Shadows Of Flames: Tales Of The Forbidden

She saw him again. He stood in a corner, watching her.

But he wasn't smiling. His eyes had dimmed and narrowed, his mouth set in a thin line.

Gone was his flirty demeanour. In its wake was a sharp, icy aura.

“My sweet love" he said but his voice lacked its fondness.

There were blood on his clothes, hands.....face.

“This is just the beginning. More are yet to come"

Myra woke with a start. Confusion thickened her mind while she looked around, wondering where she was.

Her ears rang with the faint echoes of screams—real or imagined, she couldn't tell.

She wanted to believe she was still in her bedroom, getting ready for her wedding but the agonising wails and ruthless howls forced her to accept her reality.

What she saw was a nightmare. The once-white walls were painted red with fresh blood, the chandeliers hung at precarious angles, threatening to fall off any moment.

Dead bodies sprawled all around her, each one more terrifying than the next. Some she merely recognized, others she didn't.

Blood was everywhere, screams and cries echoed off the walls.

At the centre of it all, in the middle of the aisle, lay her father. He wasn't standing, wasn't barking orders to the guards as he always did. He wasn't even moving.

“No....." She whispered, crawling toward him.

Something inside her shattered as she looked down into his lifeless eyes. There was a deep hole in his chest, surrounded by thick patches of blood.

She gripped his hands tightly, as if she could keep him from slipping away. “No, no, please....."

Tears made her vision foggy.

This was one big joke. It had to be.

He had been alive and strong. Just some minutes ago, he had stood tall before her, adjusting the tiara on her head, telling her to make him proud.

Now, he lay lifeless in her arms.

“No, no, you're not dead" She cupped his face, desperate to feel any warmth, even the tiniest flicker of life. There was none.

The noise around her faded. All the screams, the howls, the madness didn't matter. Her world had ended.

Myra let out a cry and shook his body. “No father you can't leave me please"

But King Williams was gone, with no hope of ever coming back.

She cradled his head to her chest, tears sliding quietly down her cheeks. “No father please...."

In that moment, she wasn't a princess or a future queen. She was just a woman who had lost her pillar, her anchor.

She brushed a strand of hair from his face, glancing down at him.

In death, King Williams had never looked more peaceful.

“I should've been stronger. I should've protected you"

She bowed her neck, sobbing loudly. “No d-don't go father"

As seconds passed with no sign of life in him, her grief hardened, twisting into something uglier.

She would not let his death be in vain.

Myra pressed a kiss to his forehead and whispered, “I swear to you father, I will not rest until I make them suffer for this"

She would bring Silvercrest to its knees. She would make them regret the day they ever set foot in her kingdom.

The fire of revenge burned in her, helping her to let go of him.

Right then, she noticed something around his neck. A silver pendant half-buried beneath his collar.

She stared at it for a moment then pulled it off. ”I'll never forget you father. Rest in peace till I avenge your death" she said, slipping it into her pocket.

Then she stood up and turned, looking for Evelyn. Her sister was still out there and possibly in danger.

She walked gingerly over debris and dead bodies, anxious to find her sister while praying to the heavens she was okay. She couldn't afford to lose another person.

Her leg hit something and she nearly lost her balance, but she quickly steadied herself.

She looked down and her blood ran cold.

There on the floor was her aunt lying cold in the pool of her blood. Dead.

Myra's face drained of colour and she took a step back.

Aunt Rose. No, not her too.

“Aunt Rose?" Myra reached for her hand, unwilling to believe what her eyes already knew.

Her heart suffocated with agony, cutting her breaths to short, painful gasps.

Her father was dead, and now, her aunt too.

A storm of emotions crashed over her, but one stood out prominently. Guilt.

If she had been faster, stronger, braver.... Would they still be alive?

This was her fault. Her father. Her aunt. Everyone.

Myra dropped to her knees as she battled with the growing urge to collapse.

You couldn't save them, a voice whispered at the back of her mind.

What if Evelyn was dead too? The mere thought sent a finger of chilliness down her spine.

No. Evelyn wasn't dead. She couldn't be.

She held on tightly to the fragile hope of finding Evelyn....alive.

“Myra!" Her heart leaped at her name. Turning, she saw Henry sprinting towards her, his hair and clothes disheveled. “Thank God you're alive!"

“M-My f-father....a-aunt" She stuttered, then unable to hold it in any longer, she burst into tears and buried her face in his chest, each sob wracking her body.

Henry's arms closed around her, comforting her. “I'm sorry"

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she prayed this was a dream. Possibly a nightmare.

When she pinched her arm and nothing changed, she realized it was true. They were dead.

Henry's voice cut into her fog of sorrow. “I hate to say this but we have to go Myra. Now"

She pulled away from him. “M-My sister is still out there. Let's find her"

“We can't" Henry refused sharply. “She might be dead for all we know. If we hesitate a bit longer here, we could be dead as well"

Myra blinked away tears, utterly stunned. Did she hear him right?

“She's not dead. And what about my people.....our people?"

Sounds of footsteps drowned Henry's response.

Men clad in dark blue and silver uniforms strolled towards them.

Werewolves. In human form.

Alarmed, she stood up to run but Henry grabbed her arm. “You can't go"

Confusion glittered in her eyes. “What? I don't understand—"

He pushed her to the men suddenly, cutting her off.

“Henry!" She screamed when one grabbed her arms. “Help me!"

His earlier expression of sorrow morphed into one she didn't believe she would see on his face. Guilt.

“I'm sorry. They promised to spare me if I gave them....you"

His words sliced her heart faster than a blade would. As he moved away, she stared at him, comprehension dawning on her like bitter rays. “You.....You betrayed me Henry"

Guilt tightened his features but he made no move to reach out to her. “I'm sorry"

This was the very man she had been willing to marry....and within minutes, had betrayed her to save himself.

His betrayal left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“This is so pathetic" one of the men sneered, glancing down at her with condescension. “It's a pity you belong to us now"

“I'd rather die than be your possession" she spat then bit the hand of the one holding her.

He winced and slapped her. “B**ch!"

Blood dropped from her lips but she could care less. The betrayal had dulled her senses to numbness.

She didn't mind dying right now. To put an end to her suffering.

“Kill me if you so please but I'll never follow you. Disgusting creatures"

“You might want to rethink your choice princess" one of the men stated indifferently. He had a scar running down his right cheek. He was their leader, judging from the aura around him.

He jerked his head and she followed his line of sight.

A man held Evelyn. Actually he was strangling her, holding her up in midair.

Evelyn tugged vainly at his claws, her pale eyes wide with fear.

Myra's heart flooded with so much relief it made her dizzy. Her sister was still alive!

“Let her go!" She screamed, pushing against the man that held her.

“I suggest you behave if you don't want her blood to spill on the ground" the leader growled.

At his words, she stayed still, trembling with silent fury and helplessness.

He fastened chains around her wrists and hauled her to her feet.

“Excellent choice" he stated with lack of empathy.

One of them shoved her toward the doors as another shouted, “Round them up then burn the place!"

She stumbled at his words. Burn? Her kingdom?

Unsympathetically, one wolf pushed her harshly, glaring at her to keep moving.

Survivors were bound in chains.

Myra couldn't bring herself to stare at their faces—their expressions would break her.

And she couldn't afford that. Not now.

Smoke from the ruins rose into the sky and darkened it, casting a black blanket that swallowed up the light.

“Move!" A warrior pushed a struggling woman forward. She fell to the ground, only to be dragged to her feet by another warrior.

Myra bit her tongue in an effort to hold herself back.

Calm down Myra, she told herself.

One wrong move and they wouldn't hesitate to snap her head off.

Ahead of her, Evelyn moved forward, her small form trembling.

Her heart pricked at the sight. She wanted to hold her but the chains held her back. She wanted to comfort her but she had been warned, else they would kill Evelyn.

And she'd rather die than let that happen.

Tears stung her eyes for the nth time but she refused to shed a drop in the presence of these wolves.

She moved her gaze from her sister and it locked with the leader.

She hurled all her hatred at him through her glare but he only smirked and rolled his eyes.

“Save your glares princess, you'll need it where we're going"

Myra gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes to slits. Her fists trembled with fury.

The wolves forced them to walk through the dense forest behind the castle, where she had heard the faint howl earlier.

She glanced back at the castle, barely visible through the smoke that clouded it. Above it, flames painted the sky red.

Her heart sank as she watched, helpless.

The moon crawled out slowly, shedding pale light on the grounds below. The shadows behind the trees snickered as she passed.

Maybe it was paranoia.....or maybe not.

Carriages waited for them at the borders, just outside the forest.

“Say bye-bye to Vespera" a wolf crowed mockingly, thrusting her in harshly.

“You'll regret this" she muttered under her breath, resisting the urge to claw his eyes out.

There were no windows in the carriage, only darkness that seemed to oppress her. The air was thick with the damp odour of leather and blood.

Myra drew her knees to her chest and buried her face in her palms.

Her numb heart filled with rage when she replayed Henry's betrayal.

He was a coward, a fickle heart, who didn't bat an eyelid to save himself at her expense.

She would never forgive him. And she would never forget.

She clenched her teeth and vowed revenge. Revenge against Henry. Revenge against the wolves.

But most of all, revenge against the alpha, the architect of her misery.

“The Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack is a brutal man, a beast. Fear him"

In the stark darkness of the carriage, her shoulders trembled, her lips quivered and tears skimmed her cheeks silently.

This wasn't the end. It was just the beginning. And she would make him pay even if it killed her.

In the Silvercrest Pack.....

A servant hesitated outside a tall, polished brown door.

He gulped anxiously then knocked so softly, the sound barely audible.

“Come in" A smooth, deep voice answered.

He tugged at his collar and opened the door, revealing a dimly lit room.

A man sat behind the desk near the window, his attention focused on the papers before him.

The Alpha.

His sharp gold eyes lifted from the papers when the door creaked and landed coldly on the terrified servant.

“What is it?" He demanded flatly.

“I-It's a m-message from the h-head warrior Alpha" the servant stammered.

The Alpha's eyes narrowed. “Speak"

“Your captives are nearing the borders, my lord" the servant relayed the information, his head bowed so low it nearly touched the ground.

The Alpha's features relaxed into a smile closer to chilling than friendly.

“Nathaniel hardly disappoints me" he murmured then dismissed the servant with an order.

“Have the dungeons prepared. And inform the council—we'll have a meeting tonight"

The servant bowed quickly and bolted out the door.

The Alpha rose and walked to his window, his gaze fixed on the dark skies.

Night had fallen and everywhere was pitch black save for a few twinkling stars.

On the contrary, the Alpha was satisfied with his latest conquest.

His lips stretched into an emotionless smile. “Nobody messes with the Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack"