Black Blood

-B2- Chapter 80

Its time for the moment we all have been waiting for. Hold on tight because it's going to be a long, bumpy ride to the end!

There are moments we anticipate for so long that when they finally happen, it feels like stepping into a dream. It's as if we've been observing ourselves from a distance all that time. Things we dreaded might turn out fine, things we looked forward to might disappoint, but in both cases, we must remind ourselves that it's now the reality.

For the past two years, my life seemed like a nightmare, often losing touch with reality. I didn't feel like reminding myself that it was real anymore. I could only think about the end.

And now, that end is finally here.

However, the feeling of reality doesn't seem to exist as I gaze at the endless stone staircase. The staircase that has become a symbol of suffering in my mind. The last time I walked down those stairs, I was walking towards my death, in the past, it was the way out that lay ahead but remained elusive, and even further back, it was my mother's final escape. This staircase never brought anything good, but perhaps now it will.

With Elien on my right, Novak on the left, and Alisha still sitting on her horse behind us, we stare at the long and high stone staircase.

The four guards in front of the wooden doors sounded the alarm the moment we approached. Yet, no additional guard has joined them, and my intuition tells me they won't. Whether they're defending the king inside, fleeing like rats in a trap, or simply afraid to face the towering wall of fire I've set around the entire castle grounds, time will tell.

The four of us remain silent as Elien transforms into a raven and heads towards the right tower first. The black wings dance through the air towards a place I only associate with nightmares. The guards follow the bird's flight with their eyes before the alarm bell rings again.

I'm next. My black heel touches the gray stone step, and thus begins my ascent. I don't look back at Novak or Alisha anymore, feel no fear or doubt. I've imagined so many scenarios about this journey, what would happen, and how I would feel. The reality is that nothing happens, and I feel nothing.

The guards at the top of the stairs look around in panic but say nothing. All four of them remain dead still, panic evident on their faces.

My hand sweeps through the air, turning the sky black. The sun covered with such thick layers of dark clouds that night seems to have begun. A strong wind picks up, raging past the dark castle walls, my hair and skirt floating in the cold air.

The four terrified men stare at me in panic, too shocked to draw their swords. They look at me in silent horror as if Death itself stands before them, their faces pale.

'You have one chance to surrender,' I tell the men after stepping off the last step and standing before them. Their eyes dart around in panic, to each other, and to the dark sky. It's the rightmost guard who first drops to his knees, laying his sword before him and bowing his head to the ground. The other guards follow a few seconds later without hesitation.

With a single nod, I walk past them, push open the massive doors, and step into this rat's nest of a castle in freedom for the first time in my life.

Immediately, all eyes turn towards me. Servants, guards, and even Dawn members stare at me in amazement.

My so-called new aura is what immediately brings the servants to their knees. Their heads are bowed to the ground on the stone floor.

Of the guards, a few immediately drop to the ground. The others attack. Screaming for reinforcements and with swords in their hands, they come running towards me but are thrown against the wall with lightning speed before they can reach me. Like flattened flies, they hit the wall and fall to the ground, unconscious or dead.