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Velia's POV
The room was dimly lit by the eerie green glow of enchanted candles. The wax never melted, and their light carried whispers—voices of the spirits Velia had enslaved. They hissed softly, like serpents slithering through the shadows, feeding her rage with their murmurs of devotion and doom.
Velia stood before a mirror carved from obsidian, her reflection fractured and veiled with flickering runes. She stared into her own green eyes, tracing the faint serpentine mark coiling along her neck—a mark of the ancient pact she had made.
"The world has forgotten your name," she whispered to the serpent demon buried beneath Serpent Village. "But I haven't. And I will wake you soon."
The door creaked open behind her. Gavriel entered first—his silver armor splattered with the dried blood of a dozen fallen rogues from their last skirmish. His once-handsome face had grown harder, colder. And behind him came a cloaked figure, silent as the grave, his very presence bending the light around him.
The spy knelt. "Your Grace," he said, voice smooth and sharp as a blade. "I've returned from the Shadow Haven Kingdom."
Velia turned slowly, her crimson lips curling into a dangerous smile. "And?"
"The demon king and his bride have arrived safely," he replied, lowering his hood. His eyes glowed faintly blue—the mark of an illusionist. "They were received by King Ares himself. From what I gathered, they will soon depart for the Luna Empire… and then to the Rune Coven."
At the mention of the Rune Coven, Velia's expression shifted, subtle yet deadly. Her mind churned like a black tide. The Rune Coven—Alyssa's domain—was the one place she wanted to be before the end began.
"So," she murmured, stepping closer to the spy. "They've taken the bait."
The spy bowed his head. "Yes, my Queen. The storm worked perfectly. They left the Citadel behind. Their defenses are weak, scattered."
A low chuckle escaped her. "Good." She circled him like a predator eyeing prey. "Tell me, did you see her?"
The spy hesitated, glancing up briefly. "The Queen Consort?"
"Yes." Velia's voice was silk over venom. "Hazel."
"I did," he admitted. "She is… not what I expected. There is something about her aura. Something… wrong. I've never sensed a human like that before."
"Because she isn't," Velia hissed, the air rippling with dark energy. Her hands trembled slightly as she remembered the serpent's vision from the tomb—Hazel's face bathed in golden fire, eyes burning with phoenix light. "She's not human. Not fully."
Gavriel leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "Then it's true," he said darkly. "The serpent was right. The phoenix lives again—in her."
Velia's nails dug into her palm. "And we need her blood to awaken him."
For a moment, silence hung in the room. The spy dared not breathe. The whispering candles seemed to flicker with excitement, feeding on the tension that bled into the air.
Then Velia laughed. It was soft, beautiful, and utterly mad. "Do you hear that, Gavriel? Fate favors us. The heavens, the underworld, the pit itself—they all thought the phoenix gone. But she's right there, clinging to that wretched king as if his heart could save her."
Her laughter faded, replaced by venomous calm. "She has no idea that she's carrying the key to his destruction, and vice-versa."
Gavriel stepped closer, his voice low. "You've always been patient, Velia. But now that we know the truth, what's our next move?"
Velia's emerald eyes met his. "We prepare," she said. "The serpent's seal lies dormant still. We cannot reach it without her. And if the King suspects us, he'll guard her like a dragon guards its hoard. So we must wait for the right moment."
Gavriel frowned. "And where do we wait? Shadow Haven is too dangerous now. Hades will scent us before we even blink."
Velia smiled wickedly. "We'll head for the Rune Coven. Alyssa's land is veiled by powerful enchantments. Witches, rogues, vampires—they all seek shelter there after the storm. The chaos is our cover. We'll hide among them until it's time to strike."
The spy dared to speak. "What about the serpent's tomb? The runes said only the phoenix's blood could break the seal. But even if we capture her, how do we bring her there unnoticed?"
Velia glided toward him, her fingers brushing the hilt of her dagger. "You ask too many questions, witch." Her tone was playful, but the glint in her eyes said otherwise. "Let me worry about the how. You'll worry about when."
He bowed quickly. "Yes, my Queen."
Gavriel stepped forward. "Velia, you do realize Hades won't stop at anything if we touch her. He destroyed entire realms before for less."
Her lips curved. "Let him." She turned toward the mirror again, watching her reflection blur into smoke and flame. "Let him rage, let him burn. I want him to suffer, Gavriel. I want him to watch everything he's built—everything he loves—crumble beneath my feet."
Her voice softened, trembling slightly as old pain crept into her tone. "He cast me aside. Do you know what it's like to love something so dark, so divine, and be discarded as if you were dirt? I gave him everything—my loyalty, my soul—and he threw me away like I was nothing."
Gavriel's eyes darkened. "You weren't nothing to him, Velia. You were his equal once. His fire."
"Then why," she whispered, voice cracking with rage, "did he choose her?"
No one dared to answer. The candles hissed softly. Somewhere outside, a storm began to rumble again.
Velia's reflection warped, her face flickering between beauty and horror, serpent eyes glinting through her own. "He'll regret it. Every moment he spends with her will be his undoing. Because the serpent's rise will come from her fall."
Her hand reached out and touched the mirror. It rippled, revealing the faint vision of Hazel laughing beside Hades—her silver hair glowing faintly in the morning light.
Velia's nails scraped the surface, leaving long cracks through Hazel's reflection.
"I'll make her scream," she whispered. "I'll drain her light and feed it to the serpent. And when he awakens, the Underworld will kneel."
Gavriel watched her with quiet admiration—and a hint of unease. He'd seen her obsessed before, but this was different. The serpent had changed her. It was as if his whisper already coiled around her mind, tightening its grip.
Velia turned abruptly. "Prepare the wagons. Gather the rogues and the witches. I want us ready to move by dawn."
"And the spy?" Gavriel asked, glancing at the trembling man kneeling before them.
Velia smiled—a slow, cruel smile. "He's seen too much."
The spy looked up, eyes wide. "My Queen, I swear my loyalty—"
A hiss of serpentine energy slithered from her palm. In a heartbeat, the man's words turned to screams as dark magic consumed him. His body twisted, bones cracking, until he crumbled into dust and smoke.
Velia exhaled softly. "Loyalty is a fragile thing."
Gavriel watched the ashes scatter across the floor. "You didn't have to—"
"Yes, I did." Her voice was steady, detached. "Loose tongues sink kingdoms. We can't afford mistakes."
Silence lingered again before Gavriel finally nodded. "As you command."
Velia walked past him, her gown whispering against the stone floor. "The serpent's time is near," she murmured. "When his eyes open, the sky will split. The seas will bleed. And Hades will beg me for mercy that will never come."
As she left the chamber, the whispering candles guttered out one by one, their voices sighing into silence.
Outside, thunder rumbled—low and ominous. The rogues were already gathering under the blackened sky. Their armor gleamed like oil, their banners stitched with serpent sigils. The witches hummed under their breath, summoning barriers to cloak their movement.
Gavriel mounted his steed, looking up at Velia as she stood at the edge of the cliff, her hair whipping wildly in the wind. "To the Rune Coven, then?" he called.
She turned, eyes glowing faintly red in the stormlight. "To the Rune Coven," she confirmed. "Where shadows will hide us… and destiny will deliver her."
As they descended the winding path, the dark army followed—rogues, witches, vampires, and beasts of the wild. The earth seemed to groan beneath their weight.
And high above them, lightning cracked open the sky like a wound.
Velia smiled at the sight. "Yes," she whispered to the storm. "Wake up, my love. The time draws near."
Beneath the serpent's tomb, something ancient stirred—something vast and hungry.
And in the distance, far from their march, a faint flame flickered in Hazel's chest as she slept, uneasy and unaware of what her blood would soon unleash.