"It's so dark in here. Madam Sunna chose the location of the Book of Darkness well," Astoria commented, walking through the darkened tunnel. Elias lit a match, handing it over to her. "Thanks. Wait, I think that's the book."

At the end of the tunnel, there was a wider area with a table stand made of rock. There was a glimpse of light dawning on them through small cracks. They approached carefully until Astoria worked up the guts to go to the pedestal. There laid a book bound by leather and had a skull on the cover.

Her fingers ran across the book and she exhaled sharply. There was a strong pull of power, so much that she could consume from the Darklings. I found the book, she sighed in relief. I did it, Madam Sunna.

Sunna Cecil Silvers would be proud.

"Astoria—" Elias was cut off and he drew his sword, backing up against a rocky wall. Astoria gasped as Viscount knights filed into the tunnel until she saw a glimpse of Prince Thatcher Abernathy.

Shit.

"Astoria De Vil," Thatcher breathed as Elias joined her by the pedestal. "The lady of the hour, huh?" I prefer the Lady of Dread, thank you very much. Astoria huffed, clutching the Book of Darkness to her chest. "We don't have to fight—"

"We both know that's a lie." With that, Elias aimed at Prince Thatcher. They wrestled and struggled, some of the soldiers assisting Thatcher. Zinnia and Celeste jumped into the action to kill Elias, but Astoria summoned a fog of smoke to blind the girls.

Suddenly, Thatcher jumped out of the misty fog, gunning for Astoria. She took out her dagger, grazing his arm, making him howl with pain. He stumbled to the ground, but swept Astoria off the floor, making her drop the Book of Darkness.

"No!" she shrieked.

Thatcher swiftly picked up the book, quickly rummaging through the pages. Suddenly, Astoria saw what she was scared of—Thatcher's eyes lit up with hunger for the Darklings' powers. Astoria scrambled to her feet, landing a hard blow on his neck, her knuckles throbbing with pain.

Thatcher went down but threw the book across the air. Time seemed to slow as the book was flung from Thatcher's hands and into Nayleen's. "Give me the book! You have no idea how dangerous that can be!" Astoria shouted as Nayleen tried to run out of the tunnel.

Astoria ran up to an injured Foxe Grendels, grabbing him by the throat. She wrapped her arm around his neck, making the ginger-haired boy choke, her dagger pressed to his skin. "Leave with the book and I'll kill him."

Nayleen Crest stopped, spinning around, book in hand. Her eyes went wide as she whimpered. "F-Foxe?" She walked back, trembling. "No, no, don't hurt him!" she screamed, silencing all ensuing battles in the tunnel.

"Go, N-Nayleen," Foxe choked out, his skin turning red from the lack of air. Astoria exhaled sharply, her eyes boring into Nayleen's. For the longest time, Astoria wanted to kill the Heirs to save Valdor, and she could so easily kill Foxe Grendels now.

"She's bluffing!" Celeste cried out.

"Trust me, she's not bluffing, she has nothing to lose and everything to gain from murdering Foxe," Elias snapped back, narrowing his eyes. Astoria locked eyes with him, Elias was backed up against the wall, Celeste pointing her sword at him.

"Kill Foxe and I'll kill your little boyfriend," she hissed.

Astoria tried not to flinch. "I could care less about Elias Lennox." Elias' face fell as Astoria tried not to look. She hoped that he would realize that it was an act—she cared about Elias Lennox so much that it hurt.

She focused back on a shaking Nayleen. "Give me the Book of Darkness."

"Don't do it!" Zinnia hollered, her eyes wide. "She's tricking you!"

Foxe was breathing heavily, tears running down his cheeks and onto Astoria's arm. I don't want to do this, she thought. But I have to. "I'll kill, Nayleen. I'll kill all of you, it doesn't matter in the end, does it? We all die in the end."

Nayleen took steps towards her as Thatcher screamed at her to stop. She handed over the book in Astoria's free hand, stepping back. "Let Foxe go," she whispered. But Astoria's dagger didn't move. I can kill him now, I can kill him now for Valdor—

Distracted, her grip loosened on Foxe's neck.

"Let him go!" Nayleen yanked back Foxe, making them tumble to the ground.

Astoria sprinted to the pedestal, seeing that Elias quickly got away as well. "We're outnumbered with no hostages now," he told her as the Heirs came closer. "This isn't good, Tori, what do we do now?"

She didn't like the odds of this either, but there was only one way to save them. It's now or never, she took a deep breath, flipping through the Book of Darkness. Astoria felt a surge of power at the tips of her fingers, it felt so...tempting. Finally, she landed on a page to summon the Darklings.

Elias turned to her, wide-eyed. "Astoria, don't—"

It was too late, Astoria De Vil was casting out the chant, her voice echoing through the tunnel. The Viscount knights and Heirs backed away in fear as Astoria's voice grew louder. "I summon you, Darklings!" she yelled. "I summon you, Darklings!"

Suddenly, her body ached as she dropped to the ground. Stars spun around her as rumblings erupted from the ground, someone grabbed her waist to prevent her from falling. The world swirled as she let out a scream, a scream that sliced through thin air. Astoria was withering in agony, shrieking until her voice gave out.

"Tori, Tori," a voice whispered in her ear. "Hold on, it'll be okay..." It sounded so faint as she closed her eyes. "No, no, stay with me!" Voices clashed together and Astoria couldn't tell them apart.

There was another voice, a voice that called out to her. "Don't let her go, we'll find somewhere safe for her." Words mixed together as Astoria lifted off the ground, something—or someone—carrying her.

Then they all disappeared.

༻༺✧༻༺

Astoria rolled over on her bed, groaning in pain. She stumbled out of bed, crawling on the floor, she felt so weak. So vulnerable. The world was fading in and out for her as she opened the door, peeking outside.

"E-Elias?" she asked quietly.

"He's downstairs, Lady of Dread." Astoria backed away as a foreign man entered her bedroom. He was tall—he nearly hit his head on the doorframe—with ghostly pale skin, contrasting with his black hair. However, the part that shocked her the most was the glowing red eyes.

He's a Darkling.

"Sorry if I startled you, I'm Ankou, the Darkling you summoned." He locked the door, smiling slightly. Ankou strolled around her room, inspecting her state. "Your bedroom is very clean."

"Thank you?" Astoria smoothened her dress. "Uhm, what exactly happened?"

"The spell you cast for my summoning was poorly conducted, no offense, so you were dying in pain. Your friend, Elias Lennox, told me about the De Vil Manor so I shadow-travelled us there." The spell you cast for my summoning was poorly conducted, no offense, so you were dying in pain. Astoria flushed with red, huffing and crossing her arms. "My Lady of Dread, you mustn't worry, it was very impressive for a mortal to cast a classic Darkling spell."

"Just call me Astoria De Vil, it's my actual name," she said, exhausted.

"Okay, well, Astoria De Vil, we have much to discuss," Ankou shrugged, inviting himself on her sofa. She was too tired to correct him, so she joined him on the sofa. "First, I must thank you for summoning us, the other Darklings were getting scared that no mortal would come to save us from Archemoros."

"Because most mortals can't conduct dark magic?" she guessed.

"Yes, Madam Sunna Cecil trained you very well to succeed in what she failed in." Ankou ran his fingers through his black hair. "Astoria De Vil, while the Darklings were in Archemoros, we planned to take over the Viscount Kingdom."

"What?" Astoria was stunned. That's not at all my plan.

"I know, you want to kill the Heirs, Elias filled me in." Ankou leaned back, his red eyes watching Astoria carefully. He was powerful, Astoria knew that much, but she couldn't trust someone who she met a few seconds ago.

"That's not why I summoned you, Ankou. I wanted you to end the lives of the Heirs for good, but also to protect Valdor. It was never my intent to take over Viscount, it's called the Vicious Kingdom for a reason," she pressed.

"Yes, but does it have to be? We can make it better." He drummed his fingers on his thigh, looking content. "For years and years, the Vicious Kingdom had wronged us, they exiled us to Archemoros. Now, the Darklings will take our revenge, it's up to you, Astoria De Vil."

Astoria bit her lip. "I'll think about it, thanks."

Suddenly, Elias burst into the room with someone behind him. "Astoria!" Paloma cried out, running over to her. She tackled her, wrapping her arms around her neck. "I thought you died..."

"Thanks for watching over the manor for me." Astoria winced from Paloma's strength. "Pal, you're crushing my ribs." Paloma removed herself and Astoria stood up, nodding at Elias. "Elias."

He nodded back. "Astoria."

"What's the hurry?" Ankou asked him, standing up as well.

"The Heirs are coming with heavy military," Paloma blurted, anxious. "They're coming in a few days to storm the manor, they want to kill you, Astoria. Prince Thatcher Abernathy needs the book back, he wants it."

Astoria shook her head. "They're bringing an army?"

Paloma nodded. "Ire told you earlier and I rushed over to warn you all. This isn't going to end well..." She gulped, wringing her hands. "If the Heirs are coming to the De Vil Manor, there's a chance that they'll also storm the Slums."

"We can't let it come to that!" Elias insisted.

"I know," Astoria sighed. "I need to see where the Heirs are right now, but I'm too tired to tap into my Invisible Eye, much less take three extra people." She looked into Ankou's glowing red eyes. "Ankou?"

"I'll tap into the Invisible Eye for us," he said, pressing his hand on Astoria's shoulder. He grabbed Elias' arm and Paloma's hand, quickly transferring them into the eyes of the Heirs. That's quicker than I ever could do, Astoria was impressed with the Darkling's skills.

There was Zinnia who reprimanded Nayleen and Foxe at the Heirs' campsite. "Isn't she a fierce one?" Ankou mused, with a tone that Astoria couldn't quite place. Zinnia looked livid, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You let them get away with the Book of Darkness!" Zinnia yelled, making Nayleen's upper lip quiver. "Don't you know that the Viscount Kingdom could be in danger? We have no idea how Astoria will use the ways of the Darklings—"

Foxe wrapped his arms around Nayleen, sighing. "Blame me, I was the hostage."

Zinnia's eyes burned with anger. "Everything I worked towards—"

"Zinnia, lay off it. It's my fault, not theirs." The statement came from Celeste Laurier. Astoria rolled her eyes, sighing. Another sob story, here we go again. She was surprised that Prince Thatcher, the supposed leader, hadn't spoken up.

"Oh? And why is that?" Zinnia demanded.

"Because I'm Astoria De Vil's half-sister," Celeste whispered. Astoria blinked, the world slowing down. There were gasps and Elias asked Astoria something she couldn't hear. She thought she was going to pass out again.

"Astoria, are you okay?" Paloma asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She didn't reply, merely nodding. Suddenly, everything came rushing back to her. If she and Celeste were half-sisters, that meant Lord Otis Laurier was her father.

A very horrible man, Nadine De Vil called Lord Otis. What if...

What if Otis Laurier killed her mother? If Viscount ever discovered that Otis had a bastard daughter with a Valdor folk, he'd be ruined. But th-then King Julius found some nasty secret about her past, she was disqualified as a candidate to be Prince Thatcher's wife, Corvinne told Astoria.

They were half-sisters—a Valdor and a Viscount girl with different backgrounds. Now looking at Celeste, Astoria realized they looked alike. Despite her raven black hair and dull gray eyes compared to Celeste's blond hair and electric blue eyes, they had the same face structure and build.

"Celeste is my half-sister," Astoria said, blinking blankly. "I have a Viscount sister."

Suddenly, Zinnia lashed out at Celeste. "Are you serious, Celeste? You're sisters with the Lady of Dread? I can't believe you, you crazy bitc—" Thatcher came between the two, his eyes full of violence.

"Enough, Zinnia!" he roared.

"Thatch," Celeste said, looking worried. Nayleen and Foxe were in utter shock, as well as Paloma and Elias. Ankou, new to this, looked confused. "Don't waste your breath—"

"Yeah, because you'll waste it on her!" Zinnia pointed an accusing finger at Celeste, teary-eyed. "I'm not stupid, I saw you kissing Celeste last night, T-Thatcher. I pretended to be oblivious to your ongoing affair with her, but goddamnit, it's hard to." Her voice broke as she took a sharp breath. "She's Astoria De Vil's half-sister."

"And you're one to judge someone else's family?" Thatcher laughed. "Your dad loved having affairs with other young women, correct?" Astoria looked at Zinnia Xing with a fresh eye, seeing that she was hurt—after seeing her father betray his faith in her mother, she now had to watch her husband-to-be betray her as well.

Go fuck yourself, Thatcher Abernathy.

"I'm not judging her family, but the fact that she lied to us!" she protested, clutching her waist. They continued to argue—Celeste, Nayleen, and Foxe looked horrified. All of a sudden, Thatcher stuck Zinna across the face to shut her up.

Paloma gasped, Elias winced, and Ankou looked angered. "And these Viscount mortals still claim they're in the right," he seethed with rage, rolling up his fists. "Is this enough, Astoria De Vil?"

She nodded wordlessly.

They tapped out of the Invisible Eye, breathless. "I did not see that one coming," Paloma commented, shaking her head. "You and Celeste..." Astoria turned away, flushed with colour.

She sighed. "It's too late to ask Zinnia to betray the Heirs, she seems set on protecting the Viscount with them." Astoria turned to Ankou, gritting her teeth. I don't like this. "I'll summon an army of Darklings, but only to fend off the Heirs, we have to kill them on the day they arrive at the manor. Hold off on the taking-over-the-Vicious-Kingdom plan."

Elias looked shocked. "What? Why? Why the hell are we risking that, Ankou?"

The Darkling narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms. "For revenge."

Paloma glowered at him. "There's better things than revenge."