Novel Full Chapter 1129 - Capítulo 1129: Coming Over
Capítulo 1129: Coming Over
Selene Cross had been halfway through the alleys when the first horns blared. The alarm rattled the air like rolling thunder. People streamed past her in panic. Her lazy, regal stroll broke into a sprint as she bolted. Her destination was the home that the Cross family was given in this place.
The door was unfastened when she arrived. Inside, she found her father, Malachai, in the middle of tugging on his mage robes. The man’s brow was slick with sweat despite his composed movements. Beside him, her mother wrung her hands as though that would stop the tremors in her voice.
“What’s happening? What’s going on? Is the stronghold falling? They told us to come here because it would be safer than Braedon!”
“I don’t know, woman! I was sleeping when the alarms sounded. How would I know more than you do?!” Malachai snapped while fastening his belt.
Selene exhaled through her nose at the sight, but said nothing to either of them. She lifted her staff from its rack, getting ready to head out.
Malachai’s gaze snapped toward her. “Ready, my daughter?”
Selene’s eyes met his, cold and steady. “I am.”
His expression softened. “Good. If it truly is an invasion, then mages like us will decide whether this stronghold stands or crumbles.”
Then his gaze softened even further as he added, “You’re young, Selene, but you’re always so calm and collected. That’s the sign of a promising mage. I am proud of you. The Cross family has a bright future ahead.”
Selene was about to nod in response.
But then the voice came.
Her entire body stiffened. It was a voice she wished never to hear again, one that still haunted her nightmares. The voice of the man she once struck from behind in desperation, scorching his body near to ash. But he had somehow survived. Much to her sorrow.
Even worse than that, he had claimed her.
Quinlan Elysiar.
The primordial monster who now holds her leash. Who now owned her life in its truest sense, in ways mere slave owners couldn’t even imagine.
Her staff trembled in her grip. Malachai’s sharp eyes noticed. “What is it? Are you worried, Daughter?” His voice turned gentle, protective. “Don’t be. Papa will protect you out there.”
Selene’s throat tightened. ‘How could you protect me from this monster…? You’re just a weak, mortal man…’ she thought inwardly with the weariest of sighs.
When she spoke, her words were not for her father.
<… Master, what can I help you with?>
She had learned. The slightest defiance, the smallest break of attitude, and his opinion of her could potentially plunge. It was already drastically low thanks to what happened back in the Phenom Trials, but Selene felt that he was no longer resentful for that. Her treatment has been getting progressively better.
She had seen what became of Amara and Vivienne Greenvale when they crossed him. Their broken pride and hollow eyes haunted her. Not because she was a tender-hearted woman who couldn’t bear seeing ruined lives, but because her own life almost ended up as miserable as theirs.
<I’m coming over.>
Her heart seized instantly.
The previous, amicable tone of her master disappeared as if it never existed in the first place. His voice turned to ice, all warmth gone.
The words carved into her very heart. Malachai still looked at her, still thought she was the daughter he knew, still believed his protection meant anything at all.
She froze only for a moment. Then she steeled her heart.
If she had to sacrifice them to remain in this evil man’s good graces, then so be it.
<Yes, Master.>
Selene let the wordless obedience settle in her bones and then looked at her father with eyes of absolute steel. Malachai’s face went white. “Selene, what-” he began.
She said nothing. She leveled her staff and whispered the incantation she had practiced a thousand times in training. One of the very first spells she ever learned. “[Ignis spark].” A thin streak of orange flared from the staff tip and struck the wooden wall beside them, blackening the grain and spitting embers.
Malachai snapped into action as if the old habit of a protector had been seared into him. “[Aqua Veil]!” he barked, and a sluice of blue water came out from his wand, rushing to swallow the flames before the entire house burned down.
While the man was busy dousing the flames, their home became filled with noise. Selene’s mother shrieked and clung to a table. “Selene, what are you doing? Explain yourself!”
Malachai’s spell kept pouring onto the fire. While doing that, he glanced at his daughter with confusion. “Child, answer me. Has the stress of recent days got to your head?”
He was not finished when a terrible prickle crawled along his spine. The hairs on his back rose as battle-senses roared to life. Someone was behind him. Someone dangerous.
The Aquamancer snapped his body to turn around in one swift move and jumped in the opposing direction to create distance. As he did so, he saw the shape that had slid into their room as if the air had swallowed it whole.
A tall man stood there in a mask and dark robes, a silhouette that made the breath leave the room for a beat.
Malachai did not wait. He drove his wand forward and called a greater torrent, “[Aqua Deluge]!” A column of water exploded from his spell and rocketed toward the intruder.
Every head in the room watched the wall of water surge, and for a heartbeat, it looked like it would crush the masked man. Then the impossible happened.
The torrent stopped midair.
It hung there as if some unseen hand had frozen it. Malachai’s mouth fell open. “Impossible!”
The masked man’s lips might’ve been hidden, but his eyes alone told all that he was smiling. While doing so, he reached out with a finger. The suspended water began dancing at his command, making playful twirls in the air.
But then, abruptly, he closed his fist.