HPDBC Chapter 14 Blood
Chapter 14 Blood
She entered inside Callista's domain of consciousness, floating weightlessly in the abyss, her body suspended in a vast emptiness. She reached out, searching for something, anything to fill the the answer: who and what is Callista?
But there was nothing.
Every second brought no pain, her mind was untouched and her heart was unbroken like she least suspected. And yet, she felt something. A soft whisper of love, like a sigh on the wind.
Argider reeled, and just like that, she was thrown from the void into the blinding point of light.
Reality crashed back, colors and sounds and sensations slamming into place around her. It was all too fast. She blinked, disoriented, as the afterimages of the light and the sensations she'd felt in the void faded from her vision, leaving her in the familiar present.
She wasn't sure if that love was meant for her or someone else completely. Growing up isolated from people, she struggled to understand emotions, even her own. She didn't understand anything. Argider was sure that she could with this skill, but her interpretation skill was on the down low.
"Is something wrong, Argider?"
"Callista... What do you love?" She asked with no second thought.
Callista froze, her expression transforming from her usual mix of emotions to something more serious. Her emotions shifted like the sands of the shoreline, ebbing and flowing in unexpected ways. This caught Argider off-guard like she'd touch a forbidden fruit.
The sound of the door opening jolted the room to attention, each head swiveling to see who had entered.
"Apologies for the interruption," Denzelle's voice rang out, shattering the tense silence that had settled, his voice serious as he spoke to Argider. "But I'm afraid you are needed urgently by the council. They require your presence immediately."
Frustration boiled as she looked at Denzelle, desperately torn between the desire to speak and the need to contain herself. In that moment, she knew that staying any longer would only exacerbate the agony within her.
With a deep, steadying breath, she pushed herself away from Callista and followed Denzelle out of the room, not looking back.
"You are not the only one facing downfall, your grace. The entire empire is," added Telys. "We are in a war that you indirectly started all because of your incompetence. It is your duty to fix it."
"I... I didn't know," she mumbled quietly.
"We don't know who betrayed us, but our enemies have gained critical information. A spy under my supervision informed me that a witch, gifted with the ability to foresee the future, has allied herself with the Peliotus tribe. The individual responsible spoke with the confidence and knowledge of someone from the aristocracy," Count Laristor added, concern etched on his face. As the head of covert operations, he knew of the underground workings. "Now, they have successfully infiltrated and taken control of several strategic hoarders."
A mysterious figure in a mask and all-black attire entered the room, a sword prominently displayed on their hip. They approached Laristor and whispered something to him. Count Laristor's eyes widened in surprise and shock, his body becoming rigid and awkward.
"I suppose we now know who the so-called 'witch' is..."
Everyone spun around to face him.
"The witch is Isolde, Argider's second wife..."
There was a collective gasp. The masked spy leaned in yet again, whispering something else to Laristor. The count winced in response, releasing a sigh of frustration.
"And... Isolde got impregnated, carrying the tribe leader's child. This is truly... a precarious situation. That woman possesses considerable intellect, and that baby... it poses a major threat to us all."
"W-What do you mean?" Argider choked out.
"With her family's ability to foretell the future... and the Peliotus' tribe attribute to tame monsters and animals alike.. the baby will be a monster."
"So what do I do?"
"Kill the baby and get back your wife."