Married To The Last Ice Dragon-Chapter 81: A living being

"Have mercy! Your Majesty!" A scream of agony echoed in the throne room, followed by the sound of bones cracking.

Hearing the scream, Ashton, who was speaking to a guard in a hallway on the opposite side of the throne room, sighed deeply and turned his gaze to the hall that led to the throne. "And he has returned."

"Indeed he has," he heard Stefan say and frowned deeply.

"Are you stalking me or something?" Ashton asked angrily, turning to face Stefan, who was now standing beside the nervous-looking guard.

"You might not realise it, but we share a castle." Stefan spoke with ease.

"However, you always seem to get involved with me." Ashton rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Leave." He told the guard, who lowered his head and walked away from the men.

"Last night, I saw him arrive in his dark state, with the queen unconscious in his arms." Stefan told Ashton, who looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"I saw him as well, and he did not say anything to anyone. He went straight to his room." Ashton replied with a sigh.

"Something must have triggered his dark state; I am glad he did not harm the queen." Stefan exhaled a deep sigh of relief, causing Ashton to narrow his eyes at him.

"I just hope he never hurts her," Ashton joked.

"And what about the young guard who always follows him?" Stefan inquired inquisitively, referring to Arthur.

Ashton creased his brows. "Why are you asking me?"

Stefan shook his head and smiled. "What is the matter with you? You sound enraged." He said and turned away. "I am just curious,"

Ashton swallowed hard and took a step back. "He is in the castle; he returned with the guardians and an hour later after Cyrus." Ashton’s response was tense.

"Alright," Stefan said, turning back to face Ashton, who was now tense. "Is something wrong?"

"N..no." Ashton responded by clearing his throat. "I am just annoyed because Cyrus murdered over thirty guards this morning and imprisoned Sergio." He explained, wiping away his tense expression. "Things are getting worse, not better."

"Does he believe Sergio is the one who assisted the water mage in escaping?" Stefan inquired, perplexed.

"He does not believe it; he knows it." Ashton scoffed in response.

"You adore Cyrus," Stefan said with a smile. "He is incredible, isn’t he?" Stefan inquired, his face bright.

"You are not going to understand," Ashton scoffed at Stefan. "You are nothing more than a poke noser." He continued, rolling his eyes at Stefan.

"You are the only one who sees me as one, Ashton Petrov," Stefan joked.

"Trust me, if you call that name with respect, you will live longer."

"Trusting in you is like digging my own grave."

"Oh! I am glad!" Ashton said sarcastically.

"Being glad is like inviting you to join me in my grave." Ashton frowned as Stefan teased him.

"Ridiculous dragon," He mumbled.

"It appears that I am stuck in your head." Stefan burst out laughing.

"Because you are right in front of me, Lord Stefan," Ashton grumbled.

Stefan smirked, his gaze fixed on the demon in front of him. "You are always picking fights with me. It makes me wonder whether you will save me or kill me on the battlefield one day." he said and turned away before Ashton could react.

Ashton was stunned by that statement. Just as he wanted to speak,

"No, no, noooo stay away!" Sage screamed as she ran past them, holding a fork with a piece of meat stuck in it, and the demon panther Venus pursued her.

As they watched Sage and Venus disappear down the hallway they had run into, Ashton chuckled and Stefan looked concerned.

"Did she just flee the dining room?" Ashton laughed.

"Yes, and I believe she is on her way to the throne room, where Cyrus is brutally executing the guards." Stefan responded sternly.

"My queen!" Ava yelled, running past them in the direction Sage and Venus had vanished.

Stefan turned to look at Ashton, who was grinning broadly. His eyes were serious, peering into Ashton’s black ones. "What did you do with Mirabella that night?" He inquired abruptly.

Ashton averted his gaze and frowned, clearing his throat. "You are really stalking me. How disturbing." He laughed.

"I saw what happened that night, but I did not follow you after you knocked her out." Stefan spoke with authority. "She is clearly obsessed with Cyrus, and her unrequited love is driving her insane. It is worrisome."

"Do not worry about anyone else but yourself, Lord Stefan." Ashton scoffed angrily and walked away. "Do not try to get close to me, do not try to get involved with me, and I never want to have another long pointless conversation with you."

Stefan let out a sigh and lowered his head. "Unfortunately, I am unable to. She is in danger, and I must destroy that danger as soon as possible even if I die doing it."

...

Sage kept running, intending to enter the throne room and scream at Cyrus to stop his demon panther from chasing her.

Cyrus had gone to do some work in the castle while she went to eat breakfast, with Ava taking care of her.

She was eating quietly and saving a special sauced meat for her last bite. When it was time to eat, Venus, the demon panther, appeared out of nowhere and stared hungrily at her meat. She refused to give him the meat, prompting Venus to pursue her all the way to the throne room.

As she got closer to the throne room, she heard a loud scream that anyone outside the castle could hear. It was filled with excruciating agony, and when the scream stopped, she knew whoever it was was long gone.

She came to a halt in front of the throne room. Taking slow steps inside, she noticed blood on the ground, headless bodies, and some of the bodies looked as if they were torn apart with bare hands.

"Cyrus?" She called out and looked at Cyrus, who was seated on the throne, staring at his bloodied hands.

"What are you doing here, parrot?" He asked casually, turning his gaze to her.

Venus growled and ran into the throne, ready to launch at Sage.

Sage sighed, turned to face the demon panther, and ate the meat off the fork. "Go away!" She screamed at the panther and avoided the panther’s launch.

"Venus!" Cyrus’ voice was thunderous, and the panther came to a halt and glared at him.

Sage looked at Cyrus. "Ignore it; he is just having fun." Her gaze was drawn to the dismembered bodies on the ground. There was blood everywhere, and the throne was almost completely covered in bodies.

"So, what brought you here?" Cyrus asked flatly as she let the fork fall to the ground.

"Because I want to, and why did you kill all these innocent guards?" She screamed at him.

"Traitors are not innocent; they deserve death, a painful death that would make them forever non existent." Cyrus replied flatly and stood up.

"What, why?" She was perplexed.

"Sergio sent those guards to attack, he released a prisoner of mine, and all these guards are serving him."

Sage exclaimed in surprise. Sergio wanted Cyrus dead? What prisoner?

"Who was the prisoner?" Sage wondered.

"Someone who should noy be alive." Cyrus replied and rose from his throne.

"Who?" Sage frowned.

"A living being," Cyrus replied bluntly as he walked down the few steps to Sage.

"Do I know this living being?" Sage inquired through her teeth.

"Yes," Cyrus replied and her eyes widened.

"A mage?" She gasped.

"Yes," Cyrus replied, now standing in front of her.

"Katherine?" Sage stiffly asked.

"Dumb parrot, think." Cyrus breathed and shook his head.

"Dexter?!" Sage exclaimed.

"He is in the dungeon, not him."

Sage held her breath and swallowed hard. Of course Dexter was in the dungeon.

She looked deeply in Cyrus’ unreadable eyes and asked, "Is it... Aunt Lia?"

Cyrus smiled, a smile that brought out his dimples. "She is in the dungeon and, not her."

"What?! Lianna is here?!" Sage was stunned.

Sage thought hard. Her face scrunched as she did and when she realised who it was, she grabbed Cyrus by the coat and locked her gaze on him.

"Do not tell me it’s who I think it is." She growled angrily.

Cyrus leaned in close to her. "Alright," he hissed, and her angry eyes twitched.

Sage let go of Cyrus’ coat, crashed her lips against his, grabbed his lower lip between her teeth, and bit him hard until he heard him groan in pain.

Pulling away, she heaved for air, turned away, and dashed out of the throne room.

Cyrus winced in pain and grunted as a bright glow engulfed him and Venus. When the glow faded, they were in their dark state.

"Arrogant parrot!" Cyrus growled furiously, his blue slit eyes glimmered darkly. "She really want to die in my hands!"