IMPRESS.

Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Prince vs The King

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Cathryn's POV~

"What just happened! Did Cassandra just jump?!" I almost fell off the edge off my seat and cupped my mouth, shocked.

Cassandra Pierce had managed to shock the whole entire venue with her unpredictable actions. I for one did not expect her to jump to her own virtual death. I thought she was going to push her father off the roof but apparently, the fierce Cassandra Pierce had somewhat of a conscience.

"I have no idea but I have to say... I'm a little impressed," Alexander admitted, shrugging as he spoke. "What she did shows she has some dimension to her. A bad girl can get boring."

I looked over at Zac and eagerly waited for him to voice out his thoughts. "I agree with Xander. That was a BOLD move."

Whilst Cassandra had practically forfeited the fifth stage of IMPRESS, Rose and Ella did not fail to push their loved ones off the highest of heights. Whilst Rose had to push her own grandfather off the roof, Ella had to push off one of her brothers. The blond one that looked most like her. Todd, I think?

Although I was rooting for Rose Clarke, I was starting to warm up to Cassandra Pierce. In a way, I think I kind of admired her. She was brave and had been pushed around by my brother almost as much as Natalya had, yet she still remained determined to win his heart and the crown. It was quite inspiring. I was sure she had a lot of young girls in the audience wishing they were her.

"It's time to make a decision, Zac," I softly reminded him, "who are you getting rid of next?"

"Get rid of Ella," is what Alexander mumbled under his breath before profoundly clearing his throat.

Zac smirked amusedly before looking in the direction that Natalya and King Preston were comfortably sat in. I followed his eye-line and bit down on my bottom lip anxiously when I saw Pres and Natalya looking very happy with each other. Pres was stroking Natalya's cheek and making her break into fits of laughter at the same time.

Normally I would be gushing over how adorable they were together but I was too scared to. Zac looked like he was ready to burn the whole place down. He was going green with envy, seething through his teeth as his eyes darkened by the second. My brother's resentment for the Demon King finally reached a boiling point when he abruptly stood to his feet and stormed out of the arena.

Xander and I looked at each other and whilst he merely rolled his eyes being used to our brother's behaviour, I heavily sighed. "What do you think he is going to do?" I hesitantly asked.

"Uh I think Ella is definitely in trouble," Xander easily replied.

I facepalmed. "No you Buffon, I'm talking about them," I harshly whispered.

Xander's mouth formed into an O shape... "Well," he said, "there is no doubt in my mind that he is going to try and kill him."

"Same..." I agreed. "I'm scared for the girls and whoever Zac decides to dump this time around. With those two around together, he is clearly not in the best of moods."

"Is our brother ever in a good mood?" Xander said with a joking smirk.

"Stop that," I shook my head, finding Xander's lack of faith in Zac laughable, "you and I both know he is happiest when he is with Natalya."

"Well then, that makes two of us," Xander sadly confessed, "I just hope Natalya says yes to my proposal."

"Your proposal?" I questioningly looked at him, and with a smug smile, he nodded.

"You heard me, Cath, I'm going to propose to Natalya," with that Xander stood up, gave me a quick pat on the shoulder and marched off.

What in the name was he talking about- Xander can't propose to Natalya when she is already engaged to Preston? 

Besides, I thought he had gotten over that absurd fantasy he had over Natalya. He had done a great job keeping his distance from her for a while now which made me believe he was ready to move on and find someone else. But, I should have known he was planning on doing something ridiculous. Alexander was not one to give up easily.

After all, amongst the three, he was the first one to meet her.

Meanwhile at the Shadow Ancestry...

Kace Titan's POV~ 

(reminder: Oberyn's son/Evelyn's cousin - he is half-witch/half-vamp)

"We have an army people. The troops are marching here as we speak," Dahlia, our designated witch doctor said whilst entering the room, before joining us and gathering around our meeting table made of carved stone and engraved tribal patterns.

While me, my father Oberyn, the black witch Aeliana, Ashira (in the form of Anastasia Harris), and Dahlia were gathered in the meeting room of the Ancestry, Evelyn was who knows where, and the other seven witches that helped run the Shadow Ancestry were making potions for The Great War.

They were brewing stronger potions than the usual, ones that would help heal us, strengthen us and kill for us on the battlefield. I know we have magic in the tips of our fingers but as everyone knows, magic comes with a price. Using too much of it all at once is as harmful as touching lava, which is why we use potions as an alternative.

Fortunately, since I am half-vampire, I don't have to worry as much as the others about healing fast if I'm hurt during this war. 

"Did you inform the other leaders of Hellstone that we start marching as soon as the sun rises in the south," My father asked Dahlia and she gave a positive smile, "yes I did, but they said they are going to wait for you and Ashira's signal."

"Good..." "Also, I think it is best everyone avoids the west wing of the castle, the second you step into the west wing, your powers are instantly weakened. That's where they locked me up," my father pointed to west wing dungeons on the large map of the castle, which was spread out on the stone table in front of us.

"But didn't the demon use his magic to release you from that prison?" Aeliana, the black witch, curiously questioned.

Oberyn widened his eyes nodding in realisation, "Yes. In fact, he did! I don't know how he managed to break through the force that prevents all magic but he did it. We must find out how otherwise he has the upper hand in this war. He could turn his back on us at any given opportunity."

"We already know he isn't on the best of terms with us so I think we should be careful. It's likely he is planning to start a war of his own," Ashira painfully admitted and I sighed, "is there any way we could convince him to stay on our side. We promised him Natalya and the crown, didn't we?"

"We did. But again, we don't own the Ascelyn girl, even if King Preston doesn't choose to remain on our side, nothing will stop him from taking exactly what he wants," The black witch spoke honestly.

"I don't think we can convince him any further unless we decide to give him full control over Asten, which personally, I don't trust him to rule a kingdom like ours, he would immediately destroy the peace that we are fighting for in the first place. For example, look at the Shadowlands," Oberyn ranted, "that place is a living hell."

How ironic when our Kingdom is the one with Hell in its name. "I agree with father, demons are chronic liars and born evil. We cannot give him any more control than he already has. I think we made a mistake introducing Natalya to him in the first place."

"We made a big mistake, they're deeply in love now," Dahlia sucked her cheeks in anxiously, "and oh yeah, didn't Evelyn say Natalya drank the demon's blood, they're bonded now, aren't they? Whether we like it or not, she will not leave that demon until the bond is broken," she reminded us.

"Our only hope is Natalya. But, as Evelyn said when she tried to speak to her last time, she mentioned everything from the notes to the black crystal and went crazy. Natalya almost killed Evelyn with her abilities because she thought we were out to get her. I'm pretty sure Preston told her lies which made her believe we were conniving. When really we are just trying to do the right thing for the five kingdoms."

Asten is the biggest kingdom, if it falls, the rest fall with it. It acts as the glue between the five. The Shadowlands, Kingdom Of The Lost, Kingdom Of Pandora and Hellstone.

"These days, it's been harder to access Natalya's pendant and speak to her. I don't know whether she has been purposely blocking me out or whether her darkness has reached a new peak. Either way, her powers are fully-loaded and ready for war. I'll go and have a word with her to see if she can convince Preston to keep his word with us. She can't hurt me after all, my body lies protected in Hellstone," Ashira smirked, "And, if I show up as  Richard Harris' daughter no one should suspect a thing, it will be easy to get her alone," Ashira explained and it felt like we had hope again.

"Thank you Ashira," Oberyn gratefully smiled.

Before Ashira could smile back at him, the door was abruptly kicked wide open and in came Evelyn bursting through straight afterwards. "ATTENTION!" She shouted very clearly and coherently.

Alarmed, we all whipped around to face her. As I did so, I saw her furiously holding up a young boy with jet-black hair by the collar. "Guys, you'll never know what I have just found!"

Evelyn forcefully pulled the squirming boy's collar outwards to reveal a serpent tattoo imprinted in his skin, it had be drawn from behind his ear downwards with the blackest of ink. "This boy here is called Antony some'ut something from the Shadowlands. And guess what I found him doing..."

... 

We all stood there staring at Evelyn with gormless expressions, and when there was no response, she heavily exhaled and carried on anyway.

"I found this boy lingering in the shadows of our Ancestry, spying on us!" Evelyn yelled in a disturbed manner. From the tight, angry and insincere smile on her face as she exclaimed... "AND GUESS WHO HE JUST SO HAPPENS TO SERVE?" I knew she was beyond infuriated.

...

Again, nobody responded.

"-YEAH. THAT'S RIGHT... ONLY BLOODY KING PRESTON!"

An hour later...

Natalya's POV~

"I think he is going to kill Ella next," I admitted to Pres as we walked to the field in which the next IMPRESS girl's death was going to take place. There was no need to use carriages for transport since the venue we'd left was pretty close by.

The closer we got to the meadow, the more worry that filled me. There were candles, oil lamps and torches of fire that could be seen from afar, and that had been set up to illuminate the night. My stomach was churning and my pits were sweaty. It was safe to say I was anxious.

It was another death by fire, the people's favourite. I remember the first time I witnessed an IMPRESS girl burn at the stake, Grace Fraser, I truly hope she is resting peacefully. She didn't deserve to die.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but you almost sound concerned for your cousin?" Preston attentively said and I threw my head back, frustrated. My arm was hooked through his as we walked side by side in the night. The scenery of the meadow was so beautiful, it had been decorated in preparation for this stage with tables of hot food, festive banners, confetti, balloons and ribbons. There was also a lake close by, I could hear the water swooshing behind the trees and bushes, and over the melodic harps and violins playing in the distance.

As I looked up at the night sky, I saw it was a full moon. Goodness. The day had gone by so fast, I hadn't even seen the sunset.

"If I am honest, I think I am a little worried. After all, she is my blood and my family. I might hate her as of now but in the long run, I love her. Ella isn't a bad person, she just let the competition get to her head," I stressed putting my other hand to my head.

"It might be a little late for you to change your feelings towards her now, I hear this stage was highly-anticipated. Their people are expecting a good death, baby. I doubt you'll be able to stop them if she does get chosen next," Pres hit me with the cold hard truth.

I shakily exhaled. "What do I do then?"

"Your cousin knew what she signed up for when she accepted the invitation for IMPRESS, it's not your responsibility to protect her when she is the one who made the choice to put her own life at risk," Pres wisely responded.

It was hard to come to terms with the fact Ella could potentially be dead by the end of the night, super hard. Our relationship wasn't exactly the best but... once again, she was family. Whether I liked it or not.

"I hate to say it, but you're right, Ella knew what consequences were involved. So, whatever happens, happens."

It pained me to say it but again, it was the cold and hard truth.

***

A couple of hundred people had already gathered waiting for Prince Zac to arrive. Cathryn and Alexander were opposite Pres and me, and it was honestly unsettling. I didn't know whether to smile at them or not, I felt like I was stabbing them in the back seeing as I knew what Preston was planning to do to them soon.

I really didn't want him to hurt either of the two. They had been nothing but nice to me. Maybe I could persuade him to keep them alive somehow... As I was about to sigh, I winced when my neck started to ache again and Pres noticed yet again. "Are you hurt? You seem to keep stretching out your neck..." Pres worriedly asked.

As I was about to respond to him and hint that the King hurt me, King Creon himself suddenly appeared with a smug Queen Melisandre on his right-hand side. The crowd of what felt like a thousand people instinctively created a pathway for his Majesty and his Queen to walk down to the front.

King Creon purposely went out of his way to make disturbing eye-contact with me and fondly nodded. My breath hitched in my throat when he did this, I subconsciously stepped back.

And again, Preston noticed.

As I lowered my head breaking from Creon's intense gaze, at the corner of my eye I saw Pres look over at him and then back at me before squeezing my hand tighter.

"You didn't answer the question..." Pres piped up and I got nervous. It's maybe not the best of setting to tell him that the King threatened me, then tried to kiss me and only when I rejected him did he use his ability to strangle me.

"You worry too much, I'm fine," I reassured him with a small and unconvincing smile. I was in so much pain. My neck felt like a thousand needles were in it.

The instruments that played in the night helped to keep a suspenseful mood of anticipation among the people as we all waited for Prince Zachary and the three girls to arrive.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The host from earlier caught our attention as he stepped up onto the podium that was centred in the middle of us. "Please put your hands together for the final three girls of IMPRESS. Ella Bourne, Cassandra Pierce and Rose Clarke!"

I let go of Pres' hand and started clapping along with everyone else, watching as Ella, Cass and Rose came from the crowd of people with beaming smiles. I had no idea why Cassandra was smiling as if she had already won the stage when she had basically failed the last obstacle of the game. I admired her confidence as always despite.

She believed in herself which when I think about it now is crucial if you want to survive IMPRESS. I think I failed to believe in myself when I was a competitor of IMPRESS, and maybe that is what almost brought me to my downfall.

Cassandra and Rose both acknowledged me as they walked through the audience, they each waved their hands in my direction and smiled when they saw me parked beside Preston, meanwhile my own cousin Ella did not care less if I was there or not. She practically bumped into me on her way towards the podium.

I had to pull Pres back before he could say or do something to her. "It's fine, I've come to the conclusion that she's the devil in disguise."

"Perfect for the Prince then," Pres joked but I didn't find it funny. In fact, his "joke" annoyed me so much because Ella was no way in hell good enough for- nevermind. "I'm just kidding," Pres added, "he deserves someone much worse."

I rolled my eyes and failed to suppress a frown.

"And please stand clear for the soon to be King of Asten, Prince Zachary Beaumont," the host bellowed.

Everyone started clapping again and as I was about to put my hands together again for the Prince, Pres quickly intertwined his hand through mine and prevented me from doing so.

Understandably, I didn't protest against his actions. I had cheated on him with the Prince, so he had every right to be cautious now. Every right to be protective. After all, Zac could easily use his powers on me again.

On cue, the Prince appeared, but something was slightly off... He was staggering towards the podium with the moodiest expression on his face, swaying left and right with a chalice in hand.

Oh God, was he drunk? I painfully shut my eyes when I looked around to see everyone watching him with outraged reactions. Of all times why had he chosen to get drunk during one of the most anticipated stages...

As Zac swallowed more of that toxic poison from his chalice, he whipped his head around in search of me. Slowly as he found me with my hand in Pres', he instantly looked back at his chalice and chugged the rest of the alcohol down his throat.

I think I knew what the problem was. He was jealous. Zac hated that only hours after our intimate session together I was back beside Preston and not him. I don't think he could come to terms with the fact we simply couldn't be with each other. We were toxic for each other and whilst I had Pres, he had the IMPRESS girls.

If what Preston had said to me earlier was true, that magic did in fact work in the West Wing dungeons and that Zac had compelled me to cheat then... There could never be an us. Period. Without trust, a relationship could not work.

Nevertheless, Daya and Davina did tell me to keep Zac alive at all costs if I wanted a happy ending for both of us. If one of us fell, the other would too. That was the prophecy they said. But it would prove difficult if Pres was so keen on killing him.

As I tried to think of possible solutions, I was snapped out of my thoughts by Prince Zachary.

"Why hello there Andrea, don't you look ravishing..." he lustfully smirked and eyed me down, nodding his head and lifting his chalice at me before enviously turning to Preston. "King Preston, nice of you to join us again. You're always welcome here."

Zac sounded bitter but Pres didn't let it faze him. I immediately bowed my head when I felt the King's threatening eyes on me and cleared my throat dismissively