The Bastard Princess

90.

-HER-

The next morning, I woke up to find her feeding some logs to the fire in the hearth. Today was a lot colder. I could see the white clouds of my breath forming in the air inside the bedroom even though the hearth was roaring with fire.

"How are you feeling today?" She asked me while eyeing me from head to toe. I shivered under her gaze when I was reminded of what happened yesterday. I needed to act soon.

"I still have some pain in my chest," I told her, trying my best to sound sick. She cocked an eyebrow at me and nodded before laying my breakfast out. I got out of the bed and ate some more spring rolls and chicken soup.

"Where did you go last night?" I ended up asking her out of curiosity.

"Oh, I was just out feeding on some mortal's blood," She waved her hand at me nonchalantly as she added, "I happen to catch some children outside in the night. I had such a good dinner for a long time!"

I tried my best not to throw up all the food I had just eaten after hearing her answer. I regretted asking her the question in the first place because I was soon throwing up all over despite my efforts. She hissed in annoyance before she helped me get back to the bed.

"Look at you! You are getting worse! I told you those spring rolls and chicken soup wouldn't do the job for you! You need some mortal blood in your system to function properly!" She scolded me while she helped me get clean.

Even though she was still the evil enchantress, Psaltisi, there was something in her tone which reminded me of the mother I never had. It reminded me of Ivana instead and her soothing voice. In the next moment, I was throwing my arms around her and breaking down into tears.

I felt her froze under me while I bawled my eyes out like a child.

"What happened now?" She questioned, slightly pushing me off her body and looking at me with a look of annoyance and judgment decorating her face. She was the evil enchantress now. Ivana was absolutely missing.

"I..." I trailed off as I wiped my tears, "I just got emotional because you are taking such good care for me," I lied to her while she watched with the same disgusted look on her face.

"Yeah, I know. I am doing this all because of the sacrifice. The healthier you are, the better it is for me. I really want to impress the griever," She told me.

"I love your determination," I couldn't help but comment sarcastically while also being aware of how time was slipping past my fingers.

"Thank you very much," She tipped her chin up as she walked away and went about doing her work. I saw her fiddle with those skulls of newborn babies before crushing them into powder and putting it on her face.

"It's the powder of the newborn babies' skull. Always makes you look fairer and good for the freckles," She told me while the only thing I could do was watch with a mix of horror and fascination. Then I watched her coat her already red hair with some fresh blood.

"This is the blood of those children I hate last night," She told me as she admired her reflection in the mirror, "It's very good for preserving your curls," She sighed, "I have so many beauty tips but no one to give them to," She pouted before she continued with her beauty regime.

After she was done with her "makeup", she moved to the house chores. I watched as she burned some clothes and things in the name of getting rid of them. Then she went about the house looking around. I soon understood that she was looking for something.

"Is something lost?" I asked her.

"Yes," She answered while she went through her belongings, "I cannot find my dagger," She pouted. I froze at her words because I had her dagger. I found it yesterday while going through her things.

"Have you seen it?" She asked me and I simply shook my head at her. While she was still busy looking through her stuff, I took the dagger out of the pillow before getting up from the bed without making a noise.

Her back was turned to me and it couldn't have been a better opportunity for me to free Ivana. I slowly sneaked behind her before asking, "Is this what you're looking for?"

I was expecting her to turn around to look at me so that I could stab her in the heart but she didn't. Instead, she froze and just looked at me over her shoulder. I tightened my fingers around the dagger before I raised it over my head to stab her.

She turned around even before I could blink and threw me across the room. I hit the window before falling to the floor with a thud. I instantly felt the pain from the impact but I got up soon and searched for the dagger. I panicked when I couldn't find it.

"I TRUSTED YOU!" She roared at me before lunging at me from across the room. She looked terrifying with such intense rage decorating her face. I somehow managed to duck and ran for the door instead but she threw a table at it, trapping us in.

I turned around to find her advancing at me with her red evil eyes glowing and her sharp teeth out. The sight sent a shiver down my spine and for a moment, I was paralyzed. She gathered some fireballs and threw them at me while I was still in shock.

The fore balls hit me but I didn't get any burn. I recovered from her blow with minimal wounds, puzzling her.

She roared in anger next before throwing more of such glowing balls at me. This time they weren't made of fire. They were more powerful and had more impact. So much so that wherever they hit, it penetrated the thick stone walls, making a hole in them.

I managed to escape through one such hole and ran for my life but she was quick to catch up on me.

"Where are you going, dear?" Her voice boomed in the ruins while I found myself lost in the debris. The place was a labyrinth in itself, "Come to mommy. She needs you," Her sweet voice was making me tremble with fear.

Without thinking much, I took a turn and found myself face to face with her. I screamed on the top of my lungs while she laughed evilly and clutched my throat. I struggled and hit her on the face several times but nothing worked.

She dragged me to the courtroom, clutching me by the hair while I did all the things I could do to fight her.

"You've already wasted a lot of my time," She gritted at me once we reached the courtroom before hitting me very hard across my face, "I didn't know you were so clever and good at pretending. Seems like Tryphaena did teach you some things,"

With that, she chanted some spells before a whirlpool of dust occupied the floor and opened up the dark portal. I was still fighting her but she kept hitting me. I knew I wasn't going to last long.

Just when the way to the dark portal started to get wide enough, the opposite wall of the courtroom was knocked down completely, creating a new pile of debris and a thick cloud of dust.

I didn't have to wait for the cloud of dust to clear to see him because I already felt his presence. I subsequently found his silver eyes glowing in the dusty storm, approaching us.

"Ares!" I cried in excitement while Psaltisi was frozen with surprise.

We were finally going to free Ivana!

...

vote. comment. share. follow me

Read the next 6 chapters for free on inkitt.com/parttimewolf

Read the complete book on Patreon.com/Benita_16

Also available on Patreon: Javier, The Gentleman's Trial, Erotic Novellas (LEVEL 2 exclusive)

Instagram: ptf_16

thanks for reading <3