"Crowns topple easily. Thrones crumble like dust. Hearts cease to beat. Thorns draw blood."
In a country torn into two, there should have been no room for mistakes. Especially not at the very core of the royal family. That was what she was. Yes, a...
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Irina knew that she should've been afraid.
If Aleksander's face was any indication, she should've been terrified. He had turned pale, his quartz eyes widening in shock and if she wasn't mistaken, even a little bit of fear. It seems that he and their mysterious attacker was acquainted.
Even so, Irina didn't take kindly to people who seek to stab her in the back, poison her, and try to kill her. Placing a knife at her throat was the same thing.
"Look, Baghra was it?" Irina started, unfazed by the blade at her neck, only annoyed that she had allowed someone to creep up to her while she was distracted and an old woman at that. "If you don't mind, I-"
The aforementioned old woman hissed, nicking the side of her neck with the sharp knife. "Quiet girl! You're noisier than a pig in a mud bath."
The young princess flinched at the pain but scoffed at the comparison. "Did you just compare me to a pig?"
"Whiney too. Where on earth did you find this one, boy?" The old woman questioned, her tone full of complaint and a hint of raspiness.
"Where on earth did he find you? Duva called and they said they want their witch back." Irina retorted, the words escaping her lips before she could stop them.
The old woman snorted, letting out a cackle. "Oh, the little girl knows her folktales."
Before Irina could snarkily reply to Baghra, Aleksander stepped forward. His stature was one of grace and power, enough to rival the woman who held her life in a tight grip.
"Enough with all these games," Aleksander commanded, his cloak billowing around him. "Baghra, let her go. We have important things to discuss."
"Like what, boy?" Baghra asked, her voice almost amused as if she were talking to a child and not a Shadow Summoner with utter power.
"Like the massacre just a distance from here." He replied, causing the two who were arguing to straighten up, their bodies tensing upon remembering the brutal sight.
Baghra let out a frustrated noise before letting go of the girl who ran to the lion cub squirming on the ground. With careful fingers, she unwinded the rope from around Vasilka. Luckily, there were no marks left on the cub. Even so, she seemed a little shaken from being tied down by ropes as she was in Fjerda.
Vasilka leaped into the young princess's arms gratefully, licking her face in appreciation. After all, Aleksander and Irina ensured that the cub would live a free life and not one in a cage like her predecessors.
When she had her fill with affection, Vasilka growled as she faced Baghra, baring her teeth at the old woman aggressively.
"Must've found the two of them in the jungle. This little one is as aggressive as the girl." Baghra mocked, turning a nose up in the air.
