Tyrant's Obsession With The Heiress

Van Merikh handed Lady Karina over to the dirty-blonde knight, who heaved her up over his shoulder effortlessly, showing no finesse and care for a lady.

As he turned around to follow Sir Gerald and the other knights from the great hall, Lady Karina lifted her head and found Van Merikh standing still like a stone sentinel.

"Please spare him, my lord," Lady Karina begged again. "I will take all of his punishment if you wish, but do not harm my father. He is all I have." She choked back tears.

Van Merikh observed as his knight hauled her away.

Lady Karina wasn't kicking and fighting as he'd witnessed her do earlier when she'd first been captured.

She looked somewhat defeated.

But the expression on her face was more powerful than any resistance Van Merikh had ever seen.

Were the members of Moonveil truly powerless at all with no magical capabilities and possessing no markings, as they claimed?

His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he fitted on the loose gauntlet once more.

He had no time to waste on mercy.

He was, after all, Orpheus Van Merikh.

The devil himself.

As for Lady Karina, she'd been in the vault of Moonveil before, but never as a prisoner.

When she was a child, she would mingle with the servant children, partaking in games where she hid from them down in the vault.

Even when they found her, Lady Karina would declare victory.

Such was the life of the pampered and spoilt only child of the garrison commander of Moonveil Keep.

Whatever game she played, she would always emerge as the victor.

It had indeed been nothing but a sweet life.

Except this time—it was not a game.

It was a harsh reality.

Van Merikh had invaded her lovely castle resting at Blackthorn Reach Borderland and she was undoubtedly bewildered by the whole affair.

So she simply sat in the corner of the vault, burrowing her knees to her chest as she grieved for her father, for his knight, and for her friends who were at the mercy of a complete madman.

If he showed any mercy at all.

Lady Karina's thoughts raced and she contemplated whether she would be the only one to survive the siege, forever imprisoned in the bowels of a mossy vault with only rats and vermin to keep her entertained.

She wondered if her fate would ultimately be that of her family and friends.

In any case, her future was a rather bleak one.

Lady Karina had spent at least two days in the vault.

She was aware of the timeline due to the number of meals she'd been given, catered to by silent soldiers who were as wary of her as she was of them.

Time passed; she ate, slept, and mourned, for it was all she could do in such a light-forsaken place with only a single torch burning at the end of the passageway, the light of the flames barely reaching through the small barred opening on the vault.

Lady Karina had no real concept of day or night, or even of time.

Everything was surreal and dour.

She sighed to herself, lifting her fingertips and watching as gold threads of light danced around them.

It was then that a mark as pure as a lotus had appeared on the back of her right hand, coloured white and gold as it glowed.

She smiled.

Those of the Reinhardt bloodline were the only ones who could hide their marks in plain sight.

Moonveil had stood untouched for centuries and it was not merely a seat of power but a place with myths surrounding its existence.

It was believed that it was where the wild things stirred and the night itself seemed to listen.

Those who ruled it in the past were said to be more than mere lords; they carried an old legacy that set them apart from warring men.

There were scholars who spoke of Moonveil's keepers being tied to the creatures of the wild, rare beasts unknown to the surface of the world.

Yet with no evidence to prove it, the stories simply remained myths as they were.

However, Orpheus Van Merikh was not a man who dismissed stories of this nature.

Moonveil was worth far more than just another castle to claim.

It was some time after her third morning meal that she heard the passage door open. 

The great oak and iron panel groaned as someone pulled it free with a couple of strong jolts; the door tended to stick.

Lady Karina immediately expelled the magic from her fingertips and the marking vanished from her hand.

Since she had already been fed, she had been curious and fearful of whom it could have been.

She could hear heavy bootfalls on the slippery stones, drawing closer. It was so dark that she could barely see her own hand in front of her, but whoever it was, they were accompanied by a torch in hand.

As Lady Karina watched, massive boots came to rest at the bottom of the stairs and moved in her direction. As the light drew closer and the cell was illuminated, she could see that Van Merikh himself had come.

Frosty air accompanied him and the black snowflake marking on the side of his neck seemed to glow.

Though he was without the plate armour he wore before on his chest, she recognised the blood-covered chain mail, now dulled from days of wear.

Moreover, there was no man as large as Van Merikh.

It couldn't have been anyone else.

Lady Karina's fears bloomed but just as quickly faded; if he had come to kill her, there was absolutely nothing she could do to resist.

She had no weapon, no way to defend herself.

No magic to defend herself.

He could very well freeze her to death.

And furthermore, Van Merikh was almost three times her size.

The thought of her impending doom was enough to bring tears again but she sought comfort in the fact that soon she would follow into the light of Heaven alongside her father and mother.

She focused on that thought of salvation to gather her wits, but it was a difficult struggle.

Van Merikh held the old iron key in his hand and wrenched open the cell door. He was too tall to pass through the stone archway without bending himself over.

Lady Karina brushed away her tears, refusing to look at him as he made his way into her cell.

In fact, she closed her eyes and lowered her head in readiness for whatever came next.

She didn't want to see the blade as it came down on her to mete out her inevitable end.

Or perhaps his hand as he raised it to freeze over her body and shatter it.

Van Merikh just stood there; she could hear him but there was no sign of any further movement.

Lady Karina resigned herself to her fate and awaited the moment the sword would come bearing down her neck, but so far, nothing had happened just yet.

After a small eternity, Lady Karina dared to look up.

Van Merikh was staring down at her intensely and she stared anew at the appearance of the man; he was without his helm and it was her first clear glimpse of the man without the obstruction of a visor.

Orpheus Van Merikh had a granite, chiselled jaw and a well-bridged nose. His cheekbones were deep, somewhat hollow, and added to his stone-hard expression.

He was relatively young and unmarred for one with such a dark reputation. His dual-coloured eyes were still unnerving and dark brows arched intelligently over them.

His hair, unrestrained by the helm, fell to his shoulders in a curly, dark sheet that reflected the light like a raven's sheen wings. He was not unhandsome in the least and that surprised Lady Karina.

In fact, he was quite the appealing specimen to marvel at, being a remarkable and brutish man of war and for one of such reputation, Lady Karina expected him to look very much like a beast with unkempt features.

For sure he was rugged, but cleanly rugged so if that made sense at all.

All that aside, he was still colossal and cold.

Van Merikh looked every bit the untamed barbarian and they gazed at each other for a long, silent moment.

The silence was almost palpable.

Anxiety rose in Lady Karina's chest as she waited for whatever he had in store for her until she could stand it no longer.

There was something she desperately needed to know even if it killed her.

"Did you at least provide him with a proper burial?" Lady Karina finally blurted.

Van Merikh's brow lifted into an arch. "You will not make demands."

She realised she had spoken boldly, though it had mostly been from apprehension.

"I did not," Lady Karina said with more respect, remembering to be mindful of her tongue. "I was merely asking a question."

Van Merikh's other brow lifted. "I see that two days in the vault has done nothing to temper your disposition."