Chapter 180: Her World
The horses had arrived; it was time for the vampires to leave. The vampire king bowed gently at Zavren, who knelt to the floor his head low his hair covering his face, the seer continued chanting, trying to heal him. Her eyes were shut tight.
Vrazen knew that he was supposed to thank the werewolf queen for saving his wife—never would he have thought a day would come when a lady would save a war.
He turned, knowing she was not in the right state of mind, and knowing how powerful she was he did not dare move. He gave a nod as he climbed his horse. The other vampires knelt with one knee, pulled out their swords, and then bowed in respect at them before entering their various horses and beginning to leave. Just like that, the war had ended.
The queen had ended the war..
The werewolves also began to move; they needed to leave the queen with her husband. They began leaving as well, and they grabbed many of their injured men. They bowed respectfully at Zavren—no one dared utter a word as they entered the horses that had arrived and began leaving.
Ariana’s body was already weak, so weak her knees trembled. Her powers had come in full force, and it was hard to control them; now that it had passed, her body found it hard to come back to normal and it had taken a lot of her strength.
"A...Ariana," she heard his deep voice through her head, and despite the pain her heart skipped a beat—that voice, that exact voice she had always dreamed of, the one that curled her toes just by saying a word to her.
She managed to stand. Raven had already entered the horse and left to get the carriage they needed to take the king back.
The king was the most powerful and today proved it, the fact that Zavren was still standing made it even more shocking. The chant continued as the lady’s hands glowed more and more.
Ariana managed to walk despite her trembling legs. Her lips parted as she stared at him, tears rolling down her cheeks as she could feel the struggle he was actually bearing. Zavren’s muscles tightened; his black hair, which had now grown to his shoulders, poured with sweat.
His crimson-grey eyes finally snapped up as Ariana’s breath caught. His eyes locked to hers, his hair partially covering them, his body on the floor as he knelt, his hands clenched in fists and twisted with the sand.
Ariana moved quickly—all she wanted now was to be in his arms. She wanted to feel him. Her brain was already spinning and she felt that if she shifted her gaze from him he would disappear there on the vast desert, filled with so many swords, blood, and dead bodies. Ariana walked, seeing only Zavren.
She walked further and finally reached him. She knelt on the floor as Zavren gritted his teeth; the pain worsened by the second.
She moved her hands, resting them on his stomach. Blood soaked her palms. Their gazes locked and in a rasp Zavren managed to say,
"A..Ariana." Her heart stuttered—she was finally hearing that voice; she was now with him.
His eyes were red now as he moved his finger to touch her face, but his hands trembled slightly and he pulled away softly; he did not want to stain her. Ariana moved and held his hands to her face.
"H..honey, please tell me...what s..should I do?" she asked. Their gazes remained locked; she could see the pain in his eyes like she had never seen before, and tears rolled down her cheeks even more.
The cold and indifferent aloofness she once knew was now staring at her with raw emotion.
Nothing would have prepared her for this. Feeling that warm blood on her hands, her body trembled as pain coursed through her; her heart squeezed.
Zavren moved a soft smile resting on his lips despite the unbearable pain.
"S..Snowflake, why are you crying?" Ariana stared at him; she could not believe him. He was in pain yet he was asking why she was crying. Why would she not cry? She was not happy with the pain he was feeling.
"Z..Zavren... Please d..do y..you want my blood?" she asked as she stared at him. He chuckled softly as his eyes lazily rested on her.
"For a thousand years to come, I would always love you," he spoke. Ariana’s tears flowed even more. Why was he saying this now? She stared at him as his lips moved; his voice was hoarse and he stared at her lovingly.
"K..Kiss me A..Aria," Zavren whispered. She cupped his cheeks and leaned in, pressing her lips onto his.
A smile lifted across his lips as he moved his hands to her waist, pulling her to him as he kissed her more deeply. Their lips met perfectly—the kiss was not hard but slow, otherworldly, magnificent. They could feel themselves as if nothing else in the world mattered.
At that point they looked like a painting... an untouchable, loving painting. There they sat on the desert, the sand on their skin glistening under the sun as they kissed on the war-torn ground. Ariana gently pulled away and locked eyes with him.
His smile widened as his trembling hands moved, resting in her hair and gently caressing it backwards as if to memorize its texture.
"I would always love you every second, and no matter what never stop loving me, my snowflake..." His breath grew ragged; his eyes rested on her and he then spoke softly,
"That night I would never regret it. In fact, I am glad the carriage broke down and I ended up going to that local hotelz...only to see you." His lips curled as his eyes shone brightly with love.
"And there I met my wife...everything felt so daring," he said. Ariana listened as more tears fell down her cheeks. Why was he saying this now? She loved it, but she did not like that he was saying it now like a goodbye.. she didn’t like that he seemed to be leaving. She didn’t like it at all; was he not telling her something?
"Z..Zavren, please hold it in, I beg you, p..please," she cried harder, her heart squeezing in pain as he just smiled.
"O...our daughter is waiting for you, p...please," her shoulders shook as more tears.
That night when Zavren had met Ariana it had been on his way back to the kingdom, the carriage had broken down.
It was already very late, and for some unknown reason, he had been unusually tired. Knowing it would take more time to reach the castle, he decided to stay at a local motel.
And there, in that local motel, he met his wife. She had come to clean up the wine he had spilled when he accidentally broke the glass.
And that night was a night he would never forget. That night was truly unforgettable for him, and who knew that fate had already planned it all?
Who knew that the person he had actually done it with would become the one he would love so deeply?
The fact that he was enduring such massive pain—a pain that had instantly claimed the lives of others, one no one had ever survived—and yet here he was, still speaking to her, talking to her as if nothing else in the world mattered. Because truly, she was the only one who mattered.
Fate was really real, and he found out when he met his wife.
"Tell m..me you love me. I want to hear it, my love," Zavren whispered as he stared at her.
Ariana nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks, and then she spoke, her voice trembling. "I l..love you so m..much, Zavren. I love you till death. I love you so much that not even death could tear us apart. I love you for a million years... please, Zavren, don’t leave me."
She spoke, and he only kept smiling. She could see it — those painful smiles in his eyes, smiles that spoke more than words ever could.
Then, calmly, he whispered voice filled with love, "Thank you... for loving me."
With that, he moved to hug her. Ariana immediately wrapped her arms around him, holding on tightly. They clung to each other as he rested his head on her shoulder. A soft smile graced her lips as she whispered through her tears, "Oh, Zavren, I’ve missed you so much I and little Vreni. In fact, when you come back home, you’ll get scolded." She let out a shaky laugh between sobs.
But then — she noticed. His body wasn’t moving. Her eyes widened. With a broken tone she cried out, "Zavren... Zavren..."
Ariana’s body stiffened as her world came to an abrupt halt. It was like everything that had happened was no longer real. It felt as if her body was crashing down, breaking into pieces.
Nothing felt natural anymore. She could no longer feel his breathing on her skin, and his body was stiff—frozen cold.
His body remained still.
Zavren was gone. He had died in her arms, resting on her shoulders.