Bride of the Serpent King - Chapter 2: pre wedding

The Story of One Continent ~Allison and Wil and Lillia and Treize and Meg and Seron and Everyone Else~ is one final send-off for the long-running series of novels by Keiichi Sigsawa that includes Allison, Lillia and Treize, and Meg and Seron.

As this is a sequel that involves characters from all three series, you are advised to read all of Allison, Lillia and Treize, and Meg and Seron before diving in.

“You’re ours,” Varen whispered, his voice a velvet threat, “and we don’t share unless it’s with each other.”I was never supposed to matter.An omega raised in the shadows, hidden behind my warrior family's shame, I only ever wanted to survive. Maybe, if I was lucky, find love with someone like me— someone quiet. Gentle. Unseen.But the moon had other plans.And under its eerie blue glow, three impossibly powerful, dangerously beautiful Alphas—triplets— claimed me as their mate.Varen. The charming firebrand with a wicked tongue and a sugarcane smile.Kiel. The silent forest poet who sings to wolves and kisses like moonlight.Thorne. The battle-scarred leader who doesn’t believe in fate... yet burns when I walk away.They were meant to lead the pack.I was meant to be nothing.Now I’m caught between them — between chaos and devotion, between savage protection and secret longing. I should have run the night they called me “mate.” But when my bloodline reveals a rare power the world thought extinct, I become the key to a storm that could tear our world apart.Betrayal bleeds through every shadow.My family sold me.My enemies want to own me.And love? It was never supposed to look like this.But maybe fate didn’t get it wrong.Maybe I was never made for one mate.Maybe I was made for them all.

The prince of Maldonia, Prince Artemis of House Arteides, the bear killer, the slayer of the elves is crowned King when his father King Arteides dies. The whole kingdom of Maldonia depends on him now, but he puts the throne in jeopardy after he refuses to marry Princess Thelma of House Taelin from the kingdom of Prophis and opt to marry Aurora Kholin, the love of his life.

Aurora is a seer and a powerful witch who has yet to aknowledge her powers, only Artemis knows of it. Lucian Mithandir is in exile recruiting an army to fight Prince Castellan of house Taelin for the throne of Prophis. Artemis wants no parts of this war, but he is very aware whoever wins the war will later turn to Maldonia.

Artemis has no clue that a bigger war is coming which will set kingdoms on fire, Aurora has seen it in her dreams and it’s for the Sweet Waters Throne in Maldonia. The end is uncertain but the ways are clearer, who will sit on the throne after the war between Lord Gandalf of House Old City who owns mighty huge lions and King Artemis of Maldonia who has Aurora and dragons breathing fire.

~ Excerpt Scene ~

The men of the secret council remained behind after the king walked away to further discuss the situation at the borders of the kingdom. The battlefield was named Stonedance and that’s because of its stony surface and this part of the place was usually abandoned and without inhabitants. Some people claimed Stonedance was cursed, that’s because it laid in the middle of two powerful kingdoms.

Stonedance was neither cold nor humid as it stood between the hot and shining Maldonia, and the freezing and gothic Prophis. It was the perfect place to fight and camp, the two battalions had all the space to themselves to prepare for war. Three hundred thousand men loyal to King Castellan Taelin of Prophis laid on the East, and two hundred thousand men keen to keep Lucian Mithandir.

Whatever was going on in Stonedance was of no Artemis’s concern as he focused more on sharpening his swordsmanship skills. He trained from morning to noon, with the lord commander of his kingsguard, Sir Dante Lucan who he befriended and these two became inseparable in a span of just a week.

“Come to me! Hard” Artemis urged his lord commander to not be easy on him.

“If I go hard on you Your Grace, we shall be left without a king to rule” replied Sir Dante Lucan with a smile. “You are getting better day by day; may I ask why the sudden interest in swordsmanship?”

.....

“I am a celebrated knight Sir Dante. I have fought in wars ever since I was nine”

“Exactly my point Your Grace. You are good with your sword, and have been for some time” Sir Dante smiled softly “Is it the war in Stonedance which makes His Grace nervous?”

“Some say I am ought to join my uncle, support the house my mother called it home. While others say my uncle betrayed me the very first day he took Mithandir inside his walls”

“And what do you say, Your Grace?”

Aurora joined them and Sir Dante excused himself. It had been a week and four days since they were last seeing at court.

“I am a warlock Artemis” For the first time ever since Artemis knew Aurora, this was the first she’s declared and accepted her true nature. “I am a seer, spaewife, or any other words you may want to use but I am not normal”

“We have talked about this Aurora, when the time is right…”

Aurora interrupted “The time is now!” she said. “I can feel the flames in my dreams getting hotter. If I don’t seek the help I need now, I fear for my own existence. I saw myself riding a ─” she paused softly.

Artemis leaned on to her “Riding a what?” he asked suspiciously.

“It may sound crazy, I mean I have never heard of such creatures and even if they exist…”

“What were you riding Aurora?”

After a few seconds of not being sure how will Artemis react or take it, Aurora finally exhaled softly and brought herself to speak “A dragon” and then she paused waiting to see how will Artemis take all of it.

Shen An travels to the Douluo Continent with the Fame System. As long as his fame spreads, he can draw various magical characters and items. The first magical character he draws is... Tom the Cat![Tom, let's go!]Shen An shook his head and said, “Sword Uncle, your sword is not fast enough nor ruthless enough, but don’t worry, my cat has figured out something better!”After a sword battle...Chen Xin stared at Tom the Cat holding a longsword, lost in self-doubt: “I’ve practiced swordsmanship for decades; how am I having such a back-and-forth fight with a cat?”Dugu Bo, who is renowned for his poisonous abilities across the continent, was dumbfounded as he watched the poison he had painstakingly researched being casually neutralized by Tom pulling a few weeds.Tang San couldn’t believe his eyes as all his hidden weapons missed, saying in disbelief, “How could my Tang Sect’s hidden weapon techniques be dodged by a cat?”Finally, Shen An looked at Tang Hao: “The most powerful weapon spirit on the continent, the Clear Sky Hammer?”“How do you plan to deal with my Tom’s million-ton hammer, sir?”Xian Renxue: “I declare that Tom the Cat will become the Sacred Beast of our Spirit Hall. From now on, the Spirit Hall’s uniforms and tokens will all feature Tom's portrait.”Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong: “Such a cute little cat, I want to pet it!”