WARNING: Prepare for a bittersweet part 3 and 4.

Here is

Chapter Eighty-Five: The Great War (p. 3)

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Natalya's POV~

"I wish it could wait, Nat, but this is serious. What I need to tell you could change your entire perspective on this battle."

I stopped moving, froze in place and blinked twice.

"Pardon?"

"I know its bad timing but I really need to get it out. It is now or never." Evelyn anxiously looked down at her fingers and back up at me with a frown, "I just don't want to keep secrets from you anymore."

"Evelyn, you are scaring me... What is it?" I urged her to spit out, forgetting about the initial annoyance of being disrupted mid-battle and showing concern.

She looked away for a long time and exhaled, before ending it with a nervous gulp. "I need you to promise you won't freak out and act on impulse."

"I can't promise you anything," I replied honestly. How could she expect me to make such a promise when I had no clue what she was going to say?

"Natalya, seriously. I'm not supposed to be telling you this anyway but as your friend, your mentor and the good of my heart, I wanted to do the right thing for once. The least you could do is help me out here... Just a tad... Please?"

I began to feel guilty when her puppy eyes and pout protruded and defeatedly huffed out. "Fine, okay! I promise not to freak out."

Evelyn gratefully smiled. "Good because once you know, you'll need to play the part if we are going to take this person down. He has done enough damage already but he will do even more if you turn your back on him now."

I curiously stepped forward and placed my hand on her arm to show I was listening.

"Eve, who are you talking about?"

She was making me anxious and honestly a little scared. Evelyn's face had paled as if she'd seen a ghost. From looking into her eyes, I could tell she was terrified about something.

"I'm talking about Preston."

She didn't even hesitate.

My heart fell to my stomach and I jerked back defensively.

"What? What do you mean? Evelyn, Pres is harmless, he would never do anything to hurt me. He loves me, he says it at least every day."

"And I'm sure you don't have any other choice but to love him back."

"C'mon Eve, you know I loved him even before the "blood bond."

Evelyn's face became stern and after her eyes flickered up to mine, they were unmoving. I had never seen her more serious about something before. "Believe me that love will soon turn to hate once you hear what he has done."


"Wha-"

I caught my tongue, crossing my arms and deciding to listen without judging. After learning that Evelyn had never made choices to intentionally hurt me, she had gained back some of my trust. Yes, they were still questionable choices but I guess she was only trying to look out for me. 

Harrison seemed fond of her too and since he was a great judge of character, I knew that deep down she wasn't a bad person.

In fact, I had known her longer than I had Preston so naturally, her word mattered more.

"Spill," I said, biting my tongue and momentarily replacing my love for Preston with my belief and trust in Evelyn.

"Well, first of all, Preston is a rotten liar," she revealed and proceeded to warn me to "ignore the bullshit he feeds you, do not listen to what he says. He is a manipulator, Nat, you're better off listening to your gut."

"Wait- What?"

"Second, if you thought Zac was bad. Preston is ten times worse. At least Zac doesn't hide the fact he is a bad person but Preston, well, he is in a whole different tier.  I know demons are chronic liars but he presents himself as this all-loving, misunderstood, and wrongfully painted out bad guy when in reality, his literally just as mean-spirited and as immoral as demons are said to be."

The sudden excruciating anger I felt toward Evelyn after she'd spoken bad about Pres, terrified me. I knew the bond had something to do with it but this made me worry even more. If what Evelyn was saying just so happened to be true, how the hell would I push my feelings aside and confront him.

And what in the five kingdoms would happen if the demons and witches won the war? Would he- No he wouldn't- Preston would not stoop that low, would he? Then again, he had been making some alarming comments about the witches which I had stupidly and foolishly dismissed.

"What is it that's making you say all this?"

I hate having to think so lowly of Pres when he has treated me like nothing but a princess for the past several to eight months.

"Natalya, I'm so sorry but Preston is the one who..."

"The one who what?"

"The one who-"

Before she could finish, Evelyn expanded her chest out of nowhere and began to gag. Her body rippled, reacting to a sudden impact to her back and my eyes went wide. As I hurriedly circled her in a panic and saw an arrow had penetrated her upper back, I put my arms out and instantly caught a falling Evelyn in my arms, preventing her from hitting the ground.

As she laid in my arms and proceeded to choke up blood, my eyes brimmed with tears.

"Evelyn!" I cried. "Evelyn, please, stay with me please." I sobbed hysterically.

Slowly bringing her up into a seated position, I desperately tried to pull out the arrow and apply pressure to the bloody wound in her back. "Please," I cried as she continued to cough out in discomfort.

My vision was blurry so I couldn't quite tell whether I was helping or making the situation worse, which made me tear up further.

"Shit! Evelyn!" Harrison urgently came running to the scene but I didn't have time to question where he'd been. I was too preoccupied aiding the wound. When I finally paid him some attention, I saw him bite into his wrist and try to feed Evelyn his blood.

While I dealt with the deep wound in her back and carefully tried to slide the arrow out, I was slowly forced to come to terms with the idea of losing Evelyn, and gradually had to accept that there was no saving her.

If I was to pull the arrow out any further, she would be a goner. 

"It is too deep, I can't take it out!" I burst out crying even harder than before. I was angry, furious, and terribly upset at the person responsible for this but I knew I had to keep calm if I wanted to hold onto the hope of saving her.

As I gently tugged at the arrow, my heart broke at the amount of pain I knew Eve was in. The arrow was Nixonited so Harrison couldn't help me out. It was all on me.

It made me angrier knowing that the arrow was infused with Nixon. The vampires were not fighting with Nixon, they simply couldn't touch it nor breathe it. Which meant the arrow had come from our own people. Traitors on our own side... But why would someone have outwardly targeted Evelyn, unless...

Unless someone had deliberately shot the arrow to stop her from revealing something. As in what she was about to tell me about Preston...

I mean- It wouldn't make sense to target her otherwise.

Which made me wonder that maybe Preston was behind this. After all, it was him that Eve was trying to warn me about. But what was it that he had done which was so bad that Evelyn had to pull me aside and die like this...

"Save your energy, dear. There is no point in trying."

I was startled.

"You can't save her now."

The black witch suddenly entered the murder scene, chirping up with the cold truth. She was right. I didn't want it to be true but Evelyn was as good as gone. If she was 100% witch, there may have been a chance to save her, but the vampire in her made it impossible. Nixon was deadly for everyone but more so vampires, half-blooded and full.

I let go of the arrow and allowed Evelyn to live her last breaths and say her last words if any, but I couldn't even bear to see her like this. Spewing out blood and practically burning up inside and out. It hurt badly having to witness her go down like this. After everything.

Harrison's POV~

Seeing Natalya bury her face into the fold of her arm and sob made me choke back my tears and turn to cold steel. Her hands were soaked in Evelyn's blood and it was a sight I would never wish on anyone to see.

That evil son of a bitch.

How could he stoop so low? How could he claim to love Natalya and do this to her? He knew she was close to Evelyn despite their past feud and fall out. I was raging mad. I wanted to kill him before he could do more harm to anyone else. I couldn't believe I had accepted him thinking he was a better person and a better ruler than Zach. I was so wrong. Now I wish I hadn't ever let him anywhere near me or Natalya.

"Evelyn, can you hear me?" I held her when no one else could and Evelyn lifelessly fluttered her eyes. "I'm so sorry," I murmured trying to battle the waterworks that were threatening to leave my eyes. "I shouldn't have forced y-"

"-Shhh," she painfully smiled and faintly squeezed my hand with the little energy she had left. I put my ear closer to Eve when she looked like she was trying to tell me something. "St- stay with her Harris..." she barely whispered into my ear... "Yo- you deserve her."


I smiled sadly, trying not to give in to my tears.

"I'm thankful for your service, Evelyn. You did well, my dear," the black witch crouched beside me and stroked Evelyn's cheek as her eyes slowly begun to flutter shut. "Your parents would have been so proud of you."

A smile remained on Evelyn's face as her mind and body completely shut down and the weight of hand became as light as feather.

As her skin paled, the black witch let out a lonely sigh.

"She was only trying to look out for me," Natalya stated, sniffing up and tearfully wiping her nose and eyes, "this wasn't an accident, was it?"

When I was about to finish what Evelyn had started, the black witch subtly held me down and shook her head.

"She was going to tell me something," Natalya cried, tears streaming down her cheeks, "and I am going to find out what it was," she repeatedly nodded to herself and rose to her feet, caught up in her own delusions.

I kept my silence and so did the witch, allowing Natalya some time to register what had just happened. "I will crush whoever did this to her," she clenched her fists and looked straight ahead, vengeful. "I won't let this slide so don't even try to stop me."

As I stood up and prepared to comfort Natalya, she disappeared into thin air before I even got the chance to touch her, and her invisibility made her almost impossible to find.

"I know that was hard but thank you," Aeliana the black witch approached me from behind placing her black-gloved hand on my arm, but I angrily shrugged it off.

"Preston did this! You know that, right?" I snapped, seething with rage.

I was emotional and rightfully so.

A friend of mine had just been killed by someone I thought I could call a brother until today. And, on top of that, I had just been forced to stay silent about the truth to a close and hurt friend.

"Harrison. Look at what happened to Evelyn. If you're not careful, you will be next. When the time is right, the truth will unfold on its own. No good will come from telling her now." Aeliana circled me, distorting my view of the battle and of Preston who was fighting the Astenian army as if nothing had happened.

I somewhat felt bad and majorly responsible for Evelyn's death. She had warned me that the time wasn't right but I pushed her and now she was dead.

Frowning, I hung my head low and lifelessly stared down at her corpse. She did come around in the end and agree with me, so maybe I shouldn't blame myself too much. She agreed that Preston had to go and she died doing the right thing. For that, she deserves a proper burial.

"You were just trying to do the right thing, don't beat yourself about it. Evelyn knew the consequences and she would hate if you stood here and cried about her death," Aeliana's voice was evidently brittle as if she'd been trying to hold herself back from crying too.

She was right. The only person to blame for any of this was Preston.

"Exactly. Which is why I am going to make sure I finish what we started in honour of her." I deemed, avoiding eye-contact with the black witch's purple eyes. "I know the last thing you want is advice from a vampire but Evelyn is dead and I hate to say it but Oberyn and many others will soon follow suit unless you act now."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"If you wish to protect the witches and the future of Hellstone and your ancestry..." I looked up from the ground and faced the black witch. "I think you should alliance with the vampires. I know the whole point of the battle is to overthrow the vampires but..."

I looked over Aeliana's shoulder and squinted at the demon king as he fought with Prince Zachary. "He is the real enemy. I didn't want it to be true but it is as clear as day. He is the one who will make Asten fall. I have spent enough time with him now to know how powerful he is. If you do not think of something now, Aeliana, you'll regret it."

The black witch fiddled with a ring on her gloved hand and looked over her right shoulder.

Preston was singlehandedly painting the battlefield red, he didn't even need an army. Natalya was enough. With her instinct and his fearlessness, they were a force to be reckoned with. They both had powerful abilities and both wanted nothing more than to protect each other.

For once, the black witch finally saw what I saw.

A future of betrayal.

That Preston would not need the witches once this war was over, which is why the moment she turned back around, she didn't hesitate in admitting... "You're right."

I wanted to scream I told you so but I bit my tongue.

"And you know what, I did have a feeling something like this would potentially happen, I just didn't want to believe it actually would. So, I hope you'll be comforted knowing that I have a well-devised plan b," she revealed with a hint of mischief in her voice.

I widened my eyes, surprised.

"It was supposed to be a last resort but as you said, the sooner we switch it up, the better," the witch confidently said. "However, for this plan to work accordingly, I will need you to play the part, Harrison."

Well... Maybe I had underestimated the witch too soon. She appeared to have more tricks up her sleeve than I had given her credit for.

THIRD PERSON ~

King Zachary fought diligently, sticking to his bastard brother's side like glue and slicing his sword into any brat that dared stand in his way. A sword sculpted from hard-pure, silver steel and could kill a demon and witch in one swipe.

Alexander was standing guard of both his brother and sister, staying at their backs and striking his sword at anyone who posed threat to him and his family.

"Hey you two, go and help father! Alaric and I will take it from here, go!" Alexander urgently shouted to Zac and Cathryn, shielding them from danger and confidently yet cautiously approaching the opposition.

While Zac rushed off to assist his father Creon and trusted knight Richard Harris in battle, Cathryn chose to remain.

"I'm not leaving Alaric's side, he needs me," she sternly protested to her brother. Whilst distracted, the enemy must have seen an opportunity to attack the siblings because they immediately came running towards them.

But spotting the enemy ahead almost instantly, Cathryn threw her hands out in defence.

As she activated her ability, making the group of approaching witch-demons clutch onto their heads and crouch over in pain, Alexander quickly swung his sword and finished off the job. In one clean sweep, he cut open their insides and watched each of them fall into a pool of their own black blood.

"Fine but don't forget to take care of yourself too," Xander reminded Cathryn, and as she looked over to reassure him, her eyes sparkled and a hand shot up in his direction. "Duck!" She yelled to her brother, locking eyes with the witch-demon that crept up behind him.

As the princess used her ability to 'harm without touch', causing the enemy to shriek. Alexander quickly caught on, putting him in a good enough position to spin around, swing his sword and save himself from yet another witch-demon.

"You don't need to worry about me, brother," Cathryn knowingly smirked, lowering her hand as if she'd just proven herself by protecting him. "I'll be fine."

"I don't doubt that." Xander rubbed her shoulder and smiled, before returning to his duty and looking out for the Astenian army. "I'll go left, you and Alaric take right. Got it?"

"Ay ay captain," his sister saluted, and not long after, Alaric caught up.

"Hey, Ric!" Alaric turned around mid-jog, upon hearing Xander's voice.

"Take care of her, will you?" he asked of him dearly, in which Alaric winked and humorously mimicked Cathryn's salute, leaving Alexander amused while watching the pair head down the field and disappear into the slaughter.

Alexander must have let his guard down for a moment too long because while his attention had drifted, he was abruptly knocked off his feet. Moments away from colliding face-first with the ground, he twisted his body around and landed back-first instead.

With an unpleasant thud, Xander winced and gripped the back of his head. As he painedly opened his eyes to the sight of an angry witch pointing a nixonited-ink staff at his throat, he gulped.

Down in his vulnerable position, Alexander quickly scrambled back and tried to escape the situation. However, as soon as he got halfway up, the witch zapped his shoulder with an agonising shot of Nixon; causing him to tumble back down, grasp his arm and shriek out from the corrosive infliction of pain.

Clenching his jaw in an attempt to suppress the pain, Alexander ripped off the contaminated plate of armour from his shoulder and threw it to the ground with sudden urgency. 

The witch spitefully aimed her staff back at him, smirking when he cowered back. When prepared to zap him again, something awfully peculiar occurred and a moment of realisation struck the witch,