Chapter 80

Isadora POV.

Anastasia burst out laughing much to my surprise, saying, "What baby are you talking about, Isadora? Don't tell me you're so stupid to fall for that. Yes, I'm having a baby, but he's not the father."

My jaws dropped to the floor as I yelled, completely taken aback by the extent of her lies, "You toothless imbecile..." I cursed.

Before I could complete my response, she added, "Yeah, I wanted him all for myself, but give my blood to save his life? Never. Bitch, bye. I'm out of here."

With that, she shifted back into her dragon form and flew out through the door, busting it open and leaving a trail of fire behind her.

I stood frozen on one spot like a log of wood, watching everything happen like a movie, until the chief guard yelled, drawing my attention back to the reality of the moment, "My lady, she's getting away." As soon as I snapped out of the daydream, I barked out a command, saying, "Grab her, don't let her get away."

Immediately, ten of Golem's dragon warriors shifted into their dragon form and went after her.

The chief guard and I rushed outside to watch the scene unfold in the sky. It was like a clash of stars, as tongues of fire flew across the sky like a firework festival.

After a while, Anastasia was smashed out of the sky, and she crashed into the ground like a comet. As soon as she hit the ground, she shifted back to her human form, completely drained of strength. Two of my southern men immediately bolted towards her and firmly placed a moonstone amulet on her neck as they dragged her across the floor and dropped her at my feet.

She looked up at me for a quick second, with a look of disdain in her eyes, as she moaned in pain. She tried to get up from the floor, but I smashed my foot on her back, making her slam into the ground as I said, "Stay down."

Anastasia glared at me, a mix of defiance and resentment in her eyes. "You think this changes anything, Isadora? You might have won this battle, but the war is far from over."

I scoffed, "Save your threats for someone who cares. You made this mess, hence you're going to fix it."

The chief guard stepped forward, saying, "My lady, what do you want us to do with her?"

I looked at him in disappointment, as I responded impatiently. "Don't you think that's a stupid question? Tie her up — she'll be used for the blood bath"

The chief guard immediately signaled the others, and they bound Anastasia's hands and feet with strong chains, dragging her back into the room where Golem lay with the witch doctor.

As Anastasia was dragged in, she yelled and screamed at the top of her voice, fear in her eyes as she said, "Isadora, no, please, don't do this to me. I'm a woman like you."

I ignored her, casually chewing on the gum I collected from one of the men.

As soon as the witch doctor set eyes on us approaching, he asked, "We don't have much time. Have you found the willing sacrifice?" Anastasia was about to open her mouth to say something stupid in reply, but I quickly grabbed her by the jaw just in time and duct-taped her lips shut.

Turning to the witch doctor with a smile on my face, I responded, "She's willing to be the sacrificial lamb. You may go ahead with the sacrifice, please."

Anastasia looked at me with fear. I could see the horror in her eyes. I glared back at her with a smirk on my face, showing her the middle finger.

The witch doctor replied, pulling out a strange-looking piece of knife, and said, "Very well, sacrifice accepted."

Anastasia's heart rate went up by a million beats per second. I could see the horror in her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks, desperately struggling to break free from the chains.

The witch doctor took very slow and gentle steps towards Anastasia. I knew it was about to happen, but I didn't want to watch it, so I looked sideways. I heard the spill of blood, and after that, the room fell silent.

The witch doctor turned to me and requested a calabash, avoiding his gaze. Wondering why in hell would we keep a calabash lying around the palace, I turned to the chief guard, who was still carried away by what just happened, and asked, "Do we have a calabash?"

He nodded, saying, "Yes, my lady," as he rushed out to go get it.

He returned almost immediately and handed it over to the witch doctor, who collected it and went straight to Anastasia's lifeless body, withdrawing some blood from her neck.

He took the blood and went over to Golem's body, sprinkling the blood droplets all over him, scrubbing his skin with the blood using a sponge.

After a while, the witch doctor stopped, and a smile played on his face. Out of curiosity, I asked, "Is it finished? Is the sacrifice over?"

He responded with a sinister grin on his face, rubbing his palms together as he said, "The sacrifice is complete. All that is left is for the Fire Lord to awaken and drink some of the blood."

Just as I was about to respond, Golem's body gently began to move as he slowly arose from his unconsciousness. "He's awake," I exclaimed, rushing towards his side.

Helping him up into a sitting position, he asked, "What happened to me?"

I replied, "It's a long story. Remember the black dust the White Wizard used on you back at the North? Turns out we underestimated its effects on you. Thanks to the ritual performed by this witch doctor, everything will be okay now, and your strength will return even greater than before."

"Is that so?" Golem inquired, his voice weak.

I nodded in response, saying, "Yes, my love. All that is left is for you to drink some of this blood here." Receiving the calabash from the witch doctor, I passed it over to Golem, saying, "Here you go, have some."

He took a quick gulp of the blood, and with a mouth still tainted with the crimson liquid, he asked, "Whose blood is this, by the way?"

I responded, saying, "Anastasia's."

"What?!" Golem yelled, spitting the blood straight at my face.