Nero led Mallory through Bella Domina as he took her on a long and winding tour thinking to himself, “How long until Xenia returns? She did tell me to bring General Preston back to Bella Domina. I hope she is fairing okay finding her way back.”

Mallory clung to Nero’s arm nestling her cheek up against his broad shoulder, “Nero. You are rock-solid. Are you the strongest ki user in the western hemisphere? You must be stronger than St. Michael, right?”

Nero grunted, “Stronger than St, Michael, yes. Strongest in the western hemisphere, no.”

She laughed, “Oh I find that hard to believe. Who could be stronger?”

Nero didn’t answer the question as the answer was his empress, Xenia. Mallory took his lack of an answer as modesty.

“Next, we will be entering a room which few have entered. It houses important items and weapons.” Nero pushed open a set of large double doors and sent them swinging until they collided with the adjacent walls.

Mallory entered and gasped. Her gaze was suddenly directed towards the center of the room where a long spear lay within a raised glass display case, “Is that the spear? The very spear that killed Warlord Xenia BloodStar?”

Nero nodded his head as Mallory ran up to the display case, “Rumors say she was pregnant at the time of her death.” She shook her head, “What a terrible tragedy. But then again did she really think she could take on the world and win?”

Nero walked up beside her, “She did.”

Mallory gave a slight frown, “I am sorry for your loss, Nero. I mean no offense, but it was plain to see Xenia was a young, inexperienced fool. She should have bided her time to become more powerful.”

Nero contained his emotions and stood silently as he elected to give no response. Mallory switched topics, “Is it true this spear was constructed using two of the three known void daggers in existence?”

Nero nodded, “Yes. A beautiful weapon in both material and craftsmanship.”

Mallory quite agreed as she nodded and continued to admire the spear. Nero then asked, “Would you like to test it out for yourself?”

Mallory gasped once again, “Test it?! Like get it out and throw it?!”

Nero laughed, “Yes. It is a weapon of magnificent design and craftsmanship as I say. It isn’t a museum relic.”

He pressed a button to lower the display glass surrounding the spear. He then grabbed it picking it up off of its resting base.

“Here. Catch.” Nero tossed the spear to Mallory who caught it with ease saying, “Wow. So light.”

Nero then stepped aside and raised his arm, “If you please.”

Mallory grinned at him. She then gripped the spear and hurled it at the far wall. The spear flew with breakneck speed until it impaled its blade deeply into the wall.”

“Phew! Wow! I’ve now thrown the spear of legend!” Mallory was all smiles as she beamed at Nero.

She then said, “A treasured weapon. I am glad it is in your hands. I wonder where the third void dagger is these days. Such a weapon is probably hidden for eternity until the next great war.”

Nero smirked, “The third void dagger? Why that is also housed here in this room.”

Mallory gawked at Nero before saying, “Shut! Up!”

She walked near him and touched his arm, “May I see it too? It would be a dream come true to lay eyes on all three.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Nero walked over to a treasure chest marked with the sigil of BloodStar royalty, “Allow me to show you this one last thing before concluding our tour”.

Before he could latch open the chest, Mallory grabbed his arm and said, “Nero, thank you for making my evening a very special one. If we have time for only one more thing on this tour, I think I can wait to see the third void dagger another time.”

Nero looked to her, “Is there something else you have in mind?”

Mallory took a step closer to Nero turning him towards her as she pushed her body up against his, “Another kiss.”

She leaned in towards him grabbing the back of his neck again just as she had at the front steps of the manor earlier; however, this time, her lips never met with Nero’s lips.

Both heard the crackling of electricity across the room. They looked simultaneously to see a black portal from which Xenia had just stepped out of. Xenia had her mask on from the party, and her black leather dress was freshly drenched in blood. Her blood-soaked hair also dripped as blood run down her body and onto the floor.

Mallory looked to her and scowled, “Miss Sareena Night. Was my mercy not good enough for you? You’ve come for your death now?”

Xenia raised her arms and moved them laterally as she bloodbent both Nero and Mallory sliding their bodies apart from one another.

Nero immediately knelt and bowed his head, “My empress. Forgive me.”

Mallory frowned in confusion, “My empress? Was I just bloodbent? Is this a member of the BloodStar Family? Perhaps Queen Zara?”

Mallory raised her hand at Xenia and formed a ball of dense, powerful ki as she yelled out, “Sareena, or whoever you are, you had better state your intentions before I obliterate you.”

Xenia didn’t have her usual smile of amusement when toying with lesser ki users. Instead, she maintained her face of pure anger and rage as she stepped forward slowly toward Mallory.

Xenia raised her hand and sent Mallory flying with her bloodbending. Mallory crashed into the wall far behind her impaling upon the void spear she had previously thrown and lodged into the wall.

Mallory looked down to see her feet hovering a foot off the ground as she was held up and skewered on the void spear. Due to the spear’s properties, her ki was also immediately extinguished.

Xenia continued her slow walk and began speaking with an overtly angry tone, “I have been publicly humiliated before. I have been called a bitch. Ha! I have been called much worse!”

Xenia grit her teeth and maintained a murderous gaze upon Mallory as she inched closer and closer, “I have been slapped before. I’ve been mutilated on the battlefield. I’ve even come back from the dead.”

Nero looked on as the ki aura around Xenia began to grow exponentially with her permeating rage until suddenly her ki reached a threshold.

“But never! NEVER!” Xenia’s hair suddenly flashed a crimson red. Simultaneously, her eyes flashed red, and the superficial vasculature along her body pulsed red for a moment.”

“NEVER HAVE I ALLOWED ANOTHER WOMAN TO KISS NERO!” Xenia’s ki erupted outwards in a brilliant red as her hair, eyes, and vasculature began to glow a crimson red with a menacing aura. Xenia walked up to Mallory with her face only inches away as she screamed at her, “He is a BloodStar Immortal! HE. IS. MINE!!”

Mallory was shaking in fear as the realization hit her, “Xenia. Warlord… No. Empress Xenia BloodStar.” She began to cry as she envisioned her fate, “Kill me! Just kill me, please! Show me mercy and kill me, please! Show me mercy as I have done to you!”

Nero stood and ran up alongside Xenia at his own risk as she radiated power. He yelled over the swirling of her power, “Empress! Your ki storm will draw attention! St. Michael and others will notice! General Preston’s absence will also cause problems if we keep her here or kill her! Perhaps it would be best if-“

Without even sparing a glance, Xenia backhanded Nero across the face with her full might. He flew across the entire room crashing through several columns until he slammed up against a wall causing the wall to crumble down upon him. He was knocked out cold.

Mallory thought to herself, “She’s crazy. She’s an animal. Fuck!”

Xenia aggressively leaned in and licked Mallory’s face from chin to forehead before saying, “I am an animal. And I am a bitch. And your actions deserve no mercy.”

Mallory began to cry as tears ran down her face, “Please! Please! I am sorry! I will serve you!”

She then turned to Nero and yelled at him in hopes he would wake up and advocate for her, “Nero! You can’t allow this to happen! Get up, Nero! She is evil! You can’t stand by this! You can’t stand by her!”

Xenia grabbed Mallory’s lower jaw with her hand and gripped it so tightly that it sent fractures throughout her mandible. Xenia firmly held her lower jaw and moved her gaze from Nero to her eyes as she said, “Nero serves me! And he knows there is no right or wrong. There is no good or evil. There is only his empress’s word. And my word is final!”

Xenia finally laughed as her anger and rage began to subside ever so slightly, “Now. I think it’s time you and I have a little chat. Girl to girl.”

Xenia then gripped her mandible with her full strength pulverizing it as Mallory’s lower jaw collapsed into mangled soft tissue and bone dust.

All the while, on the floor near the void spear display case, Mallory’s cell phone rang and rang; however, its ring was drowned out completely by Mallory’s desperate cries of pain and fear as the repeated phone calls to reach her went unanswered, one after another.