Demon Prince's Forsaken Bride-Chapter 86: Let’s die together (2)

At this moment, Lareina heard the sound of approaching footsteps along with different voices.

’’There... Tie the ropes."

’’We don’t even know if the second prince came here.’’

’’I saw him running in this direction earlier after he killed our brothers. He must be looking for his wife!"

’’But he was not in a good state and that woman is a human. How could they survive down there? In any case, they would be eaten by those beasts sooner or later even if they are breathing down there!"

’’No matter what, we must look for them. If they are alive, they should be killed. If they are dead, then we need their bodies. Otherwise, we would not be able to see the light of the day anymore. Be quick, tie the ropes and suspend them! Bring the fire torches over!"

Lareina froze and turned to look at Azrael, only to discover that his face was just as solemn.

He held a long extended rock in one hand and stretched his other hand towards her.

Lareina looked at the approaching fire torches that were brightening the place.

When Lareina let go of her only functioning hand, she was prepared for the worst case scenario. That would be both of them falling to their deaths. But Azrael caught her in firm grip. One hand remained around her waist while the other grabbed the rock tightly.

’’What now...?" Lareina whispered in his ear. Given how the current circumstances were, he would not be able to hold onto this extended rock forever. Even if he did manage to do that, those people would probably kill them mid-air, considering his lack of powers.

Azrael looked at her calmly.

Lareina held her breath. No way! The solemnity from before was no longer visible on his face. Rather, he looked like a man prepared for his death. The words he had uttered earlier suddenly reverberated in her mind and seeing the imminent doom close, Lareina treated all big and small wounds on her entire body as accessories and pain as motivation to speak in one breath.

’’Your Highness, you must not...’’ Her voice was so weak that it could not even be considered a whisper, ’’You must not give up. There should be a way out of this. You must not surrender to death.’’

’’Brave men fear no death,’’ Azrael spoke calmly. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The ropes were suspended from the cliff and Lareina’s heart was suspended up on her throat, ’’I am no brave man...’’ she almost snapped but then she restrained her anger, ’’You have rarely enjoyed times of peace after the war ended. And you have no heirs, Your Highness. How can you die here?"

’’Neither peace nor fatherhood compares to you,’’ Azrael looked at her with a gaze like that of a lover who was whispering sweet nothings to his lady under the peach blossom tree.

In other situations, having such a handsome man say such words with such a look would have been a delight to Lareina’s eyes. But as things stood now, Azrael was no lover and they were not sitting under any peach blossom tree.

’’If I can die with you, I have no mortal desires left!" A gentle smile tugged on Azrael’s face.

’’I don’t want to die, Azrael. I am so full of mortal desires that I cannot count them if I sat all night... ah!’’ The man suddenly let go of his hand that held the rock for support and covered her mouth with his palm to silence her in death.

Lareina’s eyes rolled backwards and she fainted.

’’There... Move it there!" A few men jumped down with the ropes but when they looked around, there was not a single bird in sight, let alone any living person, ’’Go down and search carefully! We must not return empty handed!’’

...

When Lareina stirred, she felt pain in every inch of her body. She opened her eyes and struggled a little to see anything but all that greeted her eyes were darkness. Her brain was muddled and her thoughts were erratic.

’’Those popes and priests kept asking the royal family to do this ritual and that ritual for the peace of soul after death... What liars... I still feel the pain everywhere... Did I even make it to heaven...?" She let her eyes roam around in the darkness and plopped to the side like a withered flower, ’’It doesn’t seem like that...’’

A soft and deep chuckle interrupted the despondent trail of her thoughts. Lareina stiffened at first, mistaking the voice for some hell envoy’s. But the familiarity of it gradually sunk in her and the fog in her mind cleared up as everything pieced itself together.

"You did it on purpose!" She turned around and without restraint, she jabbed her elbow in the direction of the source of the voice. But her hit seemed to land on soft cotton as the man did not even wince.

’’Don’t take offense, princess. In such desperate situation, you manage to hold on without speaking up just so you could hear what I am saying so...’’

Lareina was in disbelief, ’’So, you...’’ She coughed twice, ’’took revenge by scaring me!"

The man remained silent.

Lareina fell speechless. How petty can a person be? How did this man remain stoic and gentlemanly all the time in the palace, deceiving people with all that facade?

’’Where are we?"

’’It’s a narrow cave... by the side of the cliff,’’ Azrael answered patiently, ’’I spotted it earlier when I jumped down...’’

As he was speaking, Lareina tried to shift into a comfortable position but suddenly she realized that when he said narrow, it really was narrow. She could not even stretch her legs.

She opened her mouth to speak but suddenly, she let out a sneeze. The cold breeze seemed to enter the cave from the gaps between the rocks, making the place even chillier.

She felt the man beside her move.

...

A/N: If you like this book so far (or even if you don’t), do let me know your thoughts. I will appreciate your words and remarks (constructive ones) and try to sharpen my craft as well as give best quality Chapters to you!

Other than that, things have been very hectic on life front. After this semester, my course is about to end. Life in university has been anything but peaceful and some recent brutal cases over here have shaken me to the core.

But, this somehow remains a safe space for me no matter what happens. And I am grateful for your presence. Thank you for your support so far, sweeties~ <3