10: THIS ISNT OVER!

"You bastard!" Erythian shouted, his voice echoing through the room.

Erythian saw his Royal guard as he lay in a pool of his own blood, while the queen was no where in sight, he became a little shaken up because he had no idea what had become of the queen in the hands of Alaric.

Alaric was there, standing calmly in the center of the chamber. His eyes gleamed with amusement, and the smirk on his face alongside the queen's situation and the condition of the Royal guard made Erythian's blood boil.

"Welcome, brother," Alaric said in a mocking tone. "I've been expecting you."

Erythian's hand shot to the hilt of his sword. "Why Alaric?" he growled.

"For fun," Alaric replied, the grin on his face widening.

"For fun?!" Erythian barked, drawing his sword. He stepped forward, ready to strike. But just as he raised his blade, a wave of invisible force hit him, freezing him in place.

A woman with long red hair stepped into view. Her calm expression was unsettling, and her voice was cold as she spoke.

"Not yet," she said simply, her hand raised as she used her magic to hold Erythian back.

It was Scarlet, Alaric's mage, a beautiful young woman with long silky red hair and green eyes that would Pearce into any soul!

 Erythian glared at her, his muscles strained as he fought against the invisible force keeping him in place.

"I'd stand down if I were you," Scarlet added, her tone light but firm. "You wouldn't want this to end too quickly, would you?"

Alaric chuckled. "Scarlet, let him move. He's not here to fight, he understands that would not be good for "his queen", are you, Erythian?"

"Am I what?" Erythian grunted

"Are you here to fight?" Alaric smirks.

Erythian's voice goes low and his outlook is much humble after he sees the queen, he wanted to get her out of the situation as soon as possible and for his guard, he wanted to give him a good burial "no…I'm not here to fight" Erythian remarks.

Alaric knods a command to scarlet, letting her know it was safe to release Alaric.

Scarlet hesitated for a moment, then flicked her wrist. The force holding Erythian disappeared, and he stumbled forward, catching himself before he fell.

Erythian pointed his sword at Alaric, his voice shaking with fury. "You have no idea what you've done."

"Oh, I know exactly what I've done," Alaric said, folding his arms. "I've shown you how weak you really are. You, the queen and your "precious" kingdom Calithea; And you? You came running, just as I knew you would. I can't believe all I needed to get your attention was to kidnap your precious queen; I would have done that since!" He chuckled.

Erythian's grip on his sword tightened. "You are an evil wretched fool"

"Evil? Yes, Wretched? Maybe but fool? That I won't take" Alaric remarked.

He laughed and glanced at Scarlet. "Tell him, Scarlet. Tell him how I made all this happen."

Scarlet's eyes flicked toward Erythian, her expression unreadable. "I told you Alaric was dead, through the guard whom you tried to read," she said. "I used my magic to create communication between you and Alaric, which is why you instantly recognized his voice when he called on you to come to him. It was all part of his plan. While you believed he was gone, Alaric waited for the perfect moment to take your queen."

"And luckily, your queen was stupid enough to journey to Calithea all by herself …how brave" Alaric chuckled 

"Which is so unlike the Lysandra that I'm used to and have heard all about…timid? Gentle? Thinks before she acts?, I guess people change"; he added.

Erythian's stomach churned. He thought back to the moment he'd heard the news of Alaric's death. It seemed real!

"That's a terrible thing to do Alaric!" he said through clenched teeth.

"No, do you know what it means to do something terrible? That's what your mother did to this world when she birthed a nonentity like you" Alaric's eyes turned red.

"You tricked us" Erythian's eyes red as well.

"And you we're stupid enough to fall for it, I guess you're not as smart and intelligent as people praise you for, are you? Alaric remarks.

"You ordered her to order the tongue of that guard to be cut off didn't you?" Erythian asked Alaric as he pointed at Scarlet.

Scarlet didn't respond, but the slight smirk on Alaric's face told him everything he needed to know.

"You bastard" Erythian proclaims.

"Release the queen now" Erythian demanded, stepping closer.

"Oh, you can have the queen, she's onky here because I needed to lure you; I had many that I wanted to say to your face." Alaric said.

" although you must know that she's learned a thing or two about who you truly are during her time with me." He added.

Erythian's chest tightened. "What are you talking about?"

Alaric walked slowly toward him, his tone dripping with mock sympathy. "Oh, didn't you know? She's been asking questions. Questions about you. About your rule. About how you stole the crown that was rightfully mine."

Erythian froze "you're lying, she didn't ask that; she never did"

Alaric laughed and leaned in closer, his voice lowering to a whisper. "She knows, Erythian. She knows everything."

Erythian's voice trembled for a short moment "liar"

"Am I?" Alaric grinned. "Why don't you ask her yourself? Oh, wait,you can't, because you know exactly what she would ask next…why did you do it Erythian? Is he telling the truth Erythian? Who are you really Erythian?—and you and me both know that you have NO answer to that brother; at least no answer that wouldn't lead to her completely hating you." Alaric remarked.

"Where's the queen?" Erythian asked

"If you're patient enough, she'll be out soon" Alaric smirked.

Before Erythian could respond, the door at the back of the room opened, and the queen stepped inside.

Her face was pale, and her eyes darted between Erythian and Alaric. But there was something different about her, a tension that hadn't been there before.

"My queen," Erythian said softly, lowering his sword.

She didn't respond immediately. Instead, she looked at Alaric, her expression unreadable.

"Ask him," Alaric said, his voice was calm but firm. "Ask him about everything I told you."

Zara hesitated, her hands trembling at her sides. Then, in a quiet voice, she said, "He told me about the coup. About how you took the crown that wasn't yours. Is it true, Erythian?"

Erythian stared at her, his heart sinking. "Queen Lysandra—"

"Answer me!" she shouted, her voice breaking "did you lead a coup against him? Did his sister get killed under your command?

The room fell silent, the weight of her words pressing down on everyone.

Finally, Erythian spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. "It's not that simple."

Zara took a step back, her eyes filled with hurt and disbelief because he wasn't the man she thought he was.

He had been answering her questions but she didn't feel them to be true, at thesame time, she didn't want to belive Alaric as that would probably make her a tool for whatever silly plans he was making for his revenge, she wondered if to ask Erythian to take off his shirt, so that she would see the scar beneath his algorithm, the one that Alaric had given him with a sword on the day of Iva's death.

Alaric laughed. "See? I told you he would deflect with a very stupid excuse"

Erythian turned on Alaric, his rage boiling over. "You did this! You poisoned her mind!"

Alaric shrugged. "I told her the truth. You're the one who kept it from her."

Erythian lunged at him, his sword slicing through the air. Alaric dodged, drawing his own blade, and the two clashed in a storm of steel and fury.

The queen cried out, but neither man stopped. Their movements were wild, each strike fueled by years of hatred and betrayal.

Finally, Scarlet stepped forward, her hands glowing with magic. "Enough!" she shouted.

A wave of energy burst from her, sending both men flying to opposite sides of the room.

Scarlet glared at them, her voice cold. "If you want to kill each other, do it somewhere else. But not here!."

Alaric stood, brushing himself off. "She's right, We're not done here, brother."

Erythian climbed to his feet, his gaze fixed on the queen. "This isn't over, Alaric."

Alaric smirked. "Oh, I know."

The tension in the room was suffocating.

"I'm coming for you, for everything you have and love; I will take it all away from you, I SWEAR" Alaric threatened.

"I would love to see you try brother" Erythian responded.