Chapter 162: The Kill Order

Elyndra

"There," I whispered as we moved quietly through the forest, closing my connection with Vaelric. "My brother will not bother us further. Now follow me. The tree is not far."

The gloomy afternoon sky cast the forest in shadow as soldiers gathered in Aetheria, preparing to march into the ancient woods and slaughter everything in their path.

Disguised as peasants, we passed unnoticed through the palace gates as the crowd slowly dispersed. My brother never spared us a glance. His eyes were fixed solely on Azerath, watching as the dragon disappeared behind the iron gates of the Penitentiary.

Earlier...

The moment Cedric finished speaking, the greenish-black glow faded from his eyes, leaving only the milky white of his blindness. A goofy grin spread across his face.

He never noticed the grim expressions staring back at him, nor the heavy silence that had settled over the room

He remembered nothing.

"Beast, you say?" Cedric chuckled, giving an absent-minded shrug. "There's already a dragon in Aetherion. I smelled smoke before word reached the tower that he'd been captured."

He sniffed the air dramatically before turning toward Nerissa. "There you are, my dear." Without hesitation, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap.

"Lady Elyndra," he called merrily, "how about a few bottles of wine for me and my lovely companion?"

My brows rose. He truly had no memory of the prophecy.

Nerissa opened her mouth to speak, but I lifted a finger, silently warning her to remain quiet.

"Of course, Cedric," I replied pleasantly. "Would a bottle of Murkroot Red suffice?"

His face lit up. "Mmm... Murkroot Red." He smacked his lips. "The finest wine in all of Arcanis." Then he wrinkled his nose. "Though conjured wine is dreadful. Magic always makes it taste sour."

"Then you're in luck." I glanced at Florian. "Our steward happens to be carrying a bottle."

Without a word, Florian opened his coat. Nestled within its enchanted folds rested a dusty bottle of Murkroot Red. His garments were woven with spatial enchantments, allowing him to carry far more than they appeared capable of holding.

With a snap of my fingers, two crystal goblets appeared in one hand. In the other, a small vial of sleeping draught.

"Do you have food as well, Elyndra?" Nerissa asked with a teasing smile. "I'm still trying to recover from the fact that you look so young. The Elyndra I know is old and wrinkled."

"That," I said lightly, "was merely a disguise." I set the goblets upon the table beside the bowl of silver silt and turned my back to them. "I'll have something sent up."

"Who's your friend?" Nerissa asked, licking her lips as her gaze locked onto Kier with open invitation.

"Kier," I said, gesturing for him to step closer.

The moment he stood before her, she tugged down the band of his trousers and wrapped her fingers around his hardening shaft. Kier gasped but made no move to pull away.

Grateful for the distraction, I slipped a drop of sleeping draught into the wine after Florian poured. I picked up the glasses and turned back to the scene. Kier’s eyes were already half-closed in pleasure as Nerissa’s hand stroked him with practiced rhythm. Meanwhile, Cedric had spread Nerissa’s legs wide and was teasing her dripping pink folds with his fingers.

If my mind weren’t elsewhere, I would have joined them without hesitation.

Florian coughed. "I will wait for you outside, my lady," he whispered, slipping out and closing the door behind him.

Good. He would keep watch.

Kier leaned down and slid a finger into Nerissa’s slick heat, pumping slowly before adding a second. Cedric worked her clit with one hand while palming her breast with the other. Nerissa moaned loudly, writhing under their touch, her body arching with raw need.

Kier glanced at me and crooked a finger.

I approached with a smirk, offering the glasses. "This will help."

Nerissa and Cedric drained the wine quickly. Kier set the empty glasses aside, then pulled me into a deep kiss. It felt strangely thrilling to kiss him so freely as a man. His hand slipped under my skirt, fingers finding their way into my panties.

"You’re soaked," he murmured against my lips.

"I'm always wet... you know that," I replied, "but we don’t have much time."

"Just five minutes," Nerissa pleaded, reaching up to squeeze my breasts.

"Fine."

I snapped my fingers, and my clothes vanished in an instant.

"That’s more like it," Nerissa moaned as Cedric lifted her over his lap and thrust deep inside her. "Now lift one leg onto the bed so I can reach you properly."

I obeyed, bracing one foot on the mattress.

Nerissa’s fingers immediately found my clit, rubbing firm circles while she rode Cedric’s cock with eager bounces. Behind me, Kier positioned himself and pushed in slowly. He was so thick that a sharp cry escaped my throat as he stretched me open.

The room filled with the wet sounds of flesh and breathless moans. I rocked between them, pleasure building fast, but I had other plans.

"Switch," I gasped, my body already trembling on the edge.

Kier pulled out of me with a low groan. I eased away from Nerissa, my body still tingling.

Cedric lay back on the bed, and Nerissa quickly straddled him, sinking down onto his cock with a needy moan. I watched, mesmerized, as she rode him hard—her full breasts bouncing with every eager downward thrust, her hips rolling in a sensual rhythm that made wet sounds fill the room.

Kier didn’t wait for instruction. He moved behind Nerissa, slicking his cock with her juices before pressing against her tight rear entrance. She moaned loudly as he slowly pushed inside her ass, filling her completely while Cedric continued thrusting into her pussy. The dual penetration made her shake violently between them.

"Oh gods… too full," she whimpered, but her hips rocked back greedily for more.

I straddled Cedric’s face so he could eat me while I kissed Nerissa deeply, swallowing her desperate moans. Kier and Cedric quickly found a rhythm — one thrusting in while the other pulled back — turning Nerissa into a writhing, moaning mess between us.

The sight and sounds pushed me over first. I came hard on Cedric’s tongue, crying out into Nerissa’s mouth. She followed right after, her body clamping down so intensely around both men that they couldn’t hold back. Kier pulled out and spilled across her back with a guttural groan while Cedric thrust deep and came inside her, flooding her pussy.

After pulling out, Cedric's head lolled back against the bed. A heartbeat later, he began to snore.

Nerissa laughed as she curled up beside him. "He's tired. We've been at it all—" Her words died on her lips.

She blinked once, swayed, then slumped against Cedric's shoulder. A moment later, she, too, was snoring.

I couldn't help but giggle. "It takes about five minutes for the sleeping draught to take effect."

With a snap of my fingers, my black gown shimmered back into existence, along with the rest of my clothing.

I turned to Kier. "You can put your clothes back on now," I said with an amused smile. "We need to leave."

I gathered the prophecy bowl from the table and emptied the remaining silver silt into a velvet pouch at my belt.

No sense wasting it.

Kier glanced between the unconscious seers. "What about them?"

I looked back once. "When they awaken, they'll remember drinking too much wine."

"And if they do remember?"

I smiled. "They'll blame each other."

Kier snorted. "I almost pity them."

"You almost do."

A deep horn suddenly echoed across the palace.

Its mournful call rolled through the stone corridors like distant thunder.

"That's our signal," I said. "We need to leave."

We slipped out of Nerissa's chambers without a sound.

Florian stood beside a narrow window overlooking the palace grounds, his gaze fixed on the square below.

"The army has returned," he said quietly. "And with them... Azerath."

I joined him at the window.

Far below, beyond the palace gates, the reinforced prison cart carrying Azerath had come to a halt before my brother.

General Sallow dismounted and exchanged a few quiet words with Vaelric before crossing to a cluster of officers.

Even from this distance, I recognized the sharp, decisive movements of his hands. He was issuing orders.

The officers saluted.

Moments later, they turned and hurried toward the barracks, shouting commands as they ran.

A knot tightened in my stomach.

"Let's go."

We hurried down the winding stairs of the North Tower before anyone noticed us.

The palace buzzed with activity.

Servants rushed past carrying barrels of ale toward the banquet hall. Maids balanced baskets overflowing with fresh bread while others hauled stacks of clean blankets toward the quarters.

We moved quickly into the narrow service corridor connecting the palace to the barracks. With every step, the sounds grew louder.

Steel rasped against whetstones. Armor buckles snapped into place. Orders echoed through the passage.

An army preparing to march.

I slowed as two soldiers emerged from the armory carrying bundles of arrows.

They stopped only a few paces away.

Perfect.

I raised a hand, silently signaling Florian and Kier to stay still.

"I heard the refugees have joined forces with the rebels," one soldier said.

His companion chuckled. "They have. So where are we marching?"

"The Cursed Forest."

The second soldier snorted. "A cursed forest?" He adjusted the sword on his hip. "There's nothing in those woods that can frighten an Arcanian." He grinned. "What are the Emperor's orders?"

The first soldier's smile vanished. "Kill everyone."

The words struck me like a knife.

"Men." He raised one finger. "Women." A second.

"Children." A third. "Animals." He shrugged. "Everything."

The second soldier nodded slowly. "And afterward?"

"We burn the forest." He grinned. "Shouldn't be difficult. Not without a dragon or a Celestial to protect them."

The two soldiers laughed and continued toward the barracks.

I remained where I stood.

Refugees... Rebels... Animals...

That meant they were going to kill everyone...

Even Ryven, Magnus's son.

Every soul who had fled into the Cursed Forest believing its ancient trees would shelter them...

Vaelric intended to erase them all.

"Elyndra?"

Kier's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I looked at him. "We're leaving."

Florian frowned. "Aetheria?"

I nodded my head. "To the Cursed Forest."

Understanding flashed across his face. "We have to warn them."

"Yes."

He glanced toward the courtyard. "Then we must leave immediately. The crowds outside will hide us." His expression darkened. "But the Imperial Army can travel by magic. They'll reach the forest before nightfall."

A faint smile tugged at my lips. "I've lived in Aetherion for centuries."

Florian tilted his head.

I flicked my fingers, wrapping each of us once more in the plain garments of wandering peasants. "I've prepared for days like this. In an old tree near the palace," I said, "I've hidden something that will get us there before the army." I pulled my hood over my head. "Follow me."

Now...

We were deep within the forest, searching for the tree.

My gaze swept from trunk to trunk, searching for the mark I had carved into the bark years ago.

"What are we looking for?" Kier asked.

"A marking of the House of Sable," I replied. "A six-pointed star."

Florian wandered a few paces ahead, running his fingers over the weathered bark of an ancient oak. He paused before a hollowed trunk.

"I believe this is what you're looking for."

I hurried over.

There, nearly swallowed by time, was the six-pointed star etched into the wood.

"That's the one," I said, unable to hide my relief.

I reached into the hollow and withdrew two small leather pouches. The first clinked with gold coins. The second held several black-market travel orbs, each smooth as polished glass.

"Place your hands on my shoulders," I instructed.

Once they did, I pressed my fingers against a white travel orb.

The world dissolved into darkness. An instant later, the old oak vanished.

The dense canopy of the Cursed Forest rose around us, its twisted branches blotting out what little light remained of the gloomy afternoon. Tiny flickers of pale light drifted lazily between the trees like wandering spirits.

A chorus of low growls surrounded us. Shadows shifted. Dozens of wolves emerged from the undergrowth, their eyes fixed upon us.

Then a familiar voice cut through the tension.

"Easy, my friends."

The wolves immediately fell silent.

Andreas stepped from between the trees, one hand resting on the shoulder of the largest wolf.

His brows drew together as he looked at me. "Elyndra?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"The Arcanis army is on its way," I said without preamble. "They intend to slaughter everyone."