Sorry, My Love: The Adventures of Lovers-Chapter 42: The End of the Demon Queen

Carl's boots crunching over the broken stone of the castle courtyard, wind whistling through his ripped, bloodied cloak as he stood facing Matt. The air between them was charged, the last spark of the storm still burning in the charred sky.

Matt's eyes narrowing, fists curled, fire dancing on the tips of his fingers. Chest heaving and falling with each labored breath, hair messy and wild, eyes blazing with uncontrollable rage.

"You betrayed me," Matt snarled, his tone low and dangerous. "You left me to die. You turned everyone against me."

Carl spat, blood oozing from a cut above his eye. He clenched his fist around his knife, the metal glinting dully in the fading light. "You did this for yourself, Matt. You destroyed everything. You have no one to blame but yourself."

Matt's mouth curled back into a snarl, and he stepped forward, the earth around his feet darkening as the heat emanated from his form. "I was your best friend! I trusted you!"

Carl swept out his sword, the steel cutting through smoke-filled air, but Matt ducked, wrapping his body as if he was a snake coiling itself while he struck Carl in the chest with a flame-covered fist. Carl retreated a step, steam rising from Carl's armor where the fire devoured his body.

"You're nothing but a coward," Matt spat, a snake-like hissing sound, "A serpent behind a manufactured crown."

Carl stumbled, his breathing harsh gasps as he fought to find his balance. He lifted his sword, his eyes crazed, but Matt was quicker. He struck Carl with the blade of his hand, a gout of fire spilling out, enveloping the knight in a wave of burning heat.

Carl's battle cry rang out across the courtyard, his armor closing in around him, his flesh burning as the flames engulfed him. He fell to the ground, his body a smoldering, twisted pile of burning metal and charred bone.

Matt stood over him, his chest rising and falling, his fists still smoldering with burning embers. He spat on the burning body, his eyes hard and unforgiving. "Traitor."

When Gabriel staggered into the courtyard, sword already in hand, blood oozing from the new cut on his forehead. His gaze fixed on Matt, the two men huddled in the smoke-scented air, their breathing short, gasping gasps.

"You." Gabriel's voice was harsh, his fingers closing on his blade. "You did this."

Matt's head turned back to him, his eyes constricting. "Save your breath, Gabriel. We have more important concerns."

Before Gabriel could answer, there was a scream that sliced through the air, one that was cold and gut-wrenching. They both reacted, their faces contorting as they saw Queen Hanna on the broken castle steps, white hair flying back in the wind, eyes opening wide with terror as Sally stood over her, purple fire consuming her shoulders, violet tresses a living wreath of fire.

"No!" Gabriel shouted, his heart wrenching as he lurched forward, but too late.

Sally's hand flashed out, her fingers wrapping around Queen Hanna's throat, hoisting her off the floor. The old queen gagged, her fingers scrabbling at Sally's unyielding hold, her eyes rolling back as her feet hung in mid-air. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

"Take care of Margo," she was able to say, her eyes meeting Gabriel's. "And. the blade I gave her."

Sally's fingers closed, the vertebrae in Hanna's neck snapping hard, her body collapsing into death as her head rolled back, her death gasp a soft, shattered whisper.

A snarling smile, Sally tossed the body of the queen aside, her head snapping around at Gabriel, eyes blazing with fury. She lifted her hand, the vortex inside her palm swirling, and the earth under their feet trembled out of control. Cracks erupted outward from the castle walls, splinters of stone slamming on the ground as the whole building crashed down.

"No!" Gabriel shouted, sprinting forward, his sword flashing as it bit at Sally, but she backed away, her body shaking like a mirage.

Air behind him crackled suddenly, and Matt materialized, his fists ablaze with fire, his eyes cold with fury.

"Let's have it out," Matt snarled, his voice a rusty growl.

There was no time for Sally to move before a darkness engulfed them. The earth shook where they stood, and golden fibers exploded from the fissures and swept across the air like the tendrils of a living vine. King Vesh charged forward, sword ablaze with hot, holy fire, eyes fixed and unyielding.

He drove his blade into the earth, and currents of golden energy welled up about her, coiling around Sally's arms, constricting at her throat, wrists, ankles. She screamed, her body twisting away, the center uncoiling out of reach as the lines constricted at her throat, wrists, ankles.

Gabriel burst forward, his hand clenching around the core, its heat burning his skin, but he would not let go, his teeth clenched as he tore it out of Sally's grasp.

Matt charged ahead, his fists blazing, his eyes ablaze with unforgiving fury. He flung out his arms, and a sheet of fire exploded from them, engulfing Sally's pinned form. She screamed, her voice shooting up into a high, keening wail as the flames engulfed her, her skin charring, her bones snapping as the heat grew stronger.

Golden strands shattering, Sally's body disintegrating, a shock burst spreading outward, shards of bone and strips of burning flesh flying across the courtyard. Her agonized, dying scream echoed through the air before her ashes were ripped into the wind.

The storm above broke apart, the clouds rolling back like a tapestry torn from its hinged position, the sun thrusting through the shadows, its golden, golden light pouring over the bloodied stones of the castle.

The Holy Land knights, their vision clearing with the shattering of the spell, gazed upon the world about them, stunned, their swords falling from their hands as they staggered, blinking in the brightness.

The forest fire burned out, the charred trees giving off steam as the fires took their final breath. The walls of defense defending the House of Gabriel's Parents glittered, cracked, and burst, the floodwaters flowing ahead, pounding against the weakened walls, the whole building going down into the torrent.

Stark staggered forward, white face streaked with blood, his hand over his side. He turned to Gabriel, whispering on a breath rasp. "Margo. she's in the Holy City. They. they took her there."

Gabriel's heart squeezed shut, his own breath caught in his throat. Silently, he whirled and ran back into the woods, pounding the broken stone with his feet, the trees blurring behind him as he ran for the Holy City, the last sound of the fight still ringing in his ears.

It was done.