The Devil's Betrothed-Chapter 823: End Of Zaria-II

"Don’t talk in puzzle," Morpheus was angry, as well as impatient.

His mind filled with so many questions which he had been asking himself over the last century.

Zaria’s eyes darkened hatefully. "That evil human Draven brought to our kingdom and you all treated him as your friend. He deceived your sister and managed to get information about our kingdom’s secret. And she even slept with that mongrel and carried his child..."

"No," Morpheus interrupted her. "You are lying," and attacked Zaria, but Oriana dodged it.

"Stay out of it," Morpheus warned Oriana in utter rage. "For the last time, I am warning you."

Oriana stood firm with her sword steady in her hand. "Try me."

"Why don’t you ask your friend if I am lying," Zaria said.

"I don’t need to," Morpheus said and was ready to attack again.

"She is telling the truth, Morph."

A voice finally stopped him.

Morpheus looked at Draven, shocked and speechless.

Draven repeated, "She is telling the truth. Myra was deceived. But when she realized it, it was too late."

"Draven..." Morpheus couldn’t say anymore.

Draven met his gaze steadily. "She came to me to get her punishment, but then she was already carrying a child. I let her decide her own punishment. She chose to leave the kingdom."

"Let me correct," Zaria said. "She wanted to have that child. And she knew it would be killed, as his father was that human."

"The child was innocent," Evanthe said. "As a mother, she did what she must."

Zaria offered her a mocking gaze. "And you raised that child, so of course you would find no fault in it."

"If you were a mother, you would have understood her pain," Evanthe countered.

It simply angered Zaria. "Does only giving birth count for being called a mother?" Her words were cold and bitter. Her gaze pained. "Tracia was like my own child. I raised her, trained her. And she was killed for no reason. That day, you killed the mother inside me. For killing my child, I wiped the entire clan of high elves who punished her to death. And then the last one, Myra. I hunted her, dragged her with me, and made her suffer. That’s the kind of mother I was — one who avenged her child. I don’t need to get a lesson from you on motherhood."

"A mother can do anything to avenge her child, but won’t kill another child as well," Evanthe countered. "You killed even the innocent kids of the high elf clan. You do not deserve to call yourself a mother."

"The day they killed Tracia despite my begging them not to, despite asking them to give me a chance to prove her innocence, I swore right there to kill their entire clan," Zaria declared with pride. "I had to fulfil that oath so my Tracia’s soul could rest in peace. Every tear she had shed, every injustice she had suffered that day — I avenged each one of them."

There was utter silence after she finished.

Morpheus was shocked at how things turned out, but he got back to his senses. "Whatever it is, I am here to take my sister with me, and I will do it at any cost."

"I won’t let it happen," Zaria countered. "She is meant to die lonely in darkness without getting to see any of you, not even her child, who is now my captive."

"I am warning you all to leave right away," Oriana warned again.

"We cannot," Draven told her. "If I leave, I will take my people with me including Myra and Aureus. She can have this kingdom."

"Then we have no choice but to fight," Oriana said as she raised her sword.

"Oriana," Evanthe called her, her voice angry this time. "Have you asked your master how this blood oath will end? Only protecting her from us — would that be enough or not?"

Oriana looked at Zaria and said, "I’ll do what the master says. No more questions."

That was a Princess of the Demon Realm talking, who always followed the oath she took. Because she had to protect Arlan, her mate. No one else mattered in front of him.

Draven raised his sword, ready to fight her.

Evanthe didn’t want them to fight, as the result would be nothing but a disaster, no matter who won or lost. The worst thing in one’s life was to see their own people fighting for the wrong reason. She had seen it in the past, and it was the same in the present.

"Zaria, are you afraid of telling her the truth?" Evanthe asked.

Zaria chuckled. "Afraid? That word never existed for me."

"Then tell her how this oath will end," Evanthe said. "The truth."

Oriana looked at Zaria but didn’t ask anything.

"Well, my student is amazing, so I shall reward her by telling what exactly it is," Zaria said as she looked at her student. "My dear Oriana, you are going to have a lesson from your teacher for you. Last, but most valuable one."

Oriana waited to hear, and so did the others.

"Well, my student is amazing, so I shall reward her by telling what exactly it is," Zaria said as she looked at her student. "My dear Oriana, the last lesson from your teacher for you."

Oriana waited to hear, and so did the others.

"Let me start with explaining how this blood oath ends," Zaria said, her gaze meeting Oriana’s, unfazed. "It will end with sacrificing blood — someone’s life. Blood oaths end with blood."

Oriana’s steady and confident gaze wavered for the first time.

"But the life to be sacrificed should be either the one who is the reason for the blood oath you took, or the one who bound you in this oath. That means it will end with either Prince Arlan’s death or mine. Now you have to choose who you want to sacrifice. But I know the choice is easy for you, so go ahead. Everything will end with just one sacrifice, and you won’t be anyone’s puppet ever."

Oriana stood frozen in her place. She had to kill one of them. Of course, Arlan was out of the question, as she took this oath for the sake of protecting him. But she didn’t want to kill her master either.

"I choose to sacrifice none," Oriana said as she looked straight at Zaria.