A Kingdom of Bloodshed (A Crimson Court Series)

*¬*Chapter Thirty*¬*

          Chaos. There is blood everywhere. It runs in thick rivulets down the streets. People are screaming, babies wail. There's half rotten corpses, their mouths open in frozen horror, others are slowly bleeding out. Dying the most painful death.

The buildings in this kingdom have been torn to shreds. Glass shattered, walls blown wide open. I don't even know which Kingdom this belonged to.

The Crown rushes us through the mess, through the pain and suffering. We see more dead bodies and destruction. I can hear the faint booming of magic and bombs going off. The sounds of beasts roaring and shrieking. Shall I continue? It asks. I swallow, my throat is thick. I do not want to see any more, once was enough. I'm about to shake my head, when the Crown pushes forward anyways hissing You need to see.

It hurtles us towards another Kingdom, one I am all too familiar with. The castle has been split in half, the grounds have been raked over with long claws that tore up the dirt and destroyed my mother's flower bushes. The streets are plugged with holes and debris.

There's so much silence, so much pain here. My people are dying, they have suffered greatly. Their blood runs in pools down the cobblestone streets, the bird song has ended. There's no joy left here, only anguish.

The Crown brings us to a large battle field at the base of Nefaris. It shows us the end. It shows us how this war will go if we do not unite.

Anna gets beheaded by a winged beast, Anil gets speared by a soldier wearing red. I watch as Flare and Star die together in each other's arms, their magic exploding through the battlefield.

I watch as Kaz rips through Augustus's soldiers with his claws and teeth, as he aims for the center. His sight set on his sibling. It shows me what will happen to him. How Kaz will not be strong enough to stop his brother. That Augustus will absorb all of Xavier's power and use his Blood demon to obliterate every single one of us. I don't want to see this.

Keep looking. It whispers to me, craning my sight towards myself. To my kneeling figure in the center of the field. I cannot look away. I am suffocated by the anguish that's peeled at my skin. My magic gives no warning before it rips from my body. I watch as my kneeling howling figure strangles the life from everyone. As it wraps around Augustus and his Blood Demon. I watch as they are sent screaming back to Hell.

I don't want to see this anymore. Look. I cannot look away as I watch myself collapse forward, face first in the dirt, dead.

It is only then that we are sucked backwards, everything working in reverse until the crown drags back to the present, each of us letting go with a gasp and a wail.

My face is tear streaked, chest heaving. The blood crown sits quietly on the table before us all.

"That's your future." I rasp when I can get my voice to work. No one speaks. Just holding each other tighter, closer.

"That is what will happen if we are not a united front. We will die in horrific ways until there is nothing left."

"It looks to me like you, Althea Alinac, will be the one to save us. You will be the one who gives everything for each kingdom."

"That is not going to happen," Kaz snarls. "Thea will not have to die if you all join us. If we are a united front, then we can stop him before any of that happens. Before we lose lives and shed too much blood."

The other High Lords are quiet, contemplating still. I don't know how much more proof they need, how much else I must give to show them that this is beneficial to us all.

"We would like to discuss before coming to a conclusion." Flare gurgles, his words thick and stuck in his throat. I watch as they leave, going to their respective corners to debate. The Crown sits quietly on the table before me. It's humming unusually quiet. Kaz snaps his fingers and it vanishes once more. Sending it to wherever he keeps it.