Demon Prince's Forsaken Bride-Chapter 75: That village (2)

Azrael stepped forward and the longsword manifested in his hands. The ice sword seemed to tremble in excitement for some reason.

As Azrael waved his sword, a force spread out of it. It was visible in the way the chilly wind seemed to stop for a moment, the trees were shot down and the ripples of the river halted. Yet, surprisingly, such a strong force did not touch Lareina or the others in the slightest.

Lareina had seen Azrael fighting wild beasts before but all those incidents have been full of blood and gore. This was the first time she looked him in the eye without flinching as he executed his move and the strength he possessed seemed unreal for a while. Hearing things like ’god of war’ and ’great general’ from others came nowhere as close to witnessing the man emanate such power just with one swing of his sword.

’’Ah...!" Moira shrieked, jumping to hide behind Azrael suddenly.

When Lareina followed her gaze and looked over, her eyes widened. She instinctively retreated a few steps back as in front of her naked eyes, the river water turned completely dark.

Azrael tightened his grip on the sword suddenly, uncontrollable and dark thoughts erupted from his chest. The overwhelming feelings he had suppressed earlier in the carriage seemed to be back with a vengeance.

"Why is the water black?" Lareina asked.

’’This water has been long affected by the ghost air. But unlike the ghost air that does not affect us demons, this water can cause us harm...’’ Under Lareina’s questioning gaze, Astra continued, ’’Because it breeds malevolent spirits inside and we have no way of knowing how many of them are there.’’

"Are you fine?" Azrael turned to Moira and the moment the question slipped past his mouth, the pain in his chest seemed to subside a bit and his hazy mind temporarily regained some control.

Feeling an intense gaze on him, he turned to the side and his eyes met Lareina. Her face seemed to have turned colder and there was a touch of disdain in the corner of her lips.

Lareina looked away from the man.

’’I cannot use my powers to cross the river,’’ Azrael declared suddenly. At Azrael’s resolute declaration, the sword in his hand dispersed, albeit drooping a little in disappointment at missing the fun.

"Your Highness, why don’t I try to cleanse the water?" Astra could tell that something was amiss. Given Azrael’s abilities, he should not have hesitated from using his powers in this situation but with her blind trust in the man, she knew that if he did not do it, there must be some reason behind it.

’’Your powers will be sucked dry,’’ Azrael remarked dryly.

’’This subordinate is incompetent!" Astra almost dropped to her knees if not for the look that Azrael shot her way.

Lareina’s lips twitched as she watched their interaction. The moon was slowly emerging from behind the clouds. As the moonlight shimmered on the dark water, Lareina’s eyes were attracted towards the trees that had fallen when Azrael unsheathed and swung his sword.

"My Lady, where are you going... Be careful...’’

Astra’s voice had just dropped when Lareina snapped a thin branch of the broken tree. The branch was tall and its red berries glistened in the moonlight. From a distance, Lareina dipped the tip of the branch in water. There was a hiss in the water but when Lareina pulled the branch out, it was intact.

Everyone witnessed the scene in silence. Astra looked over in disbelief, ’’How...’’

Lareina picked up a stone and threw it into the distance and even before sinking, the stone just sizzled away in the dark water as if it was caught in a lava.

’’We can use these,’’ Lareina turned around, eyes shining in conviction. She looked at Azrael and raised the branch in her hand.

’’What is it?" Azrael took the branch and examined it closely.

"These are Rowan trees.’’

Astra nodded, ’’But these trees are pretty common. How did they remain unharmed in such a dense ghost aura?"

’’These trees grow in the wild and they are very common but in the human realm, the branches of the tree are hung at doors to chase away ghosts and evil spirits. It’s part of the many folklores that had been passed down from generations,’’ And humans generally had no way of knowing if it worked or not. Some people passed it off as superstitions and some put their faith in such things.

’’Why have I never heard of it before?"

To Astra’s question, Lareina shook her head, ’’Because it’s not a widespread knowledge. There was one time a northern envoy had come to the palace over some political affairs with the rest of his family and all of them were wearing red coral like beads on their hands. When they left, they gave some to the royal family as a parting gift. Those coral beads were not corals, but rather these fruits that were preserved and made into beads. They came from a secluded tribe and this was one of the secrets of their tribe."

"Look around yourself. All the trees that you see here are these rowan trees but there are signs of other trees as well. However, the rest of those trees have long been affected by the ghost air. They have decayed beyond recognition but these trees seemed to be fine,’’ Rather they were uprooted by the force of Azrael’s powers and the sight of the red fruits had brought back the memories of a distant past, back when her mother still had been alive.

Azrael looked at her thoughtfully. She was saying it like a common knowledge but when she spoke, she emanated a sense of sadness. And it made him feel like she was right there but still she was far away from him.

The bizarre feeling made him want to pull her in his chest and never let her go but she would not like it, ’’So, what do you suggest?" Hence, he pulled her attention away from whatever bothered her.

Upon hearing his question, Lareina looked at him and smiled with a touch of mischief, ’’Your Highness, we will be counting on you!"

After a while...

Azrael’s lips twitched as he looked at the trees that Astra had gathered in front of him.

"Your Highness, why don’t I do it?" Astra asked, cautious.

Azrael shot her a look and stood there quietly.

’’His Highness is of royal lineage and noble character. How can we let him do such things?" Moira looked at Lareina distastefully. There was an air of arrogance around her which had been revived when Azrael expressed his concern for her, ’’In any case, you should do it,’’ she turned to Astra.

’’Ah, I happened to see His Highness’s sword early. It seems like a nice weapon so I thought Astra might not do a better job than His Highness,’’ Lareina clicked her tongue softly before shaking her head, ’’But if His Highness is not capable of doing it, then we will count on you,’’ she looked at Astra.

Azrael shot Astra a silent look that screamed—You dare to compete with me for the position of ’The Best’?

Astra shivered. She had a feeling that she was bearing the brunt in the clash between the husband and wife.

Azrael wordlessly manifested his sword but this time, he did not use magic. In a few swift strikes, he chopped down the trees following Lareina’s instructions.

’’This will do...’’ 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

And just like that, the group prepared two boats that were haphazardly tied up with a spell that Astra casted on them.

’’These spells would not last for long. We have to make it to the other side as quickly as possible,’’ Astra reminded them.

’’I want to sit with His Highness,’’ Moira quickly stepped towards Azrael, her wary eyes lingering on Astra.

’’Unfortunately, Lady Moira, my husband is coming with me,’’ Lareina stepped forward, grabbed her hand and gave Azrael a humorless smile that screamed ’You owe me one for my timely help. Now, better sit with me.’

Azrael froze. He could feel her fingers tightening around his wrist. When she could encircle his wrist, her hand slid down. She grabbed two of his fingers and gave them a tight squeeze as if she was warning him.

’’My Lady, this is not the time to be petty over these small things...’’ Moira started.

’’We are sharing a boat,’’ Once Azrael’s words dropped, he wrapped an arm around Lareina’s waist and pulled her in.

A glint flickered in Moira’s eyes.

With a swift jump, Azrael landed on the center of the boat that was tied to the riverbank with Lareina in his arms.

Azrael kept the balance in such a way that it did not swerve in the slightest as it was completely released to the river.

The boat sank a little and Lareina held her breath. A layer of cold sweat covered her forehead.

Suddenly, Moira cried, ’’Your Highness, you must rush back. The boat is sinking!"