visible entrance but plenty of glass windows
so her best chance was climbing up to the balcony and getting in from the half open window on
the second floor. Calandra put her hands on the wall and balanced her weight than started
climbing the wall good thing that her equipments were all new and the best according to the
prince , her gloves were really helping as they were enchanted and made for climbing she
wrapped her hands around the metal bars of the balcony and than lifted herself up. She let out
a sigh and quickly started working on the window it didn’t even took her more than two
minutes to open it fully and get inside what seemed like the general’s bedroom . Calendar
didn’t risk to turn on the lights but she didn’t need them anyway as she could see perfectly well
even in the darkness she approached the desk to see if there were any important documents
after all she could sell them and gain some extra money but what she saw surprised her it was a
note written elegantly in a blank page that said “I’ll be waiting downstairs". Well there was no
doubt now that Kaya knew she was here , Calandra cursed under her breath but she couldn’t
retreat now not after all this so she would do what she did better turn off the fear and go after
her target only when this was all over and she would be relaxing in the warm weather and go
for a walk by the beach she would let herself lower her guard down but now she needed all her
senses to be in a high alert. The element of surprise was gone so she'd have to get more
creative at her plan. Calandra started climbing down the stairs and that’s when she saw her,
Kaya. She was sitting in a velvet couch a book on her hand a glass of wine on the other her
posture itself radiated power and she looked truly royal not all like the stories she heard about
the foolish arrogant girl. Her dress was in the shade of dark red just like dried blood with two
splits on both sides showing the long powerful muscles of her legs there were plenty of thin
white scars which were probably from training and her silver hair were up in a bun she lifted
her head to look at Calandra and that’s when she registered a flash of surprise show in her icy
blue eyes quickly gone after a second as if it wasn’t even there. She tilted her head at Calandra
and looked her up and down before bringing her attantion to her eyes again which caused
Calandra to straighten up and her hand went at the short sword on her waist now she was
beginning to understand why she shouldn’t have come here at all, Kaya looked at her as if she
was staring deep inside her soul and the hair on her neck rose up it was like every brain cell of
her was screaming to get away from here but she was stuck she could not move at all like she
was frozen in place by some kind of a nasty spell she tried moving her hand but she couldn’t
and that’s when she started to panic. Kaya let the book and the glass of wine on the table
beside the couch and as soon as her heavily gaze was lifted from calandra’s eyes she didn’t
waste a second to draw her short sword and throw it at Kaya, just a little blood that was all she
needed and than she could turn her whole blood into poison and kill her but of course it
wouldn’t be so easy, Kaya moved so quickly that now the short sword was caught by the blade
between her pointing and middle finger she shook her head once “It’s such a pity that I have to
kill such a venemous little creature like you I wasn’t planning on killing anyone today” such
sweet lies coming from her mouth but Calandra knew better than to fall for them , she drew
her sword “Yes and that’s why you left a note for me upstairs right" she said as she took a step
back the sword ready holding it with both hands now.
“oh I don't know, was it for You? Usually people come in from the front door but please make
yourself at home" and she threw the short sword back so quickly that Calandra could move out
of the way before it plunged into her shoulder, she gritted her death very hard not to let a
scream come out “You bitch!” it had taken Calandra by surprise but she would kill her now,
Kaya had no other weapon so Calandra quickly charged down the stairs the goal was to trap her
in a corner before she would bleed out here , she made a step forwards and tried to slash down
at Kaya's arm but she just teared through an illusion “DAMMIT!” she thought to herself she had
been so rushed to trap kaya and kill her quickly that she had forgotten about her powers as a
hije. The hije of this kingdom were blessed by the god of war and darkness by the great
Armatos itself giving them the power of illusions and control over all metal weapons that’s why
she had chosen non metal weapons so she wouldn’t give Kaya the advantage but she heard the
breathing behind her ear and smiled as Kaya grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back
locking her into place but that was all she needed because Kaya wasn’t the only one with
powers here, her arms started glowing a faint colour of green making her skin poisonous and
lethal to touch Kaya should have gotten her hands off by now but she tightened her grip on
Calandra as if that was possible and turned her around so that now she was facing Kaya, the
hard gaze was fixed on her again and she noticed how Kaya’s eyes slowly started turning red,
Calandra’s breathing got harsher but she refused to look away her own eyes focused even more
in the young girl’s face probably the last face she would ever see before dying, she noticed a
scar on her left eyebrow but she still hadn’t stopped fighting if only she would look away just
for a second than Calandra could win the advantage again but than she felt the quick slash on
her chest and a moment after the pain hit her, she was trying to move but she couldn’t as blood
started soaking her clothes and her feet gave up from under her making her slid on to the
ground with a heavy thud, the pain was unbearable she couldn’t think of anything else except
that, soon her warm blood would turn cold she couldn’t even scream but even if she could
speak what would she say? This was the end. Everything was starting to feel numb she had no
energy left nothing to turn into a little bit of power to feel it in her veins again, no flashes of her
life in front of her eyes nothing. She felt no pain but she was still cold and she saw Kaya
kneeling in the floor beside her, she brushed a strand of hair from Calandra’s face but there was
no remorse in her eyes which were blue again, her dress- her dress was red just like Istra’s hair,
she wondered if she still had the ring inside her pocket, she was supposed to live and propose
to her and have a family far away from here , a single tear flowed down her cheeks which Kaya
quickly brushed away than she felt a hand close her eyes and a soft voice saying “Sleep” before
she drifted away.
Aiden was still waiting for Calandra impatiently, it was so cold out here and the sun was raising
so he would have to leave soon but he didn’t want to leave without her. It had been the last
option, he had been training her himself for years now only for this day to come when she
would bring to him Serena and than he could finally get his sister back but now he was getting
worried about Calandra, what if something had gone wrong , what would he do than. He
decided to get closer and see if she was still inside and if he would feel in danger than he would
go away but even he knew that lying to himself wouldn’t do any difference, he had been trying
to capture or kill Serena for twenty years so maybe it was time he got the matter into his own
hands, many times had he stared at this house from far away but never had he tried to get in.
The window of her bedroom in the second floor was open, probably from where Calandra had
gotten in, he sarted climbing the stone house and now he was standing before the glass
window he looked around the room once before getting in and than he saw her laying on the
bed unmotionlesly. “is she dead?” he questioned himself but she couldn’t be, not so easily. He
searched her body for any visible wounds but he found none her dress was stained with blood
though and so were her hands, her hair were spread on the bed and she looked so peaceful he
hadn’t realized he had been staring at her so he started searching for Calandra when he heard a
light chuckle, it was like two crystals hitting each other which made him take a step back as he
saw Serena leaning against the wall with an amused smile on her face, so she had been only
playing she wasn’t really dead. “I didn’t knew you were coming and I neither knew that you
worry about me, honestly the look on your face will be hard to forget for a long time now, tell
me did you think I was dead?” she tilted her head to look at him but Aidan refused to delight
her more he knew that she would only mock him. “Stop playing games Serena, where is she?”
he just hoped Calandra wasn’t dead because of him but the look on Serena’s face already told
him what had happened. “ Don’t call me that my name is Kaya and Oh where do you think the
little snake is, dead of course and out in the forest you know that Arbain is here and the poor
animals need to be feed we can’t waste our kills” his anger started rising at each one of her
words, Calandra had been so young of course she would not be ready to face a monster like
her, monsters like them they had stolen his sister from him and he reminded himself why he
hated them once again. “I will stop at nothing before I kill you she had done nothing to you!!”
his breathing was harsh and fast and his mind told him to kill her there and them rip her to
shreds until nothing could put her together again not even the gods themselves. Before he
could launch himself at her she closed the distance between them the amusement had faded
from her face as if she was thinking just the same as him. “Except for being sent to kill me,
would you like to try and fail like she did I promise I’ll make your death as long as possible and
nothing will stop me before I take your life with my own bare hands” there was so much hatred
in her words and he knew she meant each one of them but he would not back away so he took
a step forwards , he knew he was putting himself in danger by standing so close to her but he
did not fear her. “We’ll never know unless we try right?” Her eyes sparked at his words and she
pushed him against the wall, one hand gripping tight at his throat and the other at his sword
she was on the same eyelevel as him because she always wore those damned heels, he could
easily get out of her grip but he was curious to see what she would do next just as he heard the
knock at the door and she smiled at him as she released his neck and than ran a finger at his
collarbone and he registered something warm against his skin which was his own blood she had
cut him with her damned fingernail more like claws but he didn’t say that of course. “I’ll take
that as a promise, for another day though” she leaned at his ear and he didn’t dare move an
inch as she said “now get the fuck out of my kingdom before your head ends up as an ornament
on my wall” he used the approximity to his advantage as he punched her hard in the stomach
“Of course you would, I have a very handsome head” he moved out of the way before she could
make her threats true and leaped out of the balcony than ran into the woods with a smile on
his face he had finally gotten what he wanted she had come close enough for him to get a
strand of her hair without noticing, now that he had her essence he could create a poison just
for her and the next time he would see Serena he would make sure it would be unforgettable
for both. Now he needed to find Calandra’s body and bring it home, it was the least he could do
for her to not let her in these woods alone and to be eaten by the wild animals. Aiden was
running as fast as he could trying to catch a trail of magic or smell her blood but he couldn’t find
anything. He had been watching the house and yet he hadn’t seen Kaya- he would call her by
the name she had given herelf now, get out it was foolish but maybe there was still hope for
calandra, maybe she was still alive and Kaya had just hidden her somewhere. After circling the
woods for fifteen minutes he caught the trail of some new magic not so far away from where
he was so he decided to follow it. He hid behind a tree as he saw a young man kneeling to the
ground beside a young woman, he looked closer and recognised her clothes, the raven black
hair that had gotten out of her braid now dirty with blood , the girl laying lifeless on the ground
was Calandra he closed his eyes for a second and whispered a prayer for her than he focused
on the young man, he was tall and his skin was golden tanned by the sun so he wasn’t from
around here he had dark red hair and green eyes and judging by his clothes he was on the ranks
of the army and than Aiden focused on the magic so the boy was a lion hije a bit too far from
his home, Dasaretia was home for the ulk hije so he had to discover if a possible secret alliance
between the two Empires was happening and what that would mean for his own. Aiden needed
to get away from here now so he had no other choice than to leave Calandra’s body here, soon
more soldiers would arrive and his mother would litteraly have his head on a spear if she
figured out what he had done. He ran until he found the small frozen lake and than he took out
two snake scales from the small pouch attached to his belt, it was a good thing he hadn’t
forgoten them at his own chambers and he threw them into the ice surface of the lake than
said the enchantment and the ice surface started to change, it showed the view of his
bathroom and he passed through the should have been surface of glass and out of the mirror
into his bathing chamber the portal closed in as soon as he passed through and he sat on the
edge of the bathtub and finally let himself take a deep breath and think about all that had
happened today
It was the first time for Resentiel to visit the northern borders of the Dasaretia empire and he
already felt that there was gonna be some trouble. The empire was very big but that didn’t
prevent the emperor from wanting more. The northern borders are the only way of invading
dasaretian lands since that is the only coastline visible and a very big legion of the armies were
positioned here to train and of course to be ready in any case of problems. Resentiel had grown
up in the capital and due to being a leon hije he had to be in his guard since somebody could
attack him. Yet he felt more welcome here than in the other empires even though in Dasaretia
there were mostly ulk hije and as a lion hije he was rare. The temperatures were so low here
and he could feel the chill deep down in his bones even though he was using hije fire to keep
himself warm. The structure of the army's compartment was clearly old but also one of the
biggest and most well kept ones he had ever seen , the walls were from white marbles and they
blend so well with the snow and ice that if you weren’t looking carefully you wouldn’t notice it
was there no smoke was visible probably not to draw too much attention but he knew that they
operated mostly deep underground that’s where the training centres were for the young
soldiers isolated from every curious eye who wanted to take a glimpse at the empire's most
well trained forces. As he got closer he noticed that there were no guards at the gate so he
tightened his hand around his bag and was ready to draw the sword that was strapped at his
back at any moment. Nearby in the forest no noise could be heard except for the low growls
and he knew why there were no guards at the door first of all they knew he was coming and
second it was Arbain which meant the ulks would be roaming free all around Dasaretia and if
one dared to approach they would be teared into pieces. The door was open and he went
inside the long dark corridor, the walls were naked except for the chandeliers and a painting
here and there he didn’t know where he was supossed to go but as soon as he reached a pair of
stairs that seemed to lead you to the second floor he started climbing. It felt so weird here
nothing like the castle or the royal compartments and he wondered if it was made specifically
like this to make you feel like you’re in deserted place with old forgotten souls around you lost
in his thoughts as he was Leon didn’t see the man at the top of the stairs looking down at him.
The man cleared his throat and Leon looked up to see a tall brown haired man staring at him.
He wasn’t wearing an armour but a long black fur coat his eyes shining like fire Leon knew from
the way that the man was standing that he had an important position here or maybe he was
the general.
“Welcome to Cordale mister Leon the general will be in the council's meeting room soon I am
here to accompany you"
So he is not the general , Leon allowed the man to lead the way until they reached to some big
red metal doors the council room was large ever larger than the one in Auran in the middle
there was a very big black rock table and around it probably 100 chairs in to which men and
women were sitting all around armed to teeth, there were maps hanged all around the walls
there was no window and surprisingly no tapestry of the emperor just a big empty chair at the
centre of the table which was more similar to a throne than a chair. There had to be at least five
secret tunnels that lead and could take you out of this room but he wasn’t sure if they were
accessible to everyone in this room. The man that had been expecting him at the stairs took his
place next to the throne and Leon sat on the other empty chair next to the throne. He
wondered what the emperor would say if he saw this council room would he take it as a clear
act against him would he be offended? The silence was getting unbearable but he could feel the
eyes on him assessing him from head to toe. From the corridor a clicking against the stone
could be heard it wasn’t just a clicking it was women's heels? And pretty high apparently he was
confused but the looks of the people around him betrayed nothing , the doors opened and a
woman with long dark hair entered and at her heels a big ulk that reached her neck alongside
her the creature was majestic with dark brown fur and eyes almost as black as the girl's hair.
She walked slowly but confidently to her seat a goblet of wine in her hand the strong smell of
alcohol lingering around her . She raised the goblet “Happy Arbain to everyone" she said in a
strong voice that he felt like he had heard it before and than she sat down and the ulk laid
down at her feet. Everyone around him erupted into cheers and he found the general looking
him in the eyes so he kept the eye contact
“I am the Major of Dasaretia's defence and army compartments and I am here to talk to the
North general responsible for cordale's coastline, the Emperor has ordered me to check on the
compartments and make a review for the training of the soldiers here and also to accompany
you to Auran because your presence is required there" he said without losing any moment the
sooner he would get back home the better it would be he didn’time it here at all and it had
nothing to do with the cold. The general brought the goblet to her lips and took a sip before
setting it into the table.
“You are free to watch over the training of the young ones but careful not to speak to me in
that time child I do not take orders from you" Leon got up from the chair and he could see the
smirking faces of the people around so he turned to the general and stared down at her. He
knew that he outranked her but still she wanted to embarrass him and he wouldn't let her get
away with that.
“Whether you like it or not orders are orders Miss? And you should a dress me by my title next
time"
“General it’s General Kaya for you Major I believe this meeting is over Dracian can show you to
your rooms or any other place that you would like to see"
She waved him away and the man that he had previously met stood up. Leon clenched his fists
he was so close to turn around and punch her in the face. How dared she talk to him like that
and show him out as if he was nothing more than a servant but he didn’t do any of that . Leon
walked with Dracian and the doors behind them closed making him wonder what was being
said behind those doors. They took a left turn but Leon wasn’t interested in going to his rooms
it was still early. Arbain was one of the most important celebrations in the empire and it is
widely celebrated everywhere surely it must be celebrated here as well back home he
remembered how he would have snowball fights with his mother and hang a bell outside their
door so at night when the wind blows the bells would be heard all around the city and fall
asleep listening to their sound.
“Major- Your rooms are here and for any question that you might have my room is the one next
to yours”
“Do people hold a festival here I would like to know how to get to the city”
“Of course Arbain's festival is the most famous one here after you get out of the compartments
take the main road that cuts through the forest the fastest way to get to the city is