Chapter 25 The aftermath of the attack

The battle in the castle was slowly dying out and most of the men were either wounded or pretty wiped out. King Salems army did, aside from their disadvantage, put up a good fight and they didn´t lose as much soldier in the fight as the others. Larek and Rath were the last to drop their weapons when the rest of the enemy troops bolted scared from the palace. Or like Rath saw what was left of it. He watched around him and detected that most of the ball room was trashed. The place where the stairs was before, was just only a heap of wood now. The north and east wall were just partly there anymore, because the explosion put a big hole in them. The furniture was either lying on the floor or broken or couldn´t be regnorized. The floor was overlaid with carcasses or parts of them. And everything that wasn´t destroyed was splattered with blood. Rath felt the adrenaline draining from his body and his feet felt like yello. Immediately he let himself slump to the floor and laid his weapon beneath him. He didn´t know how much people he killed tonight, but he never wanted to do something like that again. One minute everything was fine and he enjoyed himself, the next the hell breakes loose and he had to fight. And to think that his worst fear was that he would bore himself to death with all this dull persons. With a shaky hand Rath wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was lucky that he wasn´t in close proximity of the explosion, because he was chasing after Marianna. Speaking of her, he looked around and scanned the place for a green dress or anything that would say him that she was here. But from his position on the floor he couldn´t see anything concrete.

" Oh man, I´m pretty whacked", Larek threw his sword near Rath and placed his butt at the spot beside him. He looked a little more wrecked like the others soldiers. That was no surprise if one saw how Larek fought. It was a wonder that he was still alive.

Rath slowly turned his head and eyed his friend. " You´re telling me. I´ll probably feel like shit in the morning".

" I already feel like that now", Larek seemed to look for something. " Have you seen anyone from your family?".

Rath shook his head, but he felt them and it was painful until everything just stopped. He knew what it meant and he was still hoping that he was wrong. " No. I saw my father quickly. He was fighting with two soldiers. But then he disappeared from my sight. Since then I didn´t see anyone".

Larek looked back over his shoulders, because he heard a noise that sounded like a whistle behind him. Stunned he saw Vilandra. Or more like her head peeking through a gap at the door, which lead to the dungeon. Larek gave Rath a nudge and pointed behind them, when he got a strange expression from his friend. In an instant both jumped to their feet and made their way to her.

" Is it over?", Vilandra didn´t appear to have any injuries, but the look on her face was alarming. She was white as a ghost and her make up had left streaks on her face from all the crying. Nothing unusual considering their situation. But the pain in her eyes was disturbing.

Rath did something he never done before. He stepped closer to Vilandra and embraced her tightly. Through the link he had with her he felt her sadness. Her parents didn´t make it. " For now. But they can attack anytime again".

" It was so horrible. There was so much blood and screams and panic", Vilandra burst into tears again and clung to Rath like she would be drowning. At first she didn´t grasped what was happening around her. Then she just reacted without realizing what she was doing. Now after the shock disappeared everything was overrunning her.

Rath stroked her head tenderly. He didn´t want to know what she went through. He just felt it and it was enough for him. " It´s ok. It´s over. You´re safe now".

Vilandra looked up at Rath. In her glance was so much sorrow and pain. In that moment she appeared like a little child. " My mother is dead. I wanted to stay with her. But Marianna told me that it wasn´t safe for me anymore. She sent me down to the dungeon with a few others".

" I´m so sorry".

Vilandra put her head on Raths chest again. It was just to much for her at the moment. She just wanted to wake up and notice it was just a nightmare. " What about your parents?".

" I don´t know", Rath didn´t want to talk about it. He wanted to still believe that they were alright, althrough his heart told him another story. He wouldn´t think something different until he had prove. But the fact that his parents weren´t down in the dungeon with Vilandra wasn´t good. " Who was with you?".

Vilandra thought really hard about that. She was so in shock that she didn´t regnorized the people around her. " Zan, a few of fathers advisers and children without their parents".

Rath was glad to hear that Zan was still alive. Over Vilandras shoulder he glanced at Larek, who just stood there and looked around. He waited till he had eye contact with his friend, before he gave him a sign to take care of Vilandra.

Carefully Larek extracted her from him and led her out of this chaos. He probably would bring her in her bedroom, if it was still there. She had undergone enough for one night and she needed her strength for the next days to come. If that evening was hard, then the following days would be harder. Rath surveyed the room again, before he called all soldiers together. He told them that they should bring the dead outside, where they would be laid side by side, so that the relatives could see if someone from their family was under the carcasses. They would decide tomorrow what they would do with them, when the shock died down. When the soldiers were finished with clearing the room, they should get rid of the destruction. At least the things they could do tonight. So without making a big fuss like usual the men did what they were told. While they were busy, Rath prepared himself for the search for his family. He had to know what happened to them. Reluctantly he walked over the dead bodies and looked at every face. He was relieved everytime he didn´t know them or regnorized them as people he barely knew. When he came to a spot where he seemed to identify the uniform of his father a body blocked his way. Rath looked up rather surprised and was disappointed that it was just Nolak.

" You shouldn´t be here anymore. You look pretty wasted. Maybe you should rest for the night. You can´t do anything here anyhow".

Rath was really tired, but he was awake enough to see that Nolak was trying to hide something from him. " I´m looking for my family. I will rest when I know what happened to them".

" Don´t do that to yourself. It doesn´t change anything", Nolak wanted to spare Rath that cruel picture. It was bad, even for him and he was just a friend of the family.

Rath pushed Nolak out of his way. How dare he tell him what to do. He was old enough to make his own decisions. But when he saw the body of his father lying in his blood, he regretted it instantly. Rath had to turn around to prevent from losing his stomach all over the floor. He put his hand over his mouth and laid a hand on his belly. No that couldn´t be. His father wasn´t dead, he couldn´t. He was the best soldier and the best man when it came around how to fight the enemy. Everything he learned he got from him. Just as he wanted to turn back he saw the bodies of his mother and his uncle near them. The bile in his stomach rose higher and threatened to choke him. However when he glanced in another direction, because he couldn´t look at them anymore, he noticed the blue dress of his sister. Immediately he stormed out of the castle and threw up beside the entrance. With his right hand he braced himself on the wall, while he bent his torso down. For a few minutes he lost all the food he ate the last few hours, before he just only gagged, because he hadn´t anything anymore to threw up. After that he wiped the remnant of his puke from his mouth with the back of his hand. He then crashed to his knees and screamed as loud as he could.

Nolak watched Rath for a few minutes. It was hard to see him in this condition. He was always so strong in everything. But now he was just a broken man with nobody to hold onto. He lost everything in one night and nothing could make it better. Nolak didn´t want to imagine what that must feel like to go through that. Carefully he made his way to Rath when he noticed that the screams where subsiding. " Do you feel better, now that you know?".

" No. But I saw it with my own eyes. I needed prove to believe what my feeling were telling me", he didn´t know if Nolak could understand that, but he wouldn´t have believed it if someone had told him the news. He needed to see it for himself.

Nolak wasn´t big with emotional gestures. He had no family or a wife with kids. All he ever had was his work and it wasn´t smart to develop feelings for your fosterlings. But he always felt respect towards Mael and Rath. So with slightly difficulties he stretched his arm out and laid it on Raths shoulder. " If you need my help, I´m here for you".

" Thank you", Rath looked back at him. He was really touched from the offer. " Actually you can help me. I need a meeting by tomorrow morning".

Nolak saw something in Raths eyes that scared him. He expected to see sadness or sorrow. But instead there was hate and fury. " What are you up to?".

" We´ll planning a counter attack. We´ll mobilize every men who can hold a sword or knows how to handle it and we´re fighting back. Khivar won´t know what hit him before it´s too late", Rath imagined everything already in his head. He would show Khivar what it meant to piss him off. No matter the costs and nobody could hold him back anymore. Now more than ever.

Nolak was worried that Rath would run into something dangerous or deadly. Alright he understood that he was angry for the death of his family. But it wasn´t smart to plan an attack when the feelings were running high. " Think about what you´re saying. I know you´re upset and I can´t blame you. But I don´t believe that your thinking clearly at the moment. Wait until everything is calmer".

" I don´t care what you´re thinking. I just want you to do it", with that Rath stormed away. He had to go and see Vilandra and Zan. After all they everything he had now. And he would take care that it stayed this way.

Nolak looked after Rath rather worried. He had to keep him from following through his plan. He was slowly on the way to destruction, namely his own. But Rath was stubborn and wouldn´t listen to him. Nolak racked his brain to find a solution for his problem. Who was capable of handling Rath without him knowing it? Suddenly a picture from a little annoying girl popped in his head. Without wasting more time he went back into the palace to look for her. He viewed every corner and every room, but he didn´t find her. She was nowhere to find. That left Nolak just one option. Immediately he headed to the nearest soldier he could find.

" Do you know where Marianna is?".

The soldier stopped sweeping the floor and looked up. " The last I saw her she was chasing after Vilandras boyfriend".

" Did you see in which direction they went?", he had to find her and that really fast. She could be in trouble already. She was unarmed and nobody noticed her missing. Why didn´t she bring herself in safety the moment hell broke loose?

The soldier shook his head. " I just saw her running out of the entrance".

" Great. Listen take a few men and go looking for her. And you´re not coming back until you found her. Is that clear", Nolak wouldn´t take no for an answer. She was important for them.

The soldier was stunned that he was ordered from someone that was not his commander. But he knew that it wasn´t smart to refuse an order. Besides he liked Marianna and he wouldn´t need much to get the others to help him. " Absolutely clear".

Nolak turned around without waiting if the soldier was doing what he was ordered to and went to the hospital ward. He wanted to see how much people survived the attack and how bad it really was. After all he had the commando, now that the king and the commander were dead. On his way to the invalids wing he noticed that the most rooms and part of the corridors were almost in one piece, except for a few rifts in the walls and fallen pictures. But nothing major was destroyed or broken. When he came near the hospital ward he saw healers running around, carrying things and putting people out of their way. It was like a madhouse, what meant that more persons survived the attack then he thought. He could hear children calling for their mothers. Women were crying and men trying to calm them down. Others were just sitting in a corner or leaning on a wall without saying anything, they only stared at one point. In all the swarming he could detect Zan, Larek, Rath and Vilandra. He observed them for a while and thought about the pressure and the obligations they had to take on from their parents now. It wouldn´t be easy for them and there would probably be times when it seemed likely that they wouldn´t make it. He wished that they were more mature and much older when they took over their obligations. They were still children which were just stepping into the world of grown ups. They didn´t know how to handle a whole kingdom or what they had to do. Carefully he watched how Zan and Rath were keeping close to Vilandra, just like they wanted to protect her. Larek however was scanning the corridor for someone. But it seemed he didn´t find what he was looking for. Suddenly Nolak heard quick steps running behind him and he immediately turned around.

" We found her", it were two of the soldiers who were carrying a pretty hurt but still alive Marianna in their arms.

Nolak went to them and eyed her thorough. She didn´t seemed to be in immediate danger. She had no bullets wound, as much as he could see and her eyes were clouded with shock and sadness but awake. What worried him was the blood which was everywhere on her shredded dress and her hands. " Where was she?".

The younger soldiers just shrugged. " No idea. She came towards us and cried because she destroyed the beautiful dress. We don´t know what happened or where she was".

Nolak looked closer at the big gash at the right side on her forehead just under her hairline. It looked pretty nasty, but thankfully it stopped bleeding. He took her face in his hands and made her look at him. The horror in her eyes was pretty scary. " Do you remember what happened?".

" I destroyed the dress and made it dirty", she sounded so much like a little girl, whose favourite doll was broken.

Nolak was concerned about the condition she seemed to be in. Something must have happened that made her act that way. " Why did you run from the castle? What made you do it?".

" I had to stop my brother".

Nolak faced the soldiers to see if they knew about what she was talking. But they just shook their heads. Maybe she just needed rest right now and tomorrow she would talk more like herself. " Bring her to the healers. They should check her".

Instantly they continued carrying her to the room, where all the injured were waiting to get examined. On their way there they get stopped from Rath, who took Marianna from them and send them away. The moment she laid in his arms she began to cry again and entwined her right arm around his neck tightly, the other arm was lifeless hanging at her side. Rath seemed to try to calm her by saying something to her. Nolak was a bit stunned about the interaction between them. He knew that there was something but he didn´t know that it was so serious. Slowly he turned around and followed the two soldiers. Maybe someone needed his help, because he couldn´t do anything here anymore.

Rath meanwhile brought Marianna to a healer and laid her carefully on a bed. But the moment he was letting her go, she held on strongly and almost choked him in the process. " No. Don´t leave me".

" I´m not going anywhere. The healer has to look at you and I would be in the way. I´m staying near you. I promise", Rath stroked her back reassuringly. She was pretty confused at the moment and he didn´t know what happened or who did that to her or how he could help.

Marianna seemed to believe him and let go instantly. The healer who was waiting behind her started to examine her the minute she wasn´t clinging to Rath anymore. He took his scanner and checked her internal organs to see if something was damaged in there. But thankfully everything was fine and he didn´t find anything. After that he surveyd all other spots which could be harmed. To his relieve he just found a few scratches which would be healing soon, a few bruises and some abrasions at her feet and her arms. Obviously she was running around on the stoney ground without her shoes. Then he took a closer look at her left arm, which she had pressed tightly at her side. He winced when he saw the picture on his scanner. The shoulder was dislocated and it would be painful to put it back again. Rath who saw the expression on the healers face stepped immediately closer.

" What is it?".

The healer branched off of his scanner. " Her shoulder is dislocated and I have to put it back", he bent closer to Rath and whispered. " It will be very painful for her".

" How painful are we talking?", he didn´t want anything to harm Marianna. She went through enough and he wanted to spare her more.

The healer thought about something he could say to describe the pain to Rath. But he found nothing. " So much that she could faint from it".

" Can I help you?", if he could take the pain on himself he would do it. But because he couldn´t do that to his regret he offered his help. Besides it gave him something do that than just standing there and watch everything.

The healer nodded. " Take her right hand and keep her occupied".

Rath was at her side in an instant and held her hand. Slowly he pressed her down on the bed and kneeled on the ground so that he had direct eye contact with her. She was absolutely terrified, judging after the look in her eyes. Tenderly he stroked the hairs from her face. " Don´t worry. There´s nothing you have to be scared of".

Marianna relaxed slightly and let her body rest. She knew that Rath wouldn´t let anything happen to her, no matter what. At least that was so until the healer took her arm and pushed her shoulder with all his might backwards. The pain that shoot through her whole body was almost unbearable and she grasped Raths hand so tightly that he thought she wanted to crush it. The cry she was emitting was really loud and could have wakened the death.

Vilandra couldn´t listen to it and she was led out of the room from Larek, who didn´t have a strong stomach for that. They could still hear Marianna in the corridor and it echoed through the halls. But then suddenly it just stopped. Relieved Vilandra and Larek breathed out. Marianna had finally passed out from the pain. Hopefully she was better by tomorrow morning. At least Rath and Zan were with her and would look that she was treated properly. Vilandra didn´t have the strength to stay on her feet any longer. She just wanted to fall in her bed and sleep forever. Or just as long until she noticed that she just dreamed badly and everything she went through was only a nightmare. Larek brought her to her door and then went to his own home to see if his parents were better. He was thankful that his parents couldn´t come to the ball, because of a illness that kept them tied to the bed. He would thank everyday for that little miracle and he would try to be a better son from now on. After all you never how much time you still have with your parents.

Rath was still at Mariannas bedside, althrough she had lost her consciousness a few minutes ago. But he didn´t want her to be alone, he promised her that he wouldn´t leave her and he would keep that promise. He would never let the rest of his family out of his sight again and he would do everything to protect the few people he loved. Now the wellfare of all was lying on his shoulder and it would get hard, because he knew that it a war was starting soon. Tonight was just a small warning and it almost cost him his whole family, the next time it was their turn to send a warning. And he swore that they would loose everything from this attack. Khivar may had won this fight, but the battle wasn´t over yet and Rath would put everything to it to win this war. And if he would die in the process. But he would take Khivar and everyone, who was responsible for all this death and destruction, with him.

" How is she?", a female voice was startling him out of his thoughts.

Slightly alarmed he looked up and realized it was the girl Marianna said had a crush on him. Too bad that he couldn´t remember her name. " She will be better. At least I hope so".

Corly took a chair and placed him beneath Mariannas bed opposite Rath. Slowly she stroked her face with her hand. " She saved my life".

Rath found it strange that a servant showed so much emotion towards a royality. Maybe she just felt gratitude for Marianna. " You´re not the only one. If it wasn´t for her, much more would have died tonight".

" That´s not what I mean. She healed me with her hand", to emphrase her point stood up and lifted her shirt to show Rath her bandage, which was covering her bullet wound, just a little over her belly button.

Rath eyed it exactly. What was the nutcase talking about? Marianna had healed her with her hand? Was she mental? Nobody had the power to heal a wound just with laying on of hands. " Maybe the injury wasn´t as bad as you thought".

" Then how do you explain that I have a bullet hole in the front and an exit wound in the back, but nothing internally is hurt? Why can´t the healer find a trace that the bullet went right through me", Corly turned around and raised the shirt again. There was yet another bandage, a little smaller but it was there.

Rath was speechless for about a second or so. Then he glanced at Marianna again. Where did she hide all this strength in this petite body? Did she even know how much power she really possessed? But why couldn´t she heal herself then. Why didn´t she try to heal his family instead of saving this girl she barely knew? " Why did she save you actually?".

Corly pulled her shirt down and sat on the chair again. " I took the bullet which was meant for her. That´s what sisters do for each other".

At that Raths head snapped in her direction. Did he hear her correctly? Sister? " What are you talking about? She has no sister".

" Yes she does. We share the same father. Just that my mother was an affair and she had to flee before he would know that she was pregant with his child. My mother just told me that a few days ago", Corly

was a bit uncomfortable talking about that with Rath. Actually it was not the topic rather than the fact that he listened to her.

Rath tried to digest the information he received. So Khivar had an affair with another woman, which got pregnant from him. Then she ran away because of that and was living under his uncles kingdom since then. But that meant she knew Khivar rather well and could provide them with vital information. " Where is your mother now?".

Corly glanced at the ground and choked back a sob. " She´s dead. She was near the explosion".

" I´m sorry about that", Rath didn´t know what more he could say. He wasn´t eloquent like Zan. He usually said the wrong things to the wrong times. But he knew what she went through right now and he could understand why she was so worried about Marianna. She was the only family she had right now.

Corly arose from her seat pretty slowly. She was tired and the wound wasn´t fully healed. It was starting to hurt again. " I know you don´t know me or owe me anything. But do me a favour and take care of Marianna. She´s all I have now".

" I´ll do that", Rath watched how she walked to a bed at the end of the room. And he thought about if it was worse to not have much and lose it or if it was worse to own everything and then to lose it. But in fact it wasn´t important how much you possessed, it was painful no matter your status. With that he turned back to Marianna, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Tenderly he caressed her cheek with his hand and just watched her. It was unbelievable what the healers could do, there wasn´t any indication that she was unjured anymore on her face. The laceration was gone and so were the other scratches and abrasions. Even her palms, which seemed to be burned from a hot object, were completely healed. The only thing that would hurt tomorrow was her shoulder. Althrough it was put back, the arm would still pain her for a few days. To prevent her from moving it, they put a sling around her neck and laid her arm it in. " Who did this to you? Who would dare to touch you?".

Other side of the planet

Nikolai and his companion were just arriving at the palace. They were slightly out of breath, because Nikolai couldn´t walk without help and his friend had to drag him. Everybody was already waiting for them. Khivar was standing in the door and eyed them rather angry. They should have been back hours ago like the other soldiers. He didn´t care that his son looked like a walking wound, if he wasn´t careful it was his problem. But he was waiting and nobody did that to him. Injuries were no excuse in his eyes. He waited already too long for this and he had no patience.

" What kept you so long?".

Nikolai looked confused at his father. Didn´t he see all his wounds and that he needed help to move? " I couldn´t walk quicker. I came here as fast as I could".

" Get your useless ass in gear faster the next time", Khivar didn´t work out a plan so that he failed because his son couldn´t defend himself against his enemy. " Who battered you actually?"

Nikolai debatted with himself if he should be honest with his father or if he should lie to him. When he told him the truth he would get punished for sure, because he didn´t do what he was ordered to, but on the other hand if he some other soldier told his father that he saw Marianna he would lose his head. " It was Marianna".

Khivar observed his son to see if he told him a lie. But he couldn´t detect a hint that would show him that he was lying. " But I thought you killed her".

" So was I. But I obviously missed her and she could save herself in time. I don´t know", if his father knew that he purposely missed her, he would be killed like his mother. Or that a little part of him couldn´t kill his sister, even if they just shared the same mother. If he wanted he could have killed her without her knowing it when she mourned about the loss of her father. But he didn´t, because in some situation she resembled their mother. It didn´t matter how cruel someone was, no one had the guts to kill their own mother. Even him and no matter how hard he wanted to do it.

Khivar wasn´t happy about the information. He was obviously wrong to give his son this task. He wasn´t ready for it. " I´m very disappointed in you. And if I wouldn´t need you, you would already be dead. But because I don´t have the time nor the mood for a execution I will give you another chance to please me".

" And that would be?", actually Nikolai didn´t want to know it. He could picture it already. But he wanted to save his own life.

Khivar got a scary sparkle in his eyes. " I want you to use your connection with Vilandra to manipulate her so that she will go against her family"

" What? I´m not that powerful. I don´t know how to do that", his father couldn´t be serious. He had great power, but that was beyond him. He never tried to use his power from such a distance. How should that work at all?

Khivars face screwed to a horrible grimace. " Then I suggest you find it out or you will meet your mother faster than you think". With that he turned around and walked back to his room.

Nikolai, which was still supported from his companion, could only stare after his father. Now he understood why Marianna was blooming on the other side. There was no one who ignored or mistreated you. He never saw how his father was in reality until now. And he was always trying to be like his father. But if it meant he would lose his soul or what made him a person, then he didn´t want it anymore. In that moment he wished that Marianna would have killed him like she wanted. This hell here was worse than the death could ever be. Just as that thought was finished his friend was releasing his arm, which was laying on his neck and let him crash to the floor really painfully.

" What was that for?".

His friend looked at him in disbelief and anger, like it was obvious why he did that. " How could you keep that from me. Marianna was alive all this time and you let me suffer. And before you try to give me this bullshit about I didn´t know it, leave it, I won´t believe it anyway".

" I don´t know what you´re talking about, Lykus. I think your imagine things", Nikolai tried to stand up on his own, but failed miserably. His feet weren´t ready to take his weight again. Couldn´t have Lykus waited till he was in his room or better in the invalid wing to drop him?

Lykus was sure that his friend lied to him. After all he still could feel Marianna and that would explain why he could do that. Finally he had the prove that he wasn´t crazy or just imagine things. " No, you´re not getting away with that. I want answers. I won´t help you until you told me the truth".

" Alright. I didn´t kill Marianna like I was supposed to. Happy now".

Lykus was on the brink to kill Nikolai. He could have spared him the heartache and the regrets and he didn´t say anything to him. That bastard let him mourn the loss of his supposedly dead fiance. " Why didn´t you say something. I thought you were my friend".

" I couldn´t say anything. If someone would have heard it I would have lost my life for that", althrough that didn´t sound that bad anymore. It could have saved him this trouble and the injuries. And the revelation that his father was cold hearted bastard.

Lykus made a sound that sounded like a snort and laughter together. " Why I´m not surprised that you only think about yourself", he didn´t want to talk to Nikolai anymore, therefore he turned around and made his way out the door.

" Where are you going?", what did he want to do? He couldn´t just let him lying there on the floor.

Lykus twisted his head to the side and glanced hateful at his former friend. " I will sneak to the other side and look for Marianna. Then I´ll talk to her and bring her back".

" Do you think my father will allow it? She would be dead the minute she stepped foot in here", and Nikolai should know it. His father gave the order to shoot her even before she made common cause with the enemy.

Lykus knew that Nikolai had a point there. But he would think about that when he had Marianna where she was supposed to be. Namely here with him. " I will plan something when it´s time for it".

Nikolai had to stop him somehow. " What if she doesn´t want to come back? Did you think about that?".

That stopped Lykus immediatly. He turned around and stared at Nikolai. " How do you mean? Why wouldn´t she come back with me. I´m her fiance after all?".

" Not anymore. I saw her with the son of the commander. They were very much in love and pretty much familiar with each other, if you know what I mean".

Lykus couldn´t believe that. Marianna wouldn´t do that to him. Even with the currently circumstances. She was the most faithful soul he knew. " No. Your making this up to stop me".

" If you want prove than go. But don´t let yourself get caught from Rath. He´s very possessive of her and I wouldn´t want to fight against him in the mood he is now", Nikolai watched Rath and he could access a few information from Vilandras mind about him. He wasn´t someone you wanted to piss off. And now that his family was dead his rage would probably be enough to shredd somebody to pieces and that without using weapons.

Lykus was wavering between listening to Nikolai or listening to his heart. On the one hand he wanted to see for himself if it was true what he was told, but on the other hand he didn´t want to know if Marianna was really cheating on him with another man. " I will take the risk".

Nikolai shook his head, at least as much as he could with him lying on the floor like a carpet. " Good luck with that. But don´t get yourself killed from Rath".

" Oh don´t worry. I won´t", Lykus would make sure that Rath was out of the picture before he would talk to Marianna. Then she didn´t have another choice, besides going back and marry him finally.

TBC