The Rise of a Hero & The Garnet Nightshade: A Violet Rose (Book 2)

Chapter XII: When a Tyrant Falls

Beast-Folk Continent

Royal Palace

Courtyard

POV: Sidora Saura'Latia

When Alyssa and I arrived at the port of the beast-folk continent, we were expecting some kind of hostile welcome. But instead, they welcomed us. It would seem the third-born prince had been gathering people who didn't believe in the war his brother had started. We stayed at the port for a few days so we could gauge the situation.

The prince told us what had happened to his brother. He had been captured and tried as a traitor to his people. The princes dueled for succession and the second born won, leaving the firstborn with no room to move. This information allowed Alyssa and me to get an idea of what we needed to do. After we gathered what information we could, we left and made our way to the palace.

When we arrived, the guards let us in without question. They must have figured we'd come and prepared ahead of time. Which made me feel uneasy. Thankfully Alyssa caught on to my unease and held my hand. We walked to the center of the courtyard where we were greeted by a large bear beast-folk, with a large black panther beast-folk behind him.

Alyssa asks bluntly "I'll get to the point. Do we have to defeat you first, before we can get to him? Am I right?"

"Your assessment would be correct."

"Then I will say this, If a single one of you intervenes, I will kill every single one of you and not lose sleep over it."

"Such bold words from a demi-human."

"Sidora, make sure they don't move!" Alyssa hisses.

I look at Alyssa and say "Call me when it's time."

Alyssa nods at me before turning her attention to the supreme commander.

"You weren't bluffing, were you?"

Without answering his question, Alyssa begins a wordless incantation.

"What is this? A wordless incantation?"

Alyssa begins to glow a faint red before suddenly vanishing.

"So, the rumors are true. You did train to be an assassin."

With no time to waste, Alyssa cuts the main tendon in the supreme commander's leg, making it to where he couldn't stand on that leg.

"One leg down, one more to go." States Alyssa from the shadows.

"If you think I'll fall for the same trick twice then you are sorely mistaken."

The commander raises his sword but it falls to the ground.

"What have you done?!" screams the commander.

"What was that about you not falling for the same trick twice?"

"Find her and kill her!" Yells the commander.

A group of wolf beast-folk jump in front of the commander searching for Alyssa's scent. Not knowing I had already placed a spell there.

"Iron pillars!"

The beast-folk were caught off guard and were skewered. One by one they fall to the ground lifeless.

"When did you...?!"

Cutting him off mid-sentence, Alyssa cuts the tendon in his other leg, making his legs completely useless.

"You set traps as you walked in here didn't you?"

"We knew you wouldn't play fair, so we improvised."

The giant bear looks at me with a newfound terror. At this point, he knew what was coming.

I hold my hand to the air and say "With the winds and the element of ice, I summon thee to me, freeze thy enemies, Arctic Freeze!"

Everyone around us is frozen solid, and the commander looks on as horror sets in.

"Now you get to watch your prince die as my sister-in-law did. My brother wished for me to kill him in front of you as you did to him when it came to his wife."

The prince begins to back away as Alyssa reappears in front of him.

"IronClad!"

The prince's feet get trapped by the earth, so he can't move.

"Earth javelin!"

A spear of earth hits the prince in the shoulder causing him to kneel before Alyssa.

"I hope this is a lesson your people will never forget."

Taking the commander's sword that he had dropped, Alyssa holds it over her head as she lets gravity take its roll. The prince looks at her seconds before he's beheaded.

Looking at the commander, Alyssa says "Now you know the pain my brother felt as he watched his wife die."

Alyssa walks off in silence as I stand over the commander.

The commander looks at me before saying "I know that look, it's a look of hatred. I remember it from when I was a child."

As I walk away I chant "Flames of Purgatory!"

I hear his screams as I walk away, but they fell on deaf ears.

I think to myself "Amber, you can rest in peace."