The Devil's Warrior Queen
Chapter 392: Fleeting Time

Chapter 392: Fleeting Time

Time rolled on so quickly before their eyes. The years had been quite hectic and memorable, but mostly hectic now that three mischievous offsprings roamed about the castle with their shenanigans.

Unexpectedly, after both Rama and Malika had given birth to their sons, Zoya birthed a daughter soon after. Apparently, she was carrying the mysterious Aldric’s child in her without knowledge.

The emptiness and despair in Zoya’s eyes had quickly been snuffed out when her daughter had been brought into the world and her eyes immediately retained their lost glow once again.

Rama was relieved and grateful that finally, Zoya had let go of the hurt and misery that was eating through her, rather, she put all her time and effort on her daughter, Ariana.

She was thankful that Aldric had not only left Zoya with a broken soul, but fortunately, he had left her with the precious gift of their creation.

Though, Rama was happy watching the children grow to become close friends, every time she looked at Vlad, the memories of Malika came flooding back into her head in a nostalgic rush.

It still seemed unbelievable to Rama that Malika was dead, but in the despairing moment, her son, Vlad had given her a sense of Malika’s presence.

It had been hard for Rama to cope with Malika’s death, but she still held on strong. Although it had been difficult for her, it was nothing comparable to what Zamiel had gone through.

The heartache and broken soul inflicted from Malika’s death would have completely broken him beyond repair, but surprisingly, Zamiel held on to his strength, to the strength of their son.

Thankfully, Vlad was nothing like Zamiel, and surprisingly, nothing like Malika too. Rather than a stoic demon lord or a timid angel, he was an energetic child with a spirited nature.

Despite the fact that the dark entity possessed him when he was a baby, there had been no signs of the darkness in him, neither had there been any tragedy befallen on the kingdom. The only reason Draco hadn’t swept his head off his shoulders.

While Vlad was bubbly and energetic, Rama’s son, Ares, was rather the opposite. Ares, growing up, had been living in his own undisturbed world. Sometimes, he felt alienated, as though he didn’t belong in their world. He was reserved, never one to voice out his emotions, but his eyes said it all.

He was rather difficult to discern, like an encrypted puzzle with no riddle. But surprisingly, despite his solemn personality, he grew to be close friends with both Vlad and Ariana, their friendship was an unbreakable bond that no one could alter and it made Rama immensely happy.

But despite having his friends by his side, there was an aching emptiness within his soul that he couldn’t quite fathom, an emptiness that tugged at his subconsciousness.

Deep down, he felt drawn to the darkness, the call of temptation and power luring him deeper into its entrapment, but his parents had warned him to stay away and he tried to, even though the call of darkness was as strong as his willpower to resist.

Ariana on the other hand was the curious and adventurous one. She sought danger and she reveled in the thrill of it, but despite her toughness and enthusiastic nature, she was a kind soul, but she always wore her tough mask. She always reminded Rama of her younger self, but Zoya had always said Ariana had reminded her of Aldric.

It had been seventeen years since their birth and in a month, they would all turn eighteen. It was surprising how the years had rolled by so quickly and how big they had all grown into young adults.

Skipping through the grand hall of the castle, a young lady with ashen hair and magenta eyes cuddled a small furry animal in her arms, grinning from ear to ear.

The girl suddenly came across Rama in the hallway who stared at the creature in her hands with furrowed brows but before she could speak on it, the girl dashed out of her sight.

The girl’s ashen hair billowed behind her as she fled through the hall and soon after a few twists and turns in the enormous castle, she finally went through a door as she barged into the room.

Before her, were two young males around the same age as her. While one had inky black hair and cold silver eyes, the other possessed white hair with two different pairs of eyes, crimson red, and sapphire blue.

"Ari, stop barging, we could have been unclothed." Vlad, the one with white hair spoke as he lowered his face from her sight.

Since he had grown conscious of his surroundings and who he was, he constantly became conscious of his physical appearance, knowing he was different.

As a result of his contrasting lineage, he possessed different pairs of eyes and he was rather mortified by the visible difference in him.

"Don’t tell me you both are gay now or else why would I barge in on you two unclothed?" Ariana snapped as she squinted her eyes at them.

"Whichever maid is in charge of grooming you to be a proper lady failed awfully, it’s as though she slept throughout the lesson." Vlad retorted as he shook his head, while Ares sat in silence as he watched the both of them nitpick like they did every other day.

"I’ll leave you be for now, because guess what? I have a new friend!" Ariana exclaimed as she extended her hand with the furry creature toward them.

Vlad gasped in stupefaction while Ares stared at it with a bored look.

"Are you crazy? That’s a wolf cub, we have no idea if it’s even a werewolf cub." Vlad pointed out.

"Are you a moron? It couldn’t possibly be a werewolf cub, werewolves don’t start to shift until they turn eighteen, stupid." She retorted as she cuddled the cub in her arms.

"It doesn’t matter, where did you find it by the way? Wolves never leave their cubs alone. Did you steal it from its mother? How cruel of you, Ari." Vlad implied distastefully.

"Of course I didn’t, I saved the poor thing from near doom. A grizzly bear almost tried to eat it, but I killed the bear so it’s safe now." Ariana said with shrugged shoulders while paying the cub attention.

As soon as she spoke, Vlad’s eyes turned serious as he rose from the chair. His eyes suddenly screened through her body from head to toe and when he saw she was alright, he proceeded to scold her.

"Ariana, don’t be so reckless, you could have gotten yourself hurt! And most definitely don’t try to save a cub from a grizzly bear when there’s a high possibility of you getting hurt in the process. Think before you act!" He scolded her with a serious tone, leaving her dazed for a moment as she paused.

Ariana’s eyes fluttered in confusion for a moment. Although they were friends and they obviously cared for each other, he had never scolded her before despite the danger she had gotten herself into one two many times.

For a moment, even Vlad was shocked at his own outburst "I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you." He said in an apologetic tone.

Unexpectedly, Ariana burst out in laughter "You didn’t expect me to cry because you yelled, did you? Besides, where did that come from? Since when did you become so protective, Vlad?" She drawled sarcastically.

Vlad scoffed as he rolled his eyes. Squaring his broad shoulders, he retorted "I’d be the happiest person if a bear were to gut out your insides, at least then, you’ll know how to stay away from danger."

"You would be the first to cry when I’m dead, I assure you." Ariana quipped but immediately she spoke, Vlad’s demeanor swiftly changed.

"Ha! I’m not even dead yet and you’re already sulking!" Ariana exclaimed as though she had won a trophy.

Vlad let out a throaty chuckle as she poked him playfully while Ares muttered beneath his breath as he watched them "Lovebirds."

But his whispered words were loud enough for them to hear.

"I could say that for the both of you, you’re always hanging around each other like couples. I won’t be surprised if you both announce a wedding." Ariana intoned.

"You do know we’re demons and we only mate to the opposite gender, right? So I won’t be surprised if the both of you end up together." Ares retorted with a calm voice.

She pursed her lips at him as she rolled her eyes "You are calm but when you open your mouth you only know how to spout gibberish, don’t you?"

As she spoke, Vlad gave her a gentle blow to the arm as he warned "Don’t forget you’re talking to the Prince, even though he’s your friend."

Ariana scoffed "What is he going to do? Behead me for treason?" She quipped sarcastically.

"Perhaps I will." Ares muttered loudly.