The Devil's Warrior Queen-Chapter 408: Betrayal

Falka heaved heavily as she snapped at them. The fear of being betrayed again or trapped because she was different terrified her but she cobcealed her fear with anger, unseen to the ordinary eyes.

"I understand that they did horrible things to you, but if you change your mind, then you can find us in the castle, in Voltaire." Ares said calmly as he turned to leave.

Falka was a bit taken aback by his statement. There was an odd sense of trust with the silver eyed, but she couldn’t let her guard down. People were manipulative and she wasn’t ready to fall prey to it.

Without saying anything, she fled from their sight without glancing back. They watched as her red locks floated behind her while she ran until she disappeared out of sight.

Ari and Vlad turned their attention on Ares, giving him a skeptical look with raised eyebrows.

"What was that? You just let her go." Ari pointed out in displeasure.

"Be patient. We should give her time to heal and trust. Like you said, she’s been trapped her whole life and she’s always yearned for freedom, it won’t be long before she realizes that she can have that with us. Freedom is one thing, trust is another." Ares said, emphasizing on every solemn word that escaped his lips.

"But what if she never comes?" Ari argued.

"She will." Ares uttered confidently.

"Ares is right, she needs time. Trust is something she’s never been familiar with." Vlad implied and Ari sighed.

"What do we do about the corpses?" Ari questioned as her purple eyes dropped on them.

"Leave them." Ares ordered.

"If they find the corpses, they won’t stop hunting for her and I doubt her little legs can carry her so far before she gets caught." Vlad remarked.

"She’s smart. She took along valuable items to trade, I’m sure she’ll have a ride and cover her tracks." Ares mentioned.

Without saying anything, they went back to their horses and rode back to Voltaire. On their arrival, both Rama and Zoya were the first to question them upon setting foot in the castle.

"Did you find her? Where is she?" They queried with anticipation in their eyes.

"Ares let her go." Ari simply said, leaving them both confused by her remark.

"Why?"

"I want her to be willing, not forced, but she’ll come, just be patient." Ares remarked and walked away, while Vlad shrugged nonchalantly as he said "Be patient."

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Three days had passed and still no sign of the girl anywhere near the castle. Ari had panicked that maybe the girl had been caught and taken back to East Ravka, but Ares hadn’t budged, rather he told them to be patient.

On a typical afternoon, Ares took a lone stroll in the forest, perhaps to clear his head. He pondered on Ari’s words of the girl being caught and he resorted to finding her if she didn’t make an appearance after one week.

Ares halted in his tracks when he heard a low, grunt of agony. Following the sound, he came across a wounded wolf lying on the floor. It’s white fur was smeared with blood oozing out of the deep puncture caused by the arrow that was sticking out of its abdomen.

His cold silver eyes peered into its blue ones with no hint of compassion or remorse as he crouched down towards it. Ares extended his hand to its head and gave it a gentle stroke before pulling away.

Without hesitation, Ares coiled his fingers around the arrow and with a swift motion, pulled it out. Blood spurted out of the wound and the wolf groaned louder. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Within a blink of an eye, he snapped the wolf’s neck and the forest became silent. Ares stayed in his crouched position for a while as he stared down at the dead wolf.

"Is it compassion or sadistic pleasure?" A melliflous voice rang behind him, but it was familiar and he soon grasped knowledge of who it was.

Rising up on his feet, he veered around to face her. He surveyed her from head to toe before dropping his eyes back on her face.

With locks of fiery red hair cascading in wild waves down her back, like molten strands of copper spun by the hands of ancient gods, and eyes that gleamed with the radiant hue of purest gold, the young woman’s appearance was a testament to the splendor of nature itself.

Her features were delicate and refined, her skin kissed by the sun and adorned with a smattering of freckles that danced across her cheeks like constellations in the night sky.

As she moved through the sun-dappled glades of the forest, the young woman’s presence seemed to set the very air ablaze with a shimmering energy, her every step a graceful dance of light and shadow. Her fiery locks danced in the breeze, casting a mesmerizing glow that captivated all who beheld her, while her golden eyes sparkled with a wisdom far beyond her years.

But it was not just her physical beauty that set her apart, it was the strength and resilience that lay within her soul, a fierce determination tempered by the trials of life. Despite the hardships she had endured, the young woman’s spirit remained unbroken, her heart ablaze with a passion for adventure and discovery.

"You took your time, but you’re finally here." Ares said in a flat tone, ignoring her previous question.

"You have lovely eyes, yet they are dead." She remarked.

"What is your name? You never told it." Ares said, ignoring her remark.

"Well, you never asked." She intoned. "It’s Falka." She said.

"Falka.." He repeated. Her name flowing out of his mouth elicited a strange sensation in her, she could feel the hair at the back of her neck stand.

"I still remember that you are Ares." Falka said.

"I’m not surprised." He shrugged and turned his attention to the dead wolf.

His jaws ticked as he stretched his hand toward the earth and a low rumble resonated in the air, leaving Falka confused, but before she could question him, a deep hole carved into the earth.

Falka watched as he took off his leather jacket, leaving him in only his flimsy white shirt. Placing the jacket over the wolf, he effortlessly carried it and placed it into the hole. Covering the hole with sand, he moved away.

Her eyes darted to his slightly exposed taut chest from his shirt as the upper buttons were left undone. She tried to resist looking but once or twice, her eyes would stop down there.

"That is quite kind of you and your powers are quite impressive." Falka spoke out and he turned to face her.

For a moment, she was struck dumb by his undeniable charm, not to mention his heart stopping beauty. Every strand of his midnight black hair was lustrous, stopping at his shoulders, his silver eyes were peculiar features that left her equally mesmerized.

Yet, as stunning as they were, his silver orbs were the coldest pair she had ever laid eyes on. His menacing aura like a veil of darkness cloaking him made the hair on her skin prick and her blood run cold.

Falka was intimidated by the demon, but at the same time, there was an odd sense of solace in his presence despite the warning bells telling her to be cautious of him.

Running his fingers through his shoulder length dark hair, he sighed softly. "I own pet wolves, I wouldn’t let any rot." Ares said, snapping her back to reality.

"You look like you’d rather let humans rot." Falka said as she maintained her composure.

"You were locked up, did they hurt you then?" Ares asked unexpectedly.

Moving closer to him, a dangerous smirk played on her lips "Why? Do you want to avenge me? Murder those who hurt me?"

"I’ve run out of people to murder, East Ravka will do." Ares said sarcastically.

"Why were you and your friends in East Ravka?" Falka asked with a skeptical glance.

"Ari already told you." Ares said with a neutral facade.

"I’ve been lied to my entire life, do you think I’m that gullible? If you want trust you have to earn it and you can’t earn it by lying." Falka spewed out.

Ares sighed before speaking out "We went to East Ravka for you."

Falka’s brows furrowed and her eyes hardened as she hissed"Why?"

"You were in a prophecy, but it’s still confusing. We are trying to figure out what it means but we can only do that with you here." Ares explained and he saw her contemplating.

"You mean to trap me again, to exploit me. You are all the same." Falka spat out.

"No one is going to exploit you. You’ll have freedom to go wherever you want and choose whether to stay or not, moreover, we’ll help you learn how to wield your powers." Ares implied in a calm tone.

Her eyes held an unwavering stare on him as she contemplated.

"And why should I trust you? The moment I step foot into your castle, you could overpower me and take me captive." Falka reasoned out.

"In a more logical sense, I could just overpower you right now and not waste my time trying to win you over." Ares pointed out.

"Fine." Falka finally agreed, almost immediately. "I’ll stay until I learn how to wield my powers, but in one condition."

"What?" Ares asked.

"Your prophecy is not my concern, so don’t try to force me into it." She added with a tepid countenance.

"Deal." They shook over it.

"Let’s go, you need a proper wash." Ares muttered loudly as he led her through the forest.

"Excuse me?" Falka snapped at him.

"You reek. When last did you take a bath?" Ares asked with a straight face.

"I’ve been running around for days, I barely had time for a proper lady bath." She retorted with a hiss.

"Right, I’ll tell the maids to give you a good scrub." Ares muttered.

"Or you could scrub me yourself." She quipped in a sarcastic tone and Ares halted as he turned to face her.

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