Heart Over Sword
Chapter 186: The Living Dead (1)

Chapter 186: The Living Dead (1)

**** Content warning for the next few Chapters ****

- Gore

****

Evanna glanced from the Demon Prince to the four rotting bodies standing behind him, holding axes, shields, and wearing helmets with long beards belonging to a kind Evanna thought was long extinct. But from the age of the bodies, it was clear dwarves were still roaming the realm. After meeting a fairy and the faceless, Evanna was now accustomed to peculiar situations and discovering things meant to stay hidden.

"Evanna, - don’t let this elf trick you. Once he gets what he wants, he will throw you away like you’re nothing.-" Conrad spoke to her in the northern tongue and glared in Arawn’s direction before holding his hand out for her. "- I can help you. -"

Evanna stared at Conrad’s outstretched hand, then to his face with her eyebrows pinched together. "-You claim to help by.." She flicked her gaze to the dead dwarves. "-Raising the dead?-"

Saying it aloud, even with the evidence in front of her, still seemed bizarre. It shouldn’t have. Conrad could already control recently deceased beings, so rising older bodies from the ground shouldn’t be so abnormal. But if she didn’t know about these powers, what else could the Demon Prince do?

"- They are for protection and for my runaway bride..-" Conrad smirked, then eyed Prince Arawn with disdain.

"*Evanna, are all Princes in the human kingdoms so rude?*" Arawn asked. "*Or does he stare out of jealousy?*"

Conrad scoffed with apparent amusement on his features. But he ignored the elven Prince’s provocation. "Evanna.. – Do not be naïve; sweet words are easy to speak. This man is a stranger to you. Come back to me, your friend-" he urged, taking a step closer towards them that made Arawn edge closer in front of her. "- How many summers have we known each other? You know me, Evanna.. And I know I have a lot to make up to you.. but give me the chance to do that. Whatever it is that makes you debate between using this.. this bloodthirsty elf and myself, there is no competition. I will help you.-"

Evanna refrained from rolling her eyes. Conrad was so vain.

"And you are not bloodthirsty?" Evanna replied, arching a perfectly shaped eyebrow. Even though Conrad was intent on speaking in a tongue Arawn would not understand, Evanna did not wish to leave him out. But from the way Arawn was glaring at him and flicking his eyes to their surroundings, he didn’t need to understand Hythen to know what Conrad was saying. The elven Prince looked more interested in a safe way to escape.

"Enough of this. Don’t force my hand," Conrad snapped, his golden irises glinting dangerously as the four revenant dwarves stepped forwards. Evanna glared at him; her hand traced the sheath of the dagger on her hip.

Arawn noted the small action and knew from her body language that Conrad’s charm did not affect Evanna, and his ’persuasive’ words did not work. She did not want to go with him. Even if Evanna didn’t have this rebellious streak in her, she would not go with Conrad. He hurt her too much, and although Arawn didn’t have a long history with Evanna, she already showed signs of trusting him to a degree before he made that vow.

But Conrad was right. Enough. This was wasting their time. They needed to make their escape before the others woke up.

"Rude indeed." Arawn clicked his tongue and opened his palms as the temperature in the air suddenly dropped, and it became harder to breathe.

Frost started to crawl across the ground, and a deathly black mist began to form behind Arawn’s back. Evanna shuffled nervously on her feet, a little startled from the mist that could kill. But then she stopped and slowly turned her attention back to Conrad; her eyes widened as he pulled out his giant sword; his hand slid down the length of it, revealing small glowing, red symbols that then flourished the metal into flames.

The flames seemed to flicker across the blade without damaging it, and neither did it extinguish. Evanna’s lips parted slightly at the sight of it. The Prince had never fought her with a fiery sword before. Was this a new trick?

"Evanna.. Run," Arawn commanded quietly; his eyes remained on the Demon Prince.

Instead of running, the Princess widened her stance and reached for her swords but a force pushed against her hands, stopping her arms halfway. Evanna strained against it, then glared at Arawn. "Leave, now," he growled and released his hold on her.

Evanna’s hands dropped to her sides. "What about them?" She asked, looking at the dwarves now charging towards them.

"* I would worry about the ones behind us. I believe they are after you,*" Arawn grunted as he blasted an icicle into one of the dwarves charging toward him. It stabbed him through the chest, the force behind it stopping the creature for a moment, but after stumbling, he continued running towards them. Arawn narrowed his eyes subtly, and then, with only a look, the dead were blown back by that same invisible force.

Conrad also flew back a few meters; the Prince had been using the dwarves as a distraction to get closer to Evanna. But Arawn clearly still kept him in his sights.

"Evanna.." Arawn warned again, his voice now dripping with ice. She did not need to look at him to know he was annoyed with her disobedience. Evanna looked behind them past the black mist and started to see the skeletons and other corpses running towards them in the distance. She could only tell through the dark forest because of their glowing golden eyes.

Conrad jumped to his feet again and swung his sword casually, creating sparks in the dark. Evanna slowly started to sidestep; the vision of an escape route had already begun to light up for her again. The trees were still on her side without her even asking them to. She stopped by one of the bushes and stared back at the Princes’.

"I won’t forgive either of you if you kill each other," the Princess warned, glaring at each Prince before she backed away and sprinted around them. She looked behind her as she ran through the bushes and bit the inside of her cheek as she watched the four dwarves jump towards Arawn at once and Conrad turning in her direction.

The Demon Prince took a step towards her, but then the sight of him disappeared behind an icy wall that shot through the trees. Evanna forced herself to look forwards again, following the glowing lights the forest provided for her. "But where are you leading me?" Evanna whispered to the trees before biting her tongue to the sudden chill that zapped through her.

"Ooft!" Evanna crashed onto her side. The air rushed out of her lungs at the sudden heavy body slamming into her. She turned to push them off only to stop, her body frozen in such shock a scream died in her throat. One of the corpses had caught up to her and was on top of her. Its dead, glassy, glowing golden eyes stared at her.