by Garnet Hart
“Bran, my people’s freedom is all that matters to me. Marrying Var is a condition before the Aesirs would finally leave our land alone so the Lycans can have their home back. It’s a condition I cannot refuse just for the sake of my personal interest. Do you understand?”
Bran shrugged. “I do, but the lassie probably doesn’t.”
Lior turned to see Asra who was preparing her arrow. Slowly, she turned to glance at him before raising her bow to aim for the target.
Lior’s heart lurched so hard that he felt like someone had kicked him on the chest. Her glance was brief, but long enough for him to see the deep sadness and pain concealed within her emerald eyes.
She released her arrow, and everyone clapped their hands when she hit right through the middle of the target. It was a perfect bullseye, and she had done so without much effort.
He could not stop himself from smiling. He felt proud of her. This Elf was really up to standing for something she really wanted… and that was him.
“That’s the way, lassie!” Bran cheered her on. “Make this goddess eat her shit.”
Lior held his breath when Var glared at Bran. To his relief, Var chose to ignore Bran and moved to the space that Asra had just vacated.
When the goddess aimed her arrow, reality hit him. He had forgotten that Var was also trained in the art of Archery, by the best teachers of Asgard.
Should Asra lose, she’d have to be whipped a hundred times, just like what Ginny had gone through when she challenged a Lycan that he had been engaged with… and failed.
Asra was frozen in her place, staring with wide opened eyes, when Var’s arrow hit right through the hole where her own arrow had just been plucked off. She had not expected that a goddess would be that skilled in archery, as well. She thought they were only good in beautifying themselves. She was wrong.
Now she had to wait for the decision, and she could only hope that it would favor her.
She met Var’s taunting gaze as the goddess turned away and stood beside Lior.
Lior did not even look at her, as if he was avoiding meeting her eyes.
“The duel is a draw,” the chairman announced.
Asra was relieved as the crowd applauded. Now, she had a chance. She had expected for a rematch, but the chairman said otherwise.
“To decide the winner, Lord Lior shall now make a personal decision.”
Asra’s lips stretched into a smile when she witnessed how Var’s face turned red, as though the odds were against her. Asra knew why, because Lior would not choose Var over someone he loved, not even if Var was a goddess.
Lior stepped onto the podium to speak. His face looked hard, but he stood before the people with utmost confidence.
She knew Lior loved her. She’d seen and felt it herself. And this time, he would choose her.
She almost cried when Lior turned to look at her. It meant he had chosen her. He had chosen her over that bitchy goddess.
Just as she was about to run to him, he turned to his right where Var was standing and held out his hand to the goddess.
Asra was frozen and could not believe it when he kissed Var on the lips before everyone’s eyes.
Her tears threatened to overflow as the feeling of betrayal enveloped her.
“The wedding will resume as scheduled,” Lior announced afterwards.
Her ears protruded and her surroundings turned dark. And like a devil was in control of her mind and body, she aimed her arrow to the son of a bitch, or the fiancé of a bitch!
Lior saw her action and quickly stepped in front of Var. She had no intention of hitting Var, but his act of protecting that bitch only heightened her rage.
Without hesitation, she released her arrow, hitting Lior’s left shoulder. It did not even make him budge, but even if her arrow looked like a needle on him, a dozen of it would probably knock him down. Although she knew her arrows would not be enough to kill him, but she had to hurt him, just as how she was hurting right now.
She pulled another arrow from her back and fired it on his right shoulder. He grimaced, which meant he was hurt. It made her feel good.
But it was not enough. She wanted more. She wanted him to feel even a fraction of the pain she was feeling.
She aimed another arrow at him, not minding if the guards were running to her, and Bran dashed to protect her from their attack. She didn’t mind dying. She’d have to fire this one last shot, probably at this bastard’s heart. She wanted to give him a pain he would never forget. After that, she can die.
At the very second she released her arrow, something pierced through her leg, throwing her off balance. She watched as her arrows flew, and due to the impact on her leg, she missed his chest and the arrow pierced his ribs instead.
She fell on one leg on the ground and realized she had been shot by an arrow, as well. And she knew who did it.
She looked up and saw Var glaring at her while she held Lior around the waist to support his balance. The men had surrounded her now, the tip of their swords under her chin.
So, this was how her life would truly end.
After struggling to fight for her right, for her happiness, and for her life… this was all that she got—a heartache, a humiliation, and a death sentence.
Lior kept himself firm as he watched Asra through the one way mirror. She was inside a room where criminals were punished. Her wrists were cuffed up on a beam, her knees, on the solid floor while an officer was whipping her back with a leather whip.
Even as a Lycan, he knew the feel of the leather’s sting on his skin. How much more to a human like her?
She was supposed to take a hundred whips, but being a human, he lowered it down to twenty. But it still looked too much for her. She was still on her ninth whip when she began to spit out blood.
He quickly looked away and closed his eyes. He wanted to break into the mirror, beat the officers and take her away, somewhere where she could be safe, where no one would dare lay a finger on her.
But even as a king of this world, he felt helpless. The law, which even Lysander, the Grand Commander of the Ancient Forces had once faced, was superior to his authority. He’d already been too lenient to this Elf, and if he’d dare stop her punishment, they might begin to doubt his capability to enforce the law.
“Look at it.” Var, who was standing beside him, nudged his elbow. “You have to look at it if you’re really worthy to be the king of this land.”
He pried his eyes open, just in time to see another whip land on Asra’s back. It felt like a dagger stabbed him on the spine, and the pain pierced through his heart until he was unable to breath.
Asra never made a sound, as though she was suppressing her moan by biting down her tongue. But he could see her knuckles tightening against the metal cuffs. He could see the pain straining her lovely face, and he could see how she was begging for someone to stop this.
But he cannot. She’d have to take those lashes as a punishment for attacking him and for losing the challenge against Var.
Another blow, and another, and another, landed on her back. Finally, it was down to the last one. She looked too fragile now to take even a tap. The skin on her back had cracked open and blood lavishly seeped out of her flesh. The final blow landed and her body surrendered. Her head dropped forward limply.
Lior found himself shaking and his eyes filled with tears as the officers unlocked her cuff. She fell on the floor, unconscious. He feared that she did not make it, but when the officers checked her pulse and gave him a nod, he was relieved.
He blinked his eyes dry and turned to his side. He caught Var’s suspicious gaze on him. It was too late to hide the pain he felt for the Elf.
“Why do you pity that whore?” she asked. “She has wounded you, and you still pity her? The law ordered a hundred blows. Why did you lower it? She should die.”
“Enough,” he said softly. “She’s not a Lycan. She’s too weak to take a hundred lashes.”
“Who cares? The law applies to all, does it
not?”
“Even the law knows mercy.”
“Mercy? She tried to kill me!” Var went closer to the glass wall, touched it and shouted. “Officers, I order you to continue whipping her until she dies.”
Lior had had enough of this bitch. He quickly pulled her away and overruled her order. “Do not lay a finger on the prisoner. Leave her alone.”
The officers obeyed and left the room.
Var furiously turned to him. “She tried to kill me. I have the right to punish her any way I want.”
“She was not trying to kill you. She was aiming at me.”
“Then why did you cover me? You know a stupid arrow cannot easily kill me.”
He sighed. “It is instinctive on my part to protect, Var. You already shot her leg. Why whip her dead?”
“I’m a goddess! She dared challenge me.”
“She is entitled to it.”
“Why are you protecting that Elf?
“I’m not”
“Could it be true that you’re in love with that creature? A product of a god’s sex slave and a lowly human who does nothing but beg for the gods to do everything for him.”
“Do not insult humans because you are not a goddess without them. You should be serving them.”
“Why should we? We’re gods, while they’re just a bunch lowly beggars.”
“You should know your history, Var. Humans are the center of this world. They are stronger than any other creatures on earth. They have the capacity to grow, to learn and create new things which other worlds, including Asgard, has adapted into. And you, the dwellers of Asgard are nothing but creatures to entertain the humans’ spirits until they are reborn, and Hel is to keep the bad souls from being reborn in Midgar. That is your job and nothing else. You are not gods but servants of Midgar, and not the other way around.”
It was the first time he had spoken of that. Being half god himself, he used to reject that idea. Not anymore.
“Don’t throw me that shit,” Var gnashed. “My father, Odin, is a god. He created the humans and all other creatures on earth, and that includes you.”
“So your father has filled your head with lies as well. Odin is just an Aesir who wanted everything according to his wishes and destroyed the balance of this world. He’d allied with the Jotuns and stole the guardians of the humans, then afterwards deceived all his allies, annihilated the dragons, stole the artifacts of other worlds, and declared himself a god.”
Var slapped him hard across his face. “You dare accuse my father of theft?”
“Why don’t you go ask your Daddy about it?” he challenged. “You think I don’t know what you did to that human, Olivia?”
Var’s face turned crimson. It only showed her guilt. She probably thought he had not recognized the identity of the goddess inside the human vessel. “You have no proof.”
“Don’t I? I have kept photos of us dancing, and the CCTV has recorded us entering the hotel room, and another in the elevator while you were stroking my cock.”
Var could not speak.
“That girl was dying, but you took advantage of her weak state and used her as your vessel.”
Var shrugged. “So what?”
“If your father finds out you’ve been whoring around using a human vessel, and you even helped the Elf escape just to get rid of her, do you think he’d forgive you?”
“Don’t blackmail me.”
“I’m not. I’m just letting you know that humans are not beings you can just mess with. Even your father knows that. He imposes rules to protect humans from abusive gods like yourself, because he knows that once he abuses the humans, the balancing forces of the earth would come destroy him. And you should start asking yourself why before you even refer to them as useless.”
Var shot him a hard look before turning away, stamping her feet like the spoiled daughter she was.
He waited until Var’s footsteps faded away before he approached Asra. She looked dead lying on the floor face down, but when he slipped two fingers at the back of her ear, he felt her pulse.
His heart was shattering into debris as he lightly touched her back.
His palm was immediately drenched with blood. His tears fell without warning.
He had to heal her right away, or she’d lose whatever little life she had left.
Carefully, he took her in his arms and brought her out of the room. Along the corridor, he saw Ginny waiting.
“It would no’ be nice for a king to heal his own prisoner. Give her to me. I’ll see to it that she lives.”
She spoke the truth. As the king, he must not give special treatment to criminals. It would make him look weak and indecisive. He was grateful for Ginny’s understanding.
He handed Asra’s unconscious body to Ginny.
“I was the one who invited her here,” she quietly confessed as she looked at Asra’s pale face. “I thought that would make you happy. I’m sorry, my lord. I didn’t know it would come to this.”
He nodded. It made him very happy but at the same time, very sad. But he didn’t express it. “That’s alright, Ginny.”
Ginny bowed and turned around, heading toward a room at the end of the building. He trusted Ginny. He knew that she would take care of Asra.
Asra’s body would heal with not even a mark, but he knew, the lashes in her heart and soul would continue to bleed.
He descended the stairs and went to the room where Bran was detained. He found the Vampire standing by the window, restlessly looking through it as if studying the materials if he could break through it.
“That’s made of a metal much harder than those in Midgar,” Lior said as he stepped in.
Bran faced him and smirked. “There’s nothing that I cannot break.”
“You can try.”
Bran did not move. “Where’s the Elf?”
“There… sleeping.”
Bran came to stand close to him and looked at him menacingly. “If you dare kill that lassie, I’ll cut your tiny cock, along with your tiny balls, and grind them to tiny kernels and feed them to the chickens.”
Lior raised an eyebrow. Bran seemed to have developed a fondness for Asra, but he knew it was nothing more than that. “Your lassie’s safe, and if she was hurt, you have only yourself to blame. You knew she’d only get herself in trouble here.”
“The lassie’s in love… with you, and she dared to come all the way here to fight for you, and to see if you feel the same for her… But damn you, you crushed that poor little girl’s heart like a piece of trash.”
Lior looked away as guilt and regret assaulted him. “It was the only way to make her give up and forget about me.”
“You could have just told her that before you left her in Midgar. That way, she should not have had the crazy idea that you have feelings for her.”
He sighed deeply. “I’ve arranged for a convoy to bring you and the Elf back to Midgar. It’s a one way portal to the forest of Dunvegan. All portals to Vanar had been deactivated. Once you step out, you canna… cannot come back.”
“What’s the fuss with your accent?”
“I’m trying to speak properly, as ordered by my father.”
Bran chuckled. “Rubbish. And I’ve no plan of coming back here. There’s nothing here but big trees and boring buildings. No phones, no cars… ah, this is like the Middle Ages.”
“Compared to Midgar, Vanar’s was indeed stuck in the Middle Ages. In the past six hundred years of colonization, this world has not progressed.”
“Then why don’t you consider moving to Midgar? There’s no one to take care of your cows in Skye.”
“Lysander has volunteered to take charge of the ranch. It should be fine.”
“And what about that lassie?”
“I’ve given her back her castle. She should be happy there.”
“D’you think so?”
“It’s all I can do for her.”
Bran’s eyes flared. “Ya ‘eartless cocksucka. When we get back to Midgar, I’
d find ‘er a geeza she deserves, and when you finally get back to your senses and realized she’s a good catch, it’d be too late for ya.”
Lior nodded. He knew that. He had always known that Asra would be the only woman who could complete him. “She’s a smart Elf. I’m sure that someday, she’d come to understand why I had to do this.”
“She would… but could she ever forgive you?”
Lior did not answer. Not even his death could probably make her forgive him.
Chapter 30
“The portal’s still active, my lord,” said one of his personal guards whom he ordered to check on the portal where the convoy who accompanied Bran and Asra to Midgar should use to come back to Vanar. The convoy had left at midnight and should have come back hours ago, but this delay was troubling him.
His coronation would take place in an hour and the wedding would follow afterwards, but he could not just ignore this problem.
“Tell Garr to get his men and guard that portal until the convoy returns. Arrest anyone who comes in without permission,” he ordered and stood up.
“But your coronation, my lord,” the guard said. “We’ll have to be there to protect you.”
“I won’t be there until we get our men back,” he replied and motioned for his assistant to hand him his armor.
The guard bowed before him and left. When his armor was fastened around his chest, he grabbed his sword and went out of his room to get his men. But before that, he’d have to go see Var to explain the situation. Surely, she would not allow him to go, but he just could not leave his men who might be in peril right now.
It was not only his men that worried him. He was worried for Asra, and even for that stupid Vampire. He only hoped his intuition was wrong. He hoped that the journey went well and his men just decided to roam around Midgar a little before deciding to get back home.
But his men would not be that stupid. They would never dare miss the coronation of their new king and the declaration of Vanar’s freedom from Asgard.
Riding on his horse, Arion, and accompanied by a dozen more horsemen, he travelled to the plateau where the same portal that his missing men had taken was located. It had been deactivated and was now unguarded, but he had the key to make it work again.
