Before anyone could react, a large golden whip formed in Emira’s hand, its light shimmering across the courtyard.
Aron Mast’s fingers curled tightly around the void stone hidden in his palm as a low growl rose from his chest. How was she able to master this? He had never taught her something like this."What are you doing?" he demanded, forgetting the warning that Kael had given him.
"I am about to take back what belongs to me, Dark Lord- my revenge. But don’t worry. You will be the last one. I shall start with Shiqi Stav." Emira turned her head to look at the older, now frial woman who stood shivering on one corner, staring at her with hatred in her eyes.
But before she could raise the whip, Aron growled, "Mira, I do not know what you think you are doing. But the soul-stripping whip is not something you should use without understanding the consequences. And Shiqi belongs to me."
Emira gave him a cold smile then. "I agree. Shiqi still belongs to you. Still pretending you do not understand? Very well. Then I will explain it to you myself in simple words."
"Long before the memories of my past life returned to me, we already knew that you and Shiqi had conspired to seize power for yourselves. That you were not enemies but only pretending to be. You see, you were so focused on the prophecy and the one chosen mate for the three lords that you believed only that bond could make you stronger."
Her gaze did not leave his face.
"In your struggle, both of you forgot something important. The Three Lords themselves were also sources of power. Their strength could be taken just as easily as the blessing of the prophecy. When they were cheated of their rightful mate, they pieced together several things, ensuring that this time something like that would not be repeated.
That is why your plan went awry at the last minute and you had to entrap yourself to even continue living. It was not the Goddess’ punishment but their sacrifice. And from that day, your death and loss was inevitable.
All these years, Shiqi put on the mask of the Grand witch, increasing the lord of the vicious dark lord and being the only Grand witch who could outmanoeuvre him. The goal was clear. The next time the Golden Goddess descended, you would once again face off each other as rivals and this time you would have the trust of the three lords you needed.
So, while telling everyone what a bad person you were, she continued to visit the werewolves and from there, marked Omegas to take away for sacrificing, to sustain your life force, to keep you alive. And just like when you sacrificed Mira to your rituals and forgot her mates, you sacrificed the Omegas and forgot their destined mates."
"Unexpectedly, those rogues you sent to the Stormhold Territory to capture me and lure me? Their souls were grieving their lost mates. All Lance had to do was separate the souls from the madness and they were able to answer a lot of questions. Like the Grand witch had been in love with the Dark Master.
Emira’s voice lowered. Aron’s expression shifted slightly then, though he said nothing. But Emira knew that he was already calculating the time that they might have known the secret for.
"Nine hundred and ninety-nine omegas were sacrificed so your life force would not fade. They were offerings made to sustain you. And you still dared to stand there and claim that you were innocent."
Her grip tightened around the glowing whip. Her eyes fixed on Aron Mast without mercy for a moment before she shifted them to Shiqi.
"Shiqi Stav. All those years ago, you did not have even a little bit of pity for the girl who grew up with you, calling you sister. You did not spare the three lords who gave you respect and even affection when they thought you were their fated mate. What about the girl who called you mistress? Hmm? My mother? She treated you as her master, she trusted you and what did you do to her?"
"To fulfill the next part of your plan, you introduced her to a man who hated dark witches. You let her mate him, bear children for him until she died, still believing that her master would protect her. When she reached out to you for help, after she had been betrayed, you had her sold into a pack that would make her life worse than death! Do you really think, I should spare you?"
Without giving him a chance to reply, Emira lifted her arm, and the golden whip rose with her, glowing brighter as her power gathered around it. "Now you will answer for everything you have done."
With that, she swung the whip toward Shiqi. She knew that it would kill her in a single stroke. And as much as she wanted to stretch the punishment, she felt that even a single extra breath the woman breathed was too much. Tightening her hands around the handle, she struck.
However, before the whip could strike, a figure rushed forward and placed herself directly in front of Shiqi, spreading her arms as if to shield her body. "No!" the woman screamed.
It was Dorothy Green. Or rather Molly. The loyal maid to Shiqi
Her disguise flickered for a moment, and then her real face showed beneath it, twisted with fear and desperation. She looked at Emira with wide eyes, as if hoping for mercy. "Miss Mira..."
But Emira did not flick her hand away, letting the whip fall on the woman. It didn’t matter that it was Molly. She was not innocent.
The whip struck her before she could move again.
A sharp cry tore from her throat as the golden lash ripped across her chest. The light burned into her skin, and the sound of tearing flesh echoed across the courtyard. The smell of scorched blood filled the air, heavy and sickening.
Dorothy collapsed to her knees, clutching herself as her body began to glow from the inside.
In seconds, her body began to fall apart. Her clothes burned away. Her hair turned to dust. Her bones glowed briefly beneath her skin before they too crumbled.
Emira watched without blinking. Or feeling any remorse. In fact this is what she wanted to see Shiqi and Aron Mast to turn into.
When it was over, there was nothing left of Dorothy Green. Only a small pile of ash lay on the stone floor where she had stood.
A faint trail of smoke rose into the air. Emira’s lips curved into a slow smile.
"So," she said softly, "that is how loyal you are, Shiqi Stav. You hide behind your servants and lovers, even now."
Shiqi stared at the ashes in horror, her face pale and her body trembling. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Emira smiled," Now who is going to save you? Your most loyal servant is gone."
Without saying more, Emira raised her hand to swing the whip again. This time, Aron Mast was prepared though. Before the whip could fall, he raised his hand and a dark light filled the courtyard.