Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 756: Love or Hindrance ()

Raena smiled softly, her eyes warmed as she returned her attention to the stream, peering down into it. She watched the colourful fishes dart this way and that, they would curiously peek at her and then hurry away not long after.

The sound of the evening breeze ruffled the tall grasses of the field, it reminded her of Agardan’s booming laughter. Rare as it was, it would carry across the battlefield, defying the darkness they faced with a joy he did not allow to be snatched from him.

It had become all the more frequent with the birth of their sons. Raena’s smile brightened at the memory of him holding their sons, one in each arm. Grown as they were getting, Agardan had a tendency to carry them around like his most priced possessions. His voice was gentle as he whispered his dreams to them... dreams of a world where they could grow without fear.

A rustle in the grasses drew Raena out of her reverie. She turned, expecting to see the Fae guards that had escorted her to the edge of the forest, but the figure that emerged was not a guard.

"Your Grace." Raena greeted, inclining her head to a respectful bow. Enough to show regard, but not so low. On her shoulders was Agardan’s honor, she had learnt to never lower her head in subservience before any monarch... Agardan was no man’s subordinate, and neither was she.

The High Queen’s presence was as regal as ever. Her flowing silver dress shimmered like rays of the moonlight. Her lush brown hair cascaded down her back, crowned by the delicate branches of an enchanted willow. And her eyes were sharp and piercing, they held an intensity that chilled the atmosphere.

"Your invite was well received. Agardan sends his regards, he will be pleased to know you have come to a decision." Raena continued warmly.

"You didn’t tell him about my invitation." The High Queen’s knowing smile was soft but cold, her gaze moved over Raena with unsettling scrutiny.

"Agardan was called away on urgent business before your invite arrived. I will see about this in his stead and relay your words to him upon his return." Raena replied.

"How loyal you are, Raena." The High Queen commended. Her tone honeyed, yet distant. "Standing by his side through every battle, every trial...one might forget you once were the Dark Lord’s favorite minstrel." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Raena’s brows furrowed into a frown at the reminder of her past. A minstrel to the Dark Lord was no great honor. Many would think sitting at the dark lord’s council, draped in the finest robes and playing the harp till her fingers bled and her hands were torn up, stalked by shadow people at every turn, was an enviable life...but not Raena, not when the horrors she had witnessed in that tower haunted her every waking moment until she had met Agardan.

And even now, there were times when she still could not shake it off... the shadows...

"My loyalty is my Lord Dragon and the cause we fight for. To the world we dream of... nothing less, nothing more." Raena replied directly. "If Your Grace has nothing of consequence to discuss, I will relieve you of my presence immediately."

The High Queen’s eyes narrowed in displeasure and her smile faltered. "The world you dream of..." She echoed. "A world where you stand beside him. Where his heart beats only for you."

Raena’s brows furrowed in confusion and a measure of suspicion. "Your Grace?"

The High Queen’s eyes darkened, her tone was low, laced with bitterness. "Long before the world called him a hero...long before he was the vanquisher, long before you were even by his side. I...loved him. And he was meant to be mine."

At that moment, the air grew heavy and the vibrant colors of the forest dimmed. Raena took a step back, a cold chill crawling down her spine as that measure of suspicion grew into a flood of it. "I..."

"It is you who stole him from me." The High Queen’s voice trembled with fury. "You became the light in his eyes, the laughter on his lips. Even now, in his dream of a better world, all he sees...is you. You, who can give him nothing!" Her killing intent was potent in the malice in her tone.

Realization dawned on Raena. "Your Grace, Agardan is not..."

"Not mine?" The High Queen’s dared, her form trembling in fury. "He could have been...he would have been, if not for you." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"I gave him everything! My allegiance, my power...did you think it was all because he saved my life once?"

"I pledged him my crown! My throne! My very heart! But you! You showed up...!" She hissed.

Raena’s heart ached. She was not certain how to receive or react to this, but she could not help the sympathy. "Your Grace, Agardan’s heart is his own. No one can change where it lies."

The High Queen’s eyes narrowed in disdain. "You’re wrong." Her voice had gone entirely cold. "He will mourn you...he will hate the empire that took you and he will finally turn to me."

Raena did not have the time to react, as the vines around her surged to life, twisting around her ankles, they locked her in place. The gentle evening breeze rapidly became a furious gale and even the sunset was drained out of the sky, leaving it dull and grey.

Arcane... Earth’s most powerful magic.

"Your Grace!" Raena cried out, struggling against the vines that climbed her body, their thorns pierced her skin, drawing blood. "What are you..."

"What I should have done a decade ago," the High Queen whispered, her eyes devoid of mercy. "You will only hinder him from reaching his full potential. His love for you makes him see good in the Dark Empire... that something of it can be saved... forgiven."

"But when you’re gone...he will see the truth. He can only win, by shedding such weaknesses." Her tone was solemn. The vines constricted, wrapping around Raena’s chest, squeezing the breath from her lungs. Pain shot through her body, sharp and unrelenting, as the thorns buried deeper.

Raena gasped, tears springing to her eyes as the forest seemed to close in, the once-beautiful grasses now twisted with malice. "Please... he needs me... our sons..." Her voice broke, her vision blurring as the pain grew unbearable.

The High Queen’s eyes softened, a flicker of guilt crossing her features, but it vanished just as quickly, replaced by cold determination. "He needs no one but me. And your sons... will be raised as heroes. They will carry his legacy... and I shall be the one to comfort him through his grief."

Raena’s heart shattered, a scream ripped from her throat as the vines tightened, crushing her ribs, the pain echoing through her very soul.

As the darkness closed in, Neveah felt Raena’s final emotions. The pain, grief, and an overwhelming sorrow. And with it came a building pressure in Neveah’s heart.

The scene exploded in a burst of golden light, the vibrant forest fading to black, the echoes of Raena’s last breath lingering in Neveah’s mind.