Awakening The Tempest

“Perfect timing,” Mordecai’s voice exuded malice. “Looks like I’ll have the pleasure of killing your precious boy right in front of you. Then you will know the pain that you have inflicted upon me when you stole the life of my mate and kin!”

“Trust me,” Caden said, his voice laden with grief. “I’ve known your pain. My mate left this world because of the ludicrous laws you placed upon our union!”

Without warning, Mordecai’s fury erupted in a brutal display of power. With a thunderous stomp, he brought his foot down upon Caden’s legs, the force shattering bone and sinew with sickening crunches. Caden’s agonized screams filled the air, drowning out even the sound of his bones breaking.

“Your mate wasn’t worthy to breathe the same air as our kind,” Mordecai growled, his voice dripping with venom. He continued to apply pressure, grinding his foot down with merciless force, ensuring Caden’s suffering was maximized.

He then kicked Caden aside like a broken doll, turning his full attention towards Lucian. The horror of Mordecai’s disfigurement became fully visible to Lucian, prompting him to gasp, “My gods… What happened to you?”

“Oh, you don’t know?” Mordecai’s voice heavy with animosity as he advanced. “This was all your idea! To blow us all to hell!”

“Get out of here, Lucian!” Caden rasped through a haze of excruciating pain.

“No… that wasn’t part of the plan. We never intended for…” Lucian’s attempt to explain was abruptly cut short as Mordecai’s fist collided with his gut, knocking the wind out of him. As Lucian was buckled over, Mordecai drove his knee right into Lucian’s face. Lucian collapsed to the ground with a hard thud, disoriented and defenseless, the sharp sting of pain clouding his thoughts.

As Mordecai’s foot hovered menacingly in the air, poised to deliver a devastating blow, Lucian’s survival instinct kicked in. With lightning reflexes, he rolled aside just in the nick of time, narrowly escaping Mordecai’s wrath. Lucian retaliated with a swift and calculated move, sweeping Mordecai’s legs out from under him. The once formidable dragon crashed to the ground, his roar of fury echoing through the air.

But Mordecai wasted no time in reclaiming his footing, his eye ablaze with primal rage as he surged forward with relentless aggression. His movements were a blur of motion as he closed the distance between them, fists clenched in a tight grip, unleashing a torrent of blows to Lucian’s head.

Blood spurted from his broken nose as Mordecai’s knuckles connected with bone, the metallic tang of iron filling the air. Lucian fought back desperately, his own fists swinging in a futile attempt to fend off the onslaught. But Mordecai’s strength was overwhelming, his blows raining down upon Lucian like a torrential storm.

Despite the overwhelming odds stacked against him, Lucian refused to yield, his will to survive burning bright within him. But with each passing moment, his strength waned, his body unable to withstand the relentless incursion of Mordecai’s wrath.

As Lucian lay battered and bloodied on the ground, Mordecai towered over him, eyes burning with malice. With a sneer of loathing, Mordecai grabbed Lucian by the throat, hoisting him up effortlessly. Lucian’s body felt like dead weight in Mordecai’s grasp, his limbs limp and unresponsive.

“You’re practically an infant, boy,” Mordecai taunted, voice dripping with superiority. “You’re no match for me.”

“We can… bring your mate back,” Lucian mustered the strength to utter. “We can bring… them all back.”

Mordecai’s laughter rang out like a death knell. “What kind of fool do you take me for?” He spat, voice dripping with venom. “There is no bringing them back, they’re dead… and so are you.”

With a final, savage blow, Mordecai drove his fist into Lucian’s chest, tearing out his heart with a sickening squelch. Caden’s anguished cries echoed in the background as Mordecai callously tossed Lucian’s lifeless body aside. Turning towards Caden, Mordecai held Lucian’s heart in his hand, a cruel trophy of his victory. With an iron grip, he crushed it in his palm, extinguishing any promise of resurrection.
———

In the dimly lit confines of Lazarus’ underground city, Visenya lay in fitful sleep, her breathing steady but her dreams troubled. Suddenly, as if torn from the clutches of oblivion, her eyes shot open, blazing with an otherworldly fire that matched the searing intensity of the marking on her chest.

Visenya’s hand instinctively flew to her heart, a sharp and agonizing pain lancing through her chest, radiating outwards like tendrils of fire. It was a pain she had never known, one that reached deep into her soul and threatened to tear her apart from within.

As the glow of the marking slowly dimmed, the room seemed to darken around her, a tangible manifestation of her grief and despair. Tears welled up in her eyes, reflecting the anguish that dared to consume her.

With a gut-wrenching cry, Visenya’s voice pierced the silence, echoing off the stone walls of the chamber. It was a cry of loss, of heartache, reflecting the shattered fragments of her soul as the bond between her and Lucian was irrevocably severed. Her pain quickly gave way to fury, a storm of rage brewing with every beat of her broken heart.

Startled awake by her daughter’s piercing scream, Sarai leapt from the chair next to Visenya’s bed, her heart pounding. She reached out, only to find the bed empty, its sheets smoldering and warm to the touch. At that moment, the chamber doors burst open, and Ezra stormed in, his expression etched with alarm.

“Screaming… I heard it all the way down the hall,” he exclaimed, his gaze darting between Sarai and the empty room before him.

“Where’s Visenya?” He demanded, scanning the room as if hoping to find her hiding in a corner.

Sarai, still reeling from the shock, struggled to find her words. “She’s… she’s gone,” she managed to say, her voice a mix of confusion and dread.

“Gone? What do you mean, gone?” Ezra’s voice rose in disbelief.

“She was here, right here in her bed,” Sarai gestured frantically towards the empty, smoldering sheets. “And then, just like that, she vanished… as if she were a wisp of smoke.” Her explanation hung in the air, as unbelievable to her as it was to Ezra.