Illuminating the Dark Prince

The Fall of Tenveriel

 ~Lucilia~

Nausea churned in my gut, crashing over me like the waves of the sea mindlessly battering the cliffs below. At some point during my less-than-ideal stay in the castle, I had succumb to my weariness and drifted off into nightmare-filled slumber... Then I awoke back into one far worse than what my subconscious had conjured up. And much to my discomfort, the little rest I did manage to steal away came with a nasty case of morning sickness. Since I was still gagged and strapped to the table, I'd already had to swallow my vomit twice, only making me grow all the sicker and filled with utter disgust. It truly was like some sort of cruel and unusual punishment.

So much for not torturing me while I'm here...

I sucked in a deep breath of the fetid air through my nose, miserably listening to the sounds of some sort of terrifying commotion reverberating from outside. The screeches of the lloigors were deafening, amalgamating with unsettling booms, clangs, crashes, fearsome shouts, and a cacophony of demonic roars in the distance. It was hard to tell, but judging by all the action movies I'd seen and the way the walls were shaking, I'd guess that a mighty battle had begun. I knew in my heart...but mostly through logic... that it was Valarendrik coming to save me. And thank goodness for that, because I wasn't sure how much longer of this torment I could handle.

The others likely thought that I was still asleep because they hadn't tried to speak to me since I'd awoken. Jayden would cry on and off, talking about Parker and how worried he was because he didn't know where Maribel or Jaxson were. I wanted to assuage his grief and tell him that they were presumably taken back to Hell, but the gag prevented me from doing so. Oliver also spoke about how he couldn't find Rosalie, with a tone of fear and anguish lacing his every word. I was grateful for the gag in his case, because I honestly had no idea if she was alright after seeing her strange state back at the ruins. 

Despite all that was happening around me, my thoughts would relentlessly drift back to my mother. She must have been so worried. I had only just returned to Earth when we were forced to leave for Hell. Now she was likely being questioned by the police and thinking I'd gone off and disappeared again. She had looked so emaciated from the stress of losing me when I saw her last, causing poisonous guilt to gnaw at my spirit. Valarendrik had mentioned that Azathoth would take me to go visit her at some point, but I just really missed my mom.

The eerie scraping of The Elder Graith's nasty foot claws sliced through my string of thoughts like the haggard blade of an old rusted knife, making my stomach churn with more than just morning sickness. He slowly walked up to me and placed the tips of his pointer finger and thumb on my cheeks as if he was gently pinching my face. "The mad prince has just fulfilled a disastrous part of the old prophecy." Thick slimy drool dripped from his wide sneering mouth, splashing down onto my collarbone. "Perhaps it would be best to eradicate you after all, so that he may never have his queen of colors to rule by his side... Your death would surely destroy his rebellious spirit." He may not have had eyes, yet the suffocating amount of malice swimming within his blind stare was enough to make anyone recoil in fear. I had no idea what he was talking about, but that was the second time he'd referred to me as a queen of colors. "Hmm... But is it worth destroying the only possible heir?" His sickening voice hummed and ticked in thought while he slowly dragged his long bony fingers down my chin, over my breasts, then down to my stomach. The way he did it wasn't perverse at all, yet I still felt utterly violated.

I jolted in fright as a deep bestial snarl abruptly tore through the room, followed by several shouting guards just outside the door. My eyes darted to the doorway where I just barely glimpsed the terrifying sight of a massive black creature. It swiftly pounced on one of the vigils, effortlessly tearing their throat out with its harrowing jaws. Blackened blood splattered across the floor while the guard gurgled and collapsed with a heavy clanking thud. A few screams broke out within the crowd tied up on the floor. Then a mixture of brilliant white light and the glow of crackling flames began illuminating the hallway, growing in brightness as though carried by someone who was rushing toward us.