Heart Of Stone - Episode 73&74&75

  

HEART OF STONE

Heart Of Stone - Episode 73&74&75

 (..Sold•To•The•Pit•Of•Hell..)

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, or reposted in any form, or by any means without a written permission from the author.

Copyright © 2025.

By: Naomi Cindy B.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

"Zeke!!!" The horrified howl tore out of Esme's throat, following the gory scene in front of her.

Mercury tried to get her out of the burning hall, but she kicked free, swimming closer to Zeke who's still in Shayla's grasp.

Her torn neck is bleeding, and her body is soaked with her own blood which is mixing with the ice water, but she didn't care in the slightest.

"Mother! Mother if you move even one step closer to that place, I'll disown you as my mother!!" Mercury screamed behind her.

She's wallowing pitifully in the water, expecting Esme to stop after that threat, but Esme didn't even hear. Her senses seemed to have left.

She kept going for Zeke.

And Zeke? He's at the verge of going limp in Shayla's hand.

After she tore his cheek with the slap, she had grabbed his throat with a palm. Though, her small hand could barely wrap around his neck, she still lifted him up completely with it.

The energy was unstoppable and dark—too dark for her to control.

She's rapidly losing control, and fire is starting to burn inside her eyeballs too. So intense. So dangerous. Her head is tilted, and there's only one thing in that skull.

Ryker. Her partner.

She dug her nails into Zeke's neck, bursting a vein and spilling cold blood again.

"Zeke!!!!" Granny Tara screamed from where she's finding her footing inside the water.

The palace is flooded with the water, and it's burning at the same time.

The charged screams of the people who are still trying to get out took over the palace atmosphere, but a lot are getting burnt by the fire, and some already drank ice water so much that they're dead and floating on the water.

Zeke's legs were shaking in the air as Shayla kept him in her trap, blood from his torn cheek wet his body, cascading down the water.

He's already gasping for breaths, hell knocking at his door, unable to do a thing about this inescapable captivity.

"Father!!" Sadie and Soren yelled from the door, pure terror registering in their visions.

They ran forward,but the palace guards held them back.

"It's dangerous to go to the front right now. She's dangerous to go closer to! You should get out of the palace first! It'd soon flood away!"

"Let go!! Father is about to die in her hands!!" Sadie yelled.

"Grand Supreme won't die! He won't die like how Madame Azura died in the demigod's hand! Grand Supreme is ten times stronger than her so trust him!" The guards pushed them back again, protectively.

"What did you just say?... The demigod.... killed who?" Soren's eyes widened.

They stopped struggling.

"He killed Madame Azura, and Esme Vega became the new Madame. I thought you both knew, it was announced by the Grand Supreme himself." The guards said, surprised.

"No...no...not possible. Mother can't be dead!!" Sadie shouted.

"But it's the truth! We have to get out of here right now! The palace is collapsing!" The guards pulled them once again, but Sadie broke free.

She went sideways, and the guards were confused about her destination till they saw Xena in that angle.

Xena is standing there, staring shockingly at what Shayla is doing in the front.

Sadie grabbed her tight by the hair, startling her.

"Why don't you come pay for your brother's sins!" Sadie gritted, slapping her to the flooded ground.

The guards bundled her up, tying her arms and legs and mouth.

At Sadie's orders, she was dragged out of the East Palace.

Sadie and Soren followed after.

By the door, Sadie looked back at Zeke who's still struggling.

"You better survive, father. By all means." She muttered before swimming off with her twin.

Liza and Kade were part of the last to make their way out, and there's heavy fear in their eyes.

They kept looking back as they swam.

"We failed, your daughter is more powerful than I expected. Look at several burnt and floating bodies around, and now she's about to kill the Grand Supreme?" Kade smirked, vomiting the water he had drank.

"You can't call this my fault too, let's just get home first!" Liza replied, gurgling as she flooded out with the currents, going after Kade.

Zeke is still hooked in Shayla's merciless grip, and surprisingly, there's still breaths in his lungs. He's still struggling despite the fact that his legs has left the ground since like ten minutes ago, and his neck is still in the middle of her palm.

It's like she's slowly killing him, knowingly.

She's slowly making him pay, slowly ending him.

She has bursted another vein on his neck, making two loss, and he's already foaming from the mouth.

Esme and Granny Tara are highly helpless inside the water. They couldn't even go close for the fear of her fire, they could only watch the horror play.

They're the only ones who are still here besides Cheyenne and Sage.

"If...if you...kill me. You'll never be able to..." Zeke spoke up, coughing out blood to Shayla's cold face.

"...to find Xena's lifeline. You'll never be able to" he grinned, foaming agonizingly again.

That threat only made her choke him more, and the fire in the palace walls engulfed it completely.

The walls started crumbling down, black and burnt and in total ruins.

"We have to stop her," Sage said.

"Stop what? Zeke has to die" Cheyenne glared.

"You don't understand! She's losing control, and it's bad! Look at her skin,  her fire is burning her too!" Sage shouted, and Cheyenne had a look, frowning when she saw it's true.

"Shit,"

As if Shayla could hear them, her hand slipped out of Zeke's neck, the bracelet on her wrist glittered with the fire, and she slumped back.

Before she could land in the water, Cheyenne levitated forward, catching her in her arms.

Zeke's unconscious body fell in Esme's arms, too.

Tara covered them.

"This isn't over," Sage promised.

"In fact, it's only just getting started. It's never over till this city razes to the ground later." Cheyenne added.

With a fast twist, the vanished with Shayla's body.

--

[Rumi's Place]

Old Chef is seated on a low chair while Rumi sat on a table in front of him with her legs up.

They both seems to be lost for words, or maybe processing what they're gonna say to each other.

They're part of the first set of people to escape the burning palace.

They came here with one of the palace garage cars which Old Chef had stolen.

They both let out sighs at the same time, and Rumi jumped down from the table she's on.

"We could have taken Xena with us, why abandon her in there? What if she gets burnt? You know how dangerous that bitch's fire is. Last time, I was lucky cos I found a small cube of his ice, but now he's gone and his ice is nowhere so anyone who gets caught by her fire is gone!"

"Xena can survive anywhere! She'd survive on her own! I can't drag her into this with us. We both are better team, dragging her in with us would be unnecessary! She'd ruin things with her slow-witted personality!" Old Chef argued.

Rumi laughed shortly before grabbing him by the collar of his rumpled robe.

She pushed him to the table, slammed his flat arse on the surface forcefully.

"You seem to be forgetting... I might be crushing on the same guy she's crushing on, I might have left her since we were young, she might be the boring sister I complain about everyday, but she is still my sister, my only sibling!" She spat.

"Rumi—"

"The twins would have remembered Azura now that Ryker is gone, and you know how those two operate, they'd wanna take it out on her. If anything should happen to Xena, I'll have to kill you, father." She threatened, leaning down with a sick as f+k smile.

"I'm a crackhead, you know that. You don't take chances with me, I know how cunning you can be." She whispered before letting his collar go roughly.

She pulled open a attached drawer on the table and got herself a roll of good weed, sparkling fire on it from a single matchstick.

Behind her, Old Chef smiled a filthy type, running his tongue inside his mouth before standing up.

"Of course, I know you still share a unbreakable bond with your sister, and I wouldn't wanna ruin that. Xena is going to be fine, trust me."

"Now what? The next step?" Rumi replied, sitting her ass back on the table. She blew smokes out of her nostrils.

"Your mother Dominika suffered in abject poverty till her death, all because I spent all savings to buy blood. She suffered in vain for a worthless child, more reason why we shouldn't suffer the same fate." Old Chef said, pulling out maps and web sheets out of his backpack.

He dropped them on the table.

"I've been making findings about his wealth for more than hundred years, that bastard kept it hidden so well that even Zeke couldn't find it out, but I did." He said.

Rumi checked the maps out attentively, one by one, and she had to drop her blunt when it got to a point so she'd focus more.

"Human world?" She looked up. "Branches in almost all existing countries? That's insane money! I mean... insane, insane money!"

"I'm telling you," Old Chef chuckled, getting himself a cup of margarita.

"He deals with jewelries? Treasures? No wonder the Shayla bî+ch always had tons of jewelries in her hair and clothes!" Rumi gasped again.

"You know what I'm talking about. Now we have to find a way to pay the managers of the crossover ladder and travel to the human world to take what's ours." Old Chef said.

"Pay the managers?" Rumi scoffed, dropping the maps and papers.

"Do you know how I survived alone for this long? It's because I never had to pay for everything." She held Old Chef's collar again, smiling.

"The East Palace collapsed, and according to flying rumours, the West Palace took the FrostOrb. This city is currently in chaos, so it'd be easy to put a obeisance spell on the managers. I heard they're powerful, so if the spell doesn't work, I'll just kill one or two. We'll move tommorow morning." 

"As usual, you're a great pick." Old Chef smiled.

                 {350 Yrs Ago}

It's Dominika's due date, and Anatoli is already preparing to go to the bar as planned.

He's currently on phone with his Master like he calls him.

He's in his room, talking in low whisperings.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go. Like you said, the bar is exclusive and only visited by wealthy people like the Millions Family, how do I get the entry tag?" 

"When you get to the circuit entrance, tell your name to the guards, and they'd let you in. I had everything planned, nothing would ruin that. How many hours left before your wife water breaks?" The Master's voice came clearly.

"An hour at most?" Anatoli gulped, looking around.

"Good, now is the right time for you to go to the bar," The Master's voice instructed.

"Are you sure this would work though? The godslayer sword is really in the Millions Family?" Anatoli asked.

"I tipped you off about the kind of child your wife is carrying, and we've worked together for this long, think I'd betray you?" The voice said.

"Fine... I'll stick to plan. What about one of my twins? I told you I don't want the two of them to follow me to the palace. One should at least stay outside." Anatoli said.

"I'll send someone to take one of them away to a motherless camp,just give me a name." The voice replied.

"Rumi. Rumi has more potential with that blonde hair. Take Rumi and keep her for me." Anatoli decided.

               {Present Time}

"The place I grew up at before you found me, where exactly was that place anyways? It's like a motherless camp." Rumi asked.

"How would I know? You were kidnapped on the day I was taken to the palace with Xena and Ryker, so I have no idea." Anatoli replied.

"But after we get the wealth, we'll make investigations about the place. For now, let's focus on the bag."

"Of course," she smiled.

--

[West Palace]

"Cheers!!!" The glasses of everybody came together to clink loudly in celebration. They brought their sparkling champagne rims to their lips to drink at the same time.

"That hits different!" Blaise shouted after gulping everything.

"Of course, victory and success hits different! Gawd, I'm so happy!" Winona drank all of hers too.

"This won't be possible if not for Winona. My first daughter is like the heaven-sent of this family." Kasia said, hanging her arm on Winona's shoulders.

She looks drunk cos they've been drinking for long anyways.

"Of course, give praises to who deserves it! Winona is that bae!" Faye hailed, and Winona smiled.

"Not just brilliant, but also pretty, I'm so glad I'm your stepfather! So glad to have such a great stepdaughter! In the future when you get married, your husband should better be a live-in son-in-law cos we can't afford to let our brainiac go!" Astor said, looking so drunk too.

"Y'all are praising me too much, my head might just burst!" Winona laughed, raising her cup.

"But I love it!" She screamed, laughter  cracked from everyone again.

They poured another round of champagne to gulp.

"It's just so sad that we didn't even get to see the winner of the beauty contest," Faye said.

"Tell me about it! We didn't even get to dance our ballerina! Something we've been practicing for two months!" Blaise staggered.

Winona removed the shawl covering the FrostOrb on the center table.

The divine blue shine took over the whole palace, bursting out of the windows and open door, reflecting in their eyeballs.

"F+k! I feel so energetic just looking at it!" Kasia hugged it drunkenly.

"Me too!" Astor hugged it with her.

"But Winona...last time you tried to go closer to this FrostOrb, you got so brutally wounded that we spent the whole night healing you, why was it so easy this time?" Faye asked.

"I dunno too..." Winona sighed, dropping her cup.

"I even wore our family blackgem anklet as protection against the orb flash in case it tried to hurt me again, but surprisingly, I got there and carried it, replaced it with the fake and got out as if I carried nothing! It was so light too. I mean...I expected it to be more heavy." She explained.

"We do not care, we have the FrostOrb, and only that matter! Tommorow, we take this city back!" Blaise slammed the table.

"When are our clansmen arriving?" Astor asked.

"In an hour?" Kasia grinned.

"Cheers!!" They clinked glasses again, drinking till every single one of them dropped drunk on the couches except Astor and Faye.

They both left the lobby after a while, they went outside.

"As much as I wanna kill them already, their stupidity is so entertaining to watch. Astor said, hands pocketed.

"Me too, their deaths can't just come that easily...let's watch them take the city with the orb, let's watch their downfall again for the second time." Faye replied, bumping her knuckles with his own.

"I have a feeling though," Astor suddenly said.

"Let's hear it," Faye faced him.

"Blaise. I heard redheads have the sweetest cores, so whenever it's time to eat them, leave Blaise for me." Astor replied.

Faye smiled, but it's humourless.

"Blaise has always been mine to deal with. You can take Winona and Kasia, but Blaise? He dies in my mouth." 

"I was only joking, daughter. Don't take it too serious." Astor grinned.

"Tommorow morning is almost here, almost fuckin here!" Faye laughed.

The clansmen appeared from every nook and cranny of the palace, so many of them carrying bottles of alcohol for celebration.

Within a minute, the palace became noisy, rowdy, loud.

The celebration widened.

 --

[Liza Kings Mansion]

Pacing around the mansion is Liza, sweating not only because of the heat in the city, but also because of her inner turmoils.

Kade sat on the bare ground, staring into space.

His neck has imprints from when Shayla flung him earlier, and it's hella painful, but thankfully, it's not her fire.

If she had hurt him with her fire, he'd be long dead by now.

He suddenly stood from the ground he's sitting on.

"Don't tell me you're going to start blaming me again" Liza spoke before him.

"What were you expecting? Praises while I stroke your hair as the best mother alive? You're ass!" Kade retorted, and she smiled.

"I tried my best, Kade. I did all I could. It was dangerous to get closer to her during the parade and put the pact on her, but I still did! She overcame the effect of it, and you saw how she burned down the East Palace despite Ryker's ice water, and somehow... it's still my fault?" 

"Yes!! You didn't work hard enough! When you called me from school that day and started telling me to jot down your plans before they'd disappear from your head, I took it too serious cos there was gonna be benefits in it for me, but now it's all my own stupid imagination, you're still your stale, useless self! Still the same!" Kade spat angrily, and what happened after that had him shocked.

Liza jabbed him in the face with her palm, and his head slumped back. He landed on the floor with a drift, rolling violently to the couch. 

His body caved into the inner metals of the couch, and a tiny rod pierced his stomach.

He bled, redness to the tiled group, and one of his stomach intestines peeked out through the rod cut. He quickly held it, looking up gobsmacked.

"Your powers..." He groaned.

"I got them back the moment Shayla resisted the effects of the pact I signed on her. Turns out she doesn't harbor hatred for me in her mind, isn't she such a great daughter?" Liza replied, looking at her own palms.

Kade gasped again, holding his bleeding stomach tighter.

Liza squatted beside him, and he quickly shifted back, suddenly trembling.

"And that's why you should watch how you talk and act around me, or you know I have a secret on you too... A secret that'd ruin you." Liza smiled down at him, stroking his hair.

"M... mother..." He stuttered, wallowing saliva.

"Don't be scared, son. Just be a good boy, and we'll be good." She smiled again, standing up.

"By daybreak, I'll find my daughter and pay her a visit. Now that her partner is gone, she needs all the motherly care she can get." 

--

[Underground Palace]

Pearl already changed her position.

She's not on the throne anymore, she's now by the window of the throne room, staring out at the beautiful bright night.

At the moon sitting in the sky, and at the stars playing and twinkling around it.

A glad smile adorned her face, and it never faded. It kept widening.

"Everything happened just like I predicted, that's enough reason to pop some alcohol, but not just yet..." She stepped away from the window and went to the bone wall clock to check the time.

"Perfect! I have to go now...he needs me now more than ever!" 

"Go where?" Jude appeared behind her, and she turned with a giggle.

"Go to him, you heard me right." 

"Are you playing me? Is this a sick game?" Jude came closer.

"Concentrate!" Pearl snapped at him.

Jude clenched his fists, face tightening.

"Don't ruin things with your impatience, and listen to me," she brought her voice down before leaning to his ear.

She whispered inaudible words for a minute before stepping away.

 Jude nodded. "Understood,"

"Good. Now wait till I tell you to move. You have plenty of time. Just guard this palace till I'll be back." Pearl smiled, walking out briskly.

Now it's Jude's turn to stay by the window, and before he knew it, he was smiling at the stars.

--

[Luminaria, Granny Jojo's Household]

Thanks to the fact that Azura shared some valuable secrets with Lilith before her death, she knew to take Granny Jojo here after dragging her unconscious body out of the maze earlier.

This household is called Lannister Household, and thankfully, they all like Jojo here, so they took over immediately.

They've been taking care of her by themselves...both the young and old members of the household.

Lilith just stood at a corner, watching as they tried to bring back Jojo's eyesight and hearing ability.

Looks like she can't even talk cos she's just staring at everyone like a dummy. Ryker did her very bad.

The household have been busy with her since she brought her in the afternoon, but there's still no improvement, and now it seems they're all starting to get tired.

Things won't get better unless Ryker himself says so, and Ryker himself is gone totally.

Lilith looked at the ring on her finger, smiling creepily.

"I love you, Ryker, but sometimes...your evilness drives me too crazy." She muttered, looking back at Granny Jojo's immobile body.

"You have to get better, Jojo. I have only you by my side now. My banshee ability won't buy me survival."

--

[Royal Wellness Haven]

Esme and Zeke are both on treatment beds, side by side with alchemists administering herbs and healing powders on them... anyone they could get their hands on.

Esme is conscious, neck bandaged since it's the only wounded part of her body, but Zeke is still unconscious.

His burnt cheek looks so hideous, and they can't even cover it with wools or plaster cos it'd only get worse.

The neck veins got rejoined, but his neck is still swollen, it it's bandaged. That part is still very much easier than the cheek.

Healers have been going from pillar to post, trying to heal the cheek, but it's not effective.

Nothing is effective.

Esme kept ordering them not to stop, so the healers aren't stopping even when they're all exhausted shaking and losing energy. They kept trying.

No changes. Nothing.

Zeke's burnt cheek remained the same—ugly and black.

"Stop!" Tara suddenly ordered.

"Granny they have to continue!" Esme jumped down from the bed.

"I said stop!" Tara ordered the healers again, and they gave up.

"Granny..." Esme faced her.

"Don't you get it?" Tara scoffed, looking at Zeke's body on the bed.

"It's Shayla's fire, so it'd never heal unless with Ryker's ice, and Ryker's ice is nowhere cos he's gone!" Tara slammed the words to hit deep.

"But his face can't stay burnt like this for life...it can't. My husband can't stay with that scary face." Esme said.

"Unfortunately, he'd have to stay with the scary face forever. In fact, it'd help plant his fear in the mind of the people, cos that burn wound is never going to heal." Tara said.

Esme started crying.

"Stop the tears!" Tara snapped.

Esme slapped her palm over her mouth, sniffling.

"His burnt face means nothing. In the end, we'll overcome everything. We started this, and we'll finish it. His face will be the last thing we focus on. For now, focus on your godslaying ability. Very well." Tara instructed.

"But the twins...they won't like me." Esme said.

"Don't worry about them, Zeke will handle them when he wakes up. The twins are minor cases. The fact that they're already friends with your daughter will make things easier." Tara explained.

"And the West Palace? They took the FrostOrb." Esme said.

"I told you, don't be bothered by these nameless things," Tara responded, sitting beside Zeke's bed.

"They're like ants, too easy to eradicate. They're the same people who lose their powers at midnight. Zeke will wake up latest tomorrow or in two days, we'd wipe out everyone of them and take back the orb. It has always been ours."

"From now on, things gets dirtier, we have to be careful though." Esme said 

"I know, that's obvious. This city gets darker, and more dangerous." Tara sighed, looking at Zeke.

At the door, Mercury stood, gummed to the wall as she listened to everything.

Now she hates her mother more than before. More than anything.

--

[Next Day]

Morning refused to come. 

The day didn't break at all.

Since the chaos at the East Palace yesterday, there has been no morning.

People only calculated the daytime with their wall clocks and watches, everywhere has been dark.

It's like a curse, and it's spreading like a plaque throughout the city.

Also, the heat has been unbearable. Everyone has been feeling the scath from Shayla's fire.

It never stopped.

Cheyenne and Sage took Shayla to her Fire Palace since it's the only available place right now.

After she used the fire to break the chaos, her palace opened on its own.

She subconsciously showed them the way yesterday after they took her out of the burning palace, and they've been here...the hottest place in the whole of the city with fire burning on the walls and volcanoes cracking under the rock segments.

The only places free from fire is the rooms, but it's so hot, and no matter the air conditioning, they're sweating very hard.

They both had to wear only singlets as they used hand fans to blow air on Shayla in bed, contributing breeze.

She has been unconscious, but saying one name from her sleep.

"Ry"

That's all she has been muttering, and each time she said that, they fanned harder.

Seems the bracelet on her wrist is helping to keep her heat in check cos whenever it shone, her sweats reduced a lot.

Her eyes didn't open till the 12th hour, and the knights dropped their big fans, waiting till she calmly took in her bearings.

She sat up quickly, looking around again, but the only people she's seeing are Cheyenne and Sage.

"Goddess," Sage whispered.

"Your ladyship," Cheyenne added, their eyes full of worries.

"Ry, where is he? Where's Ry?" She asked, looking traumatized.

They both went silent, they just exchanged glances.

"It's not true...no." Shayla shook her head quickly, her tiny voice shaky and emotional. "It's all a dream, right? What I saw about how he melted away. It's all a dream. Please say yes."

"Goddess, this isn't the time to be emotional." Sage said.

"No I don't want to hear that! He has spoiled me too much that I can barely do anything without him, and now he wants to just leave like that? Can you even hear yourself? It's not making any sense!!" She cried, trying to get off the bed, but Cheyenne held her back fast.

"You can't exhaust yourself now. You should recuperate gently and conjure all the energy you can. You have so many trainings to do, too. War is approaching, and we can't be caught unprepared. Many people will come for you." She said.

"I don't want anything else! I just want him! What do you mean he's gone? I don't want to be fine please just bring him to me!!! He's not gone! He's never gone! He can't be gone! Never!! He's alive and well!! He can't be gone!!!"

Sage helped Cheyenne to hold her back too, and as she cried, the fire under the volcanos and firewalls burned brighter, producing more heat and messing with her head, snapping at her control.

"Ry... Please come back! Please... Please!!! Bring him back to me!!"

--

[City Tower Edge]

The twins couldn't think of a more suitable location.

This place has to be the best—closer to the dark sky and far from the low ground.

They brought Xena here since yesterday, plotting ways to punish her for her brother's sins.

Sadie is the one thinking about the ways and dictating.

Soren is the one writing them down.

Sadie is strolling the edge with her evil smile intact, her black boots marching the ground with ominous clicks which is like music to her ears.

It's like this chaos brought Soren back to her, and she can't ask for more.

Soren is seated on a high-structured chair, his pen kissing his note repeatedly as he jotted Sadie's suggestions.

He looks like he backpedalled.

Looks like the old Soren who has no pity in his eyes and just does whatever Sadie wanted.

He stopped jotting at the last suggestion, and Sadie faced him.

"Done?"

"All done," he stood from the chair, handing her the book.

They faced the same angle by the wall where Xena is seated like an enslaved captive on the floor, hands and legs still tied, eyes still blindfolded and mouth still gagged.

Sadie made few strides to her, squatted in front of her and stripped her mouth gag away.

"Ple...se... don't...kill me." Xena begged and coughed shakily, snot crawling out of her nose.

All her life, she has never trembled this hard, it's like the fear is germinating with their choky presence. Her body is shaking with the wall, and her teeth is clashing.

She could taste the pain on her tongue even when it hasn't started, and she could taste her own fear on her dry palate.

"Do you want to know a truth?" Sadie said with a cruel cackle, the chains on her boots clanking as they dragged the cemented ground.

"Your brother didn't only kill our mother because of revenge. In fact, revenge isn't the major reason why he killed her." She whispered.

She tapped Xena's cheek with two fingers, her black painted nails catching the glow of the fire burning in the middle of the tower.

"Your lifeline which father stole...it was hidden inside mother's core, and to get it back... mother had to die. The bastard killed mother majorly to get your lifeline back, so your lifeline is back to your life core." 

"Wh... what?" Xena stuttered, body going pale with shock. A hot line of sweat ran down her backline.

"Oh... Soren she's shocked." Sadie clapped once, laughing as she looked back at Soren.

"Of course she'd be. She's a bî+ch who'd die for her father," Soren replied dryly.

He's currently beside the burning fire on that same edge.

He pulled out three branding irons from the fire at the same time.

The metals are already red with the fire ember, and they looks like the pit of hell already.

"Ou! That looks delicious! Can't wait for her to taste it!" Sadie howled, facing Xena who's already crying.

Her tears crawled out from under her black stuffy blindfold.

"Aww, you're just a girl." Sadie laughed loudly, the sound dark like the persistent night.

Soren walked towards them with the three metals swinging in his hand.

On the three irons, SLAVE, SLAVE, SLAVE was written on each one.

"Can we start?" He said emotionlessly.

Sadie stood by his side, madly pleased with this new him.

"Of course, brother." she said, glancing at the book with her.

"First on our sweet beautiful list is branding her as our personal slave, and you see..." She faced blindfolded Xena at this point.

"These triplets branding irons are from hell, so just like my father's face can't heal, this mark won't be able to wipe from you... for life..." She said, wickedly grinning.

"No... please....don't... Don't do that to me!!!" Xena shifted, but Soren's cold grip landed on her, holding her in place.

She froze, peeing on herself.

Sadie laughed again, taunting and more wicked.

Then it came, painful than hell and abyss and bitterness combined.

The three hot irons kissed Xena's forehead at the same time, and smokes oozed out as her flesh burned with the three SLAVE brands, taking over all of her forehead.

Blood streamed out of the little holes on her skin, her tears boiled hotter than lava, more pee trickled out of her stinging p+$sy, and her mouth opened wide.

"Ryker!!!!!!!"

TBC.

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