The Blood King's Bride

The war field was engulfed in silence. Then the screaming began.

All the people who had their sense of control ripped from them fell to the ground, holding their heads in their hands and screaming their lungs out. It was like a repeat of what had happened in the kingdom of Pres, Wazir thought. Whoever had been controlling them had been killed, and from the look of things, the person had to be Slovic, the huge monster. Wazir wished to be closer to the main battle, but he knew that he was safer inside the barrier. The people there needed someone they could look up to as their main leaders fought.

He looked towards the main fighting ground again and hoped that his niece was fine. Elena was panting heavily after killing the monster. The naked body of the man who she

had just killed lay on the bloodied ground, his face still in shock even after death. Slowly, Elena

rose from the ground as her husband rushed to support her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his face drenched in worry. Though Elena could see the fear

that lined his expression, she could also see the hidden pride underneath it.

She smiled. "I am fine." She replied. She leaned on her husband as she tried to get her footing. Then she faced Firoza.

"I just have one more job to do." She said, her face determined.

"Honey, you need to gain your rest. Firoza isn't someone you can easily defeat. Even I have problems fighting her. Go rest, I'll try and keep her occupied for a while."

Elena shook her head. "You said it. She isn't someone that can be easily defeated. But I know her weakness. I know how to destroy her. Besides, we are in a war. There is no time to rest."

She leaned on her husband for a few more seconds, then slowly walked forward towards Firoza.

"No matter what you do, do not join this fight." She called out to him. "If you want to help me, lend me your strength."

Finally, she stood a few yards away from Firoza. It was time for the final battle.

"I have to admit, you really surprised me there, Elena." Firoza started, staring at Elena

curiously. "I am pretty sure that something about you changed just now, but I can't seem to point out what it is."

"You shouldn't bother. The time for your end is now."

"Are you sure you even have the strength to take on me?" Firoza asked, smirking. "You look like you can barely stand."

"Don't worry about me," Elena said, slowly drawing out her sword and taking a fighting stance. "You should worry about yourself first."

Firoza giggled. "This is getting more interesting. Your husband, the most powerful king

in the four kingdoms could barely give me a scratch, and you suddenly think that you can do

that? You of all people?" she laughed loudly. "Tell you what, if you can manage to leave just a tiny scratch on me, I'll consider you a worthy opponent."

Elena smirked. Pride always goes before a fall. Firoza was going to learn that lesson least expectedly.

Angling her sword, Elena ran towards Firoza with a shout. Firoza smirked, standing her ground. Elena continued fast towards her, hoping that she would remain like that, making her work much easier.

Just when she was almost close to her enemy, Firoza instinctually turned, changing

Elena's focus from Firoza's heart to her shoulder. She watched in shock as Elena's sword ripped through not only her attire but also her skin, muscles, tendons and came out through her back.

Elena then ripped her sword out from Firoza's body, her sword dripping with Firoza's blood. Everywhere stilled.

*****

Calhoun was shocked. What had just happened? He couldn't believe what he was seeing. With the bleeding shock that came with the fact that his wife could wound Firoza, the small ambers of hope lit up at the fact that Firoza could be killed. Elena had not been joking. She did know how to defeat Firoza.

Firoza released a piercing scream then flew up straight into the sky. Immediately her

body was enveloped with reddish-black flames, and black veins made their way to her face. "I will kill you!"

She screamed, then she swopped down towards Firoza.

Calhoun immediately started supplying her with all the strength he had. There was hope for them all. They wouldn't waste it.

*****

Elena found herself energetic more than before. She saw Firoza's attack and quickly

avoided it, but not before slashing at Firoza, leaving her with another wound.

Firoza screamed crazily, and she continued her attack. Her movements had no finesse.

She attacked roughly, based on her instincts. The more she fought, the more Elena realized that truly, Firoza lacked the knowledge of combat.

Seeing that she couldn't reach anywhere with the way she fought, Firoza started releasing flames, throwing them towards Elena. When that wasn't enough, she caused the rocks on the earth to fly towards her opponent.

Elena was having a hard time keeping up, and she had almost been hit several times.

What Firoza lacked in combat, she made up for it in her powers. Elena had finally found a way to defeat Firoza. She couldn't just take it for granted.

*****

Wazir had a glimpse of the people fighting, and he saw, even if it was for a short time, his niece stab Firoza. Judging from the angle that she struck, he knew that had she been just a little bit lower, Firoza would have been dead. He looked around him, taking in the people watching the fight. Those who had earlier been screaming had fainted due to fatigue, and some of the soldiers were watching over them. The others were all focused on the main battle, their breaths held.

He turned to look back at his niece. They were all counting on her.

*****

Elena was still inwardly trying to figure out how to strike her opponent when Firoza's flame caught up with her. She crashed heavily on the dusty earth, pain radiating through her whole body. She had seen Firoza throw a flame at her, which she smartly deflected, yet Firoza had seen through her plan and quickly sent another that was sure to send her off course. She was still trying to clear her head from her disorientation when Firoza pounced on her, flame ready at her hand.

"You must die." As she was about to attack Elena, Firoza's body was flung to the other

side. Elena watched in surprise as her husband faced Firoza. She had told him that no matter what, he shouldn't attack. Why didn't he listen?

Enraged, Firoza began to attack him instead. Calhoun dodged the attacks, leading Firoza away from where his wife lay. Elena immediately understood what he was doing. Her husband was giving her time to rest, no matter how little.

Firoza attacked crazily, blinded by rage. Calhoun tried to deflect all that she sent towards him with his sword, yet it proved to no avail as the force pushed him back several feet. Firoza sent everything she could his way; flames, rocks, a sea of sand. She did all she could, but she found it impossible to use her powers to raise him high up in the air. She had no problem with that when it came to normal humans. Why was she having sudden problems now? She had taken time to explore the new powers she had. Everything pointed that she was immortal. How did this wench suddenly find a way to wound her? Firoza did not like it. She didn't like how she felt uncomfortable and though she loathed to admit it, scared. She was supposed to be all-powerful. That did not seem to be the case anymore. After going around for a while, she suddenly realized what was going on. Calhoun had successfully dragged her away from her main opponent, giving her time to gain strength. She grinned maliciously. He would pay for that. Quickly, she called up a sea of sand to surround Calhoun, with heavy rocks flying high above him. She was tired of playing games. Screaming, she quickly sent a sea of flames to Calhoun, released the rocks flying over his head to fall on him, then buried him alive with the sand. There was no way even the mighty blood king would be able to escape that.

*****

Time stood still for Elena. She had just watched her husband being buried alive by the hands of her opponent. Her husband was strong, very strong. But there was no way he would have survived that.

No, she thought. She wasn't going to think that way. Her husband was still alive. She

tried to reach out to him through their bond, but she didn't receive any response.

She would not think the worst. She would not think the worst.

Head blank, she turned to face Firoza. It was all her fault.

She didn't know when her blood began to boil. At that point, she was relying solely on adrenaline. Her husband was not dead; she chanted in her head.

Laughing, Firoza flew towards Elena, pausing over her head. "It's your fault that your husband is dead. And in a while, you would join him too. But first, I am going to have some fun with you." She immediately sent another flame to Elena, which she quickly dodged. The attack was enough to snap her out of her reverie. She gave a loud shout and lunged towards Firoza. Elena, who could never fly, suddenly saw herself fighting on air. That had been one of Calhoun's skills. She shook her head, refusing to think deeply about it. She would avenge her husband, and Firoza would pay most painfully.

She slashed at Firoza, her movements so fast that her opponents had trouble keeping up with it. Firoza tried to use the same method against Calhoun to stop her, but it proved futile, as Elena always found a way to get out of it. Her greyish eyes had a tint of red in them, and her rage could easily be seen through them. All that was in her head was her chant of killing Firoza. She was indirectly the cause of her father's death.

And now, her husband was wounded because of her.

Calhoun had been protecting her since. What would she say if she didn't destroy the

person who caused him harm? She had to destroy Firoza, not just for her revenge but for her and her husband's honour.

Elena took in a deep breath, calming her mind. She had to be extra aware of her

surroundings to destroy Firoza. Calhoun wasn't there to share his strength with her, so she had to

rely on herself. She opened her eyes, then focused solely on Firoza.

*****

Firoza had been using her powers since. She had abstained from coming anywhere close

to Elena, fearing that Elena would harm her again. Elena, who had no power except for the extra strength, wished that she could conjure flames of blood at that moment. While avoiding the attacks from Firoza, she tried to imagine how her husband had called up the flames. She didn't know how, as it always seemed like an easy task to him.

"Ha! You are not worth this. I should end you now!" Firoza suddenly stilled and raised

her hands. The already darkened clouds began to slowly simmer, and the faint sound of thunder could be heard.

Firoza knew that majority of her power would be drained after using this method. But she didn't care. She can always get it back. But at that point, she was just so angry without reason. Elena had found a way to wound her; she who had killed even a supreme being with just a single throat slash. She was all-powerful. There was no way she would allow a mere human like Elena to defeat her.

She would show her the true power of her might.

*****

Elena's boldness didn't waver. She was ready to defeat Firoza even at the cost of her life. There was no point in living in a world where Firoza would be the supreme ruler. That was not

life. It would certainly be worse than death. No matter what happened, she had to attack now, while Firoza was busy gathering her power for the ultimate attack.

With moves like water, Elena stealthily approached Firoza, but the latter had seen her and sent a strong sea of flames her way.

That was all the distraction Elena needed.

Hiding under the shadow of the flames, she swiftly moved, making use of her ability to

be extra fast, to appear behind Firoza. Without wasting any more time, without any care for her life, she struck.

Firoza had felt her, but before she could do anything, it was too late. Just as she sent her greatest attack towards Elena, the latter had struck her from behind, her sword piercing from her back through her heart, then appearing out of her chest. Firoza screamed in pain, quickly turning to strike at Elena with all she had.

The two fell from the sky.

*****

Elena landed with a heavy thud. She tried to avoid the attack, but it was late for her. Firoza had struck her with lightning covered with blue flames. The attack had gone through her whole body, leaving her in pains far worse than the ones she had previously gone through. She wasn't sure if she screamed, but her throat felt hoarse.

She looked to her side, where Firoza lay still. The fall caused her sword to become deeply embedded in her, causing the sharp edge to protrude fully from her chest. If one were to turn Firoza over, they would notice that Elena's blade had gone through her till it reached the hilt. Blood poured from every opening on Firoza; her eyes, nose, mouth and ears. She lay lifeless on the ground, the light gone from her eyes.

Elena managed a small smile. She had defeated Firoza. She had won.

Then her world turned black.