The Death of a Tyrant's Concubine

CHAPTER 17 - She Tamed It?

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【𝐒𝐘𝐋𝐕𝐎𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄】

The sound of her voice carved through the chaos.

The vylnir's massive claw, poised for a killing blow, hesitated mid-swing.

My breath came in sharp, burning gasps. Blood trailed from the corner of my mouth, copper-tinged and warm against my tongue. My blade was raised, my body braced for the inevitable strike that never came.

Because somehow... this creature that had torn through my men like they were made of parchment... had stopped.

Because of her.

My eyes flicked toward the princess, narrowing against the inferno's glare. She stood swaying, her body wracked with exhaustion, her hands trembling at her sides. And yet the beast, the same one that had reduced my camp to carnage, turned its monstrous gaze upon her and hesitated.

"How did you—" I started, my voice rough with disbelief.

Her knees suddenly buckled, but before she could fall, I twisted Briarvex just enough for a vine to coil up from the scorched earth to catch her, steadying her balance. My magic's presence made the vylnir bristle, its lips peeling back in a snarl.

"Dσ ɳσƚ ԋυɾƚ!" the princess suddenly called out and the vylnir paused once more.

I should have bound the beast. Now, while it was distracted, while its unnatural form trembled in conflict.

But I was enthralled.

The woman's voice wove through the smoke like a spell, speaking a language I had never heard before. The cadence was strange, sharp and ancient, reminding me so much of Briarvex's voice in my mind.

Then, as if the night had not already unraveled into madness, the princess staggered toward the beast. I watched in disbelief as she lifted her chin despite the frailty in her limbs. The vylnir's gleaming, reflective eyes locked onto her.

Was it listening to her?

"You can speak to it?" I demanded.

"I'm trying," she rasped.

A ripple of unease licked up my spine.

The vylnir shifted toward me again, its massive wolf-like body tensing, the shadows of its fur rippling like something barely contained. Its maw parted, rows of jagged teeth catching the firelight, glistening with the remnants of my men.

It was going to lunge.

My grip on Briarvex tightened, magic stirring beneath my fingertips as I braced myself.

Just as I thought the vylnir would pounce, another moved instead.

The princess.

Before I could react, her body crashed into mine. The air between us vanished as her weight pressed into me, just as the vylnir's claws slashed through the space where I had stood.

Her eyes, glassy with fever, met mine.

I could tell she was warring with herself. Though I couldn't tell what went on in that head at all. Her eyes flickered down to my lips before setting into a hard scowl.

And then—

She kissed me.

Not a delicate brush. Not a calculated ploy.

It was desperate. Reckless. A force of will hurled against inevitability. A means to an end I did not yet understand.

For a moment, the world ceased to exist.