Storm's Rapture | Storms Series: Book 1 (This is a Co-Write)

Chapter 16: Unknown

AN: No Piarari Key needed this time. Be sure to drop some comments as you read. Enjoy!

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I stood on my balcony, watching the sunrise. The sky was painted with streaks of orange and pink, signalling the beginning of a new day. There were footsteps, and then I heard the voice of one of my guards.

"My Queen," he greeted me.

"What is it?" I asked as I ran a hand through my short inky black hair. I did not want to deal with any more issues right now.

"Lady Tamara has returned."

My hazel eyes widened in surprise, Tamara was back? So soon? I heard the balcony doors open with a loud bang, and turned to face whoever it was while the guard slipped out of sight. As it turned out, it was Tamara. Her golden eyes were frantic, and her long brown hair was a mess. She looked like she'd been in a terrible fight.

"Tamara," I greeted her. "How was your journey?"

She didn't answer, and wrapped her arms around me, needing comfort. It was then that I noticed the marks on her neck.

"What happened?" I asked. "Tamara, who did this to you?"

"Cyris...Castellan," she replied shakily.

I froze as I heard the name. Cyris Castellan was still alive?! How?!

"Tell me everything," I told her.

And she did. She told me about how she found Cyris in Silverport, and that he'd been accompanied by an ice witch, Rosanna Everly. That name was unfamiliar to me, but Tamara knew her from her time in Cliffbarrow when she was younger. So Rosanna was a Riofaltan. But her magic struck me as odd. There were only a handful of ice magic users left after the Trillium took over Riofalt, and they were all locked up in the prisons. So who was Rosanna? And how had she slipped through the cracks?

"How powerful was she?" I asked.

"She couldn't stand her ground against me, but she seemed pretty powerful," Tamara replied. "She and Cyris seemed... close to say the least. He lost his temper when I threatened to kill her."

The very fact that an ice witch was running around with Cyris Castellan was unsettling. She'd given him a powerful ally, but there was a silver lining in all this. Tamara had said that Cyris had lost his temper when Rosanna was threatened. She mattered to him. And that meant that I could use that against him. I would make him fall on his knees and beg for her life, and then I'd take that from him. I would make him suffer. I would rip away everything he held dear. I would break his soul before letting him die a slow, and painful death.

"What do you think we should do? Them teaming up could be problematic for us," Tamara voiced.

"My dear Tamara, I think we need to pay a special visit to Silverport," I told her. I would attack first, and show Cyris Castellan who was on the winning side of this war he was trying to start.

"We'll need a very good plan. Rosanna was able to identify me, and now they know I'm with the Trillium Regime."

I shook my head. Tamara being identified meant nothing, and didn't hinder me at all. I had plans for Cyris, and his little ice witch harlot.

"Caja!" I called.

Caja came as soon as I called her name. A space on the floor started to warp, and Caja began to slowly rise up through the ripples.

"You called, My Queen?" she asked. My beloved familiar. A basilisk changeling, the most poisonous of her kind.

"What would you say to the chance of being able to sink your fangs into an Esporian Prince?" I asked.

"Esporian Prince?" Caja inquired. She had an accent that sometimes made her words sound drawn out, almost as if she were hissing like a snake.

"Cyris Castellan," I growled. Even saying his name made my blood boil with fury.

"You would kill your own blood? I thought you just wanted to imprison him."

"Things have changed, Caja. He has a Riofaltan ice witch as an ally. That makes him too dangerous to imprison."

"What about his drake changeling?" Caja hissed.

"Farryn won't be a problem. If I can force him into a corner, he won't call for her. He'll be too busy fighting for his life," I assured my familiar. Then I had another thought and turned to Tamara. "Does Rosanna Everly have a familiar?"

"Not that I know of," Tamara replied.

"Should I do some digging, my Queen?" Caja inquired, "I could ask around on the Ivory Isles."

I thought about that for a few moments. It wouldn't hurt to know as much about Rosanna Everly as possible.

I nodded. "Find out as much as you can," I told Caja, "I want to know if she has a familiar and anything else you can dig up."

Caja nodded, "Of course. Your wish is my command, Queen Circe." She flicked her wrist, and the floor began to ripple again. Caja slowly lowered into the moving ground until she disappeared.

I turned to Tamara.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" I asked.

"No, my love. I'm okay. Could do with a shower though."

I nodded, and gently touched the marks on her neck.

"He'll suffer for this Tamara," I vowed. "I promise you that."

She smiled at me tenderly, and planted a kiss on my lips. I didn't let her pull away at first, and deepened our kiss a little more. When we finally separated, I brushed some stray hair from her face.

"I love you and no one is going to get away with hurting you," I told her. "Not if I can help it."

"I know, and I love you too." Tamara expressed. "As soon as I'm out of the shower we'll head to bed, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." I smiled. I watched as she left my side, and headed for our bedroom.

Finding out about what happened tonight, really put me on edge. I couldn't allow Cyris to rule. He wasn't worthy of the crown. He'd never be worthy of it and I knew that. That's why I'd done all of this. My uncle had taken me in, raised me, and taught me that this was the best choice for Espor. I refused to falter now.

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AN: Thanks for reading! Be sure to drop some comments and vote!