2219 Cornered Prey (Part 1)

Thrud was enveloped by so much Life Maelstrom that her golden hair turned silvery and her skin became white as bolts of lightning crackled around her body.

"My plan was to leave Verhen alone!" She lunged with the Arthan's Sword and Orpal sidestepped, exploiting the superior range of his spear, Thorn, to keep her at bay.

"I knew that he has destroyed two lost cities and I didn't want the Golden Griffon to be the third!" Alas, the Mad Queen grabbed the head of the spear with her off-hand, Davross screeching against Davross.

Then, she pulled him and impaled Orpal on her sword, lifting him from the floor to look him in the eyes while she bathed in his blood.

"It was you who convinced me to expose your brother's identity as a Tiamat!" Thrud kicked Orpal in the chest, leaving her footprint on his breastplate and sending him crashing against the wall.

"If it wasn't for you, the Royals wouldn't know about his Abomination side. If it wasn't for you, they would have never had the leverage to force him to take such a dangerous mission." The Dead King coughed out blood non-stop and the concussion made everything worse.

Even with darkness fusion blocking the pain, his sense of balance was gone.

He trembled as he saw the Mad Queen extending her hand toward him. Fear turned into terror when instead of squashing Orpal's head, she healed him again with her breathing technique.

"Your stupid plan is the reason my husband died. Your insignificant existence is the reason Verhen refused to join my side. My son has become an orphan because of you." Her voice was stone cold as she forced him to stand, handed him Thorn again, and threw away Arthan's Sword.

Orpal trembled from head to toe, experiencing what Dawn had learned the hard way just a few days back. His problem was that he didn't have Acala's violet core and Orpal and Night had no idea how to fuse.

On top of that, Thrud had given him everything but his steed. Without Moonlight, the gap in their cores, mass, and the weight of their equipment was simply too much.

"Now give me a decent fight, you pathetic excuse of a man. Meln Narchat, the shame of the Verhens." Seeing that Orpal refused to fight, the Mad Queen taunted him. "You know what, maybe I will send a video.

"I've many of them where you piss yourself and cry like a little bitch. I'm sure that once the Kingdom witnesses the true you, no one will ever respect the Horseman of Night. Everyone will compare your videos with Lith's and understand that you aren't even worthy of licking his boots."

"Don't you dare!" Orpal switched with Night who bolted forward in a flurry of attacks, her spearsmanship perfected through the centuries.

None of them reached the Mad Queen. She didn't budge from her position, using the Arthan's Armor heavy gloves to deflect every one of them. She caught and released Thorn many times before getting tired of that game.

"Nice to see you again, Night. I was looking forward to talking to you as well." She stepped inside the Horseman's guard so quickly that not even Full Guard allowed Night to react in time.

Thrud grabbed Thorn with her right while hammering Night's side with a barrage of body blows.

"I know what your mother said, but I'm a mother as well. No matter how much you disappointed her, she doesn't hate you." The Mad Queen's voice was calm and relaxed as the Horseman puked blood and bile.

"She just realized the monster you are and wants to put you down. Yet she wants to do it in a humane and painless way whereas I don't." Night's numbed hands dropped Thorn and Thrud switched to a double-handed barrage.

"I get to break the man responsible for my husband's death and to send this video to Baba Yaga, because she will suffer. She still loves you and she will feel as helpless and miserable as I am, knowing that your fate is sealed!"

The hits lifted the Horseman in mid-air and moved her back until she was nailed to the wall. It took Thrud a handful of seconds to blast through the Black Rose armor, severing the torso from the legs with the raw strength of her punches.

"Fuck this, I'm out." Night returned to her crystal, leaving Orpal alone.

"Please, no. I beg of you. Stop." He said amid tears.

Thrud was taking off the Arthan's Armor, which hurt him more than any hit could. She was so bored that she was willing to give him even more advantage in the hope that Orpal could hold his ground for a second.

"Don't send the video to the Kingdom. I'll do anything you want. Anything."

"Just as I predicted." Thrud's knuckles popped and her smile became more savage than ever. "Like a little bitch."

Yet she didn't stop. There was no mercy in her heart, only hate. She kept beating Orpal even after he stopped resisting and stopped only once she couldn't almost resist the temptation to kill him for good.

Thrud still needed Moonlight for her plans and no matter the madness that ravaged her mind, there was no sacrifice too big to ensure Valeron the Second's eternal rule. Even if it meant letting Orpal live a bit longer.

***

Blood Desert, Lith's tower, in the bedroom, at the same time.

"I'm so happy that you two have finally made up." Solus brimmed with joy, her smile so radiant that it could light a city. "I want to know everything and while you are at it, can I have dessert as well?"

She was surprised to see so many carts of food in their room just like Lith was surprised to see her so happy. Even more astonishing was Kamila's decision to have that conversation in the bedroom instead of the living room.

"Didn't you have dessert already?" Lith asked.

"No. I was so on edge that I barely touched any food. Between that and the nervous stress I've worked up quite an appetite." Solus' watering mouth and her eyes staring at the sweets made him doubt her words.

"What about your die-"

"Here, take this. It's delicious." Kamila cut him off and offered Solus a big slice of Triple Threat while cutting another for herself.

"I know. It's my favorite. Yet it's also really high-calorie and I'm on a diet." Solus touched her belly with a guilty look.

"Nonsense, you look amazing. Also, with everything you went through at the Golden Griffon you deserve a break." Kamila said, unaware that Solus had already taken several breaks at breakfast and lunch.

"Don't mind if I do!"

"Okay, this is wrong. Since when do you two get along like this? I mean, the room, the pleasantries, the food sisterhood." Lith pointed at the two women eating like wolves while sharing details that were supposed to be intimate.

"That's mean of you to say." Solus said after gulping a glass of milk. "We get along since your honeymoon."

"Indeed." Kamila nodded. "How can you threat like that the mothers of your child?"

"What?" Lith stared at them in horror as the memory of his latest fusion with Solus and its possible consequences flashed in front of his eyes. "Mothers? As in plural?"