The beautiful woman stepped forward from the glowing tunnel of BloodStar roses. She wore a stunning white wedding dress, and the glow of the roses followed her as the rose petals braided into her hair glowed in the wake of the tunnel.

As she emerged, the sky above shining bright and blue began to slowly fade to a dull grey with a red luster.

As she stepped forward and her features became less diluted by the crimson glow, people began to question their very eyes.

Whispers and murmurs rushed through the wedding audience like a ripple from a powerful wave, “It can’t be!?” … “She’s dead!” … “Is this a cruel joke?!”…

While some guests stood in disbelief questioning what they saw, other guests took off running and scampering as fast as they could to escape. They were taking no chances.

Xenia smirked to herself reveling in the mayhem that her presence alone caused. She then put a stop to it all, “Have you all forgotten how to treat an empress?”

She then raised a hand in the air and loudly proclaimed, “You may all BOW!”

She bent the fingers of her raised hand bloodbending every guest and staff member present. She bent them all down to their knees before bloodbending them further bowing their heads to the ground with their outstretched arms in front of them.

“That’s better.” She smiled to herself as she even forced Jacek to bow to her. The only two people spared from bowing were Erika and Jarek.

“I have words to exchange with you two. Shall we?” Xenia took a step closer towards Erika; however, Jarek’s stare stopped her in her tracks.

“Oh, Jarek, I’ll get to you next if you don’t mind waiting. You don’t mind, do you?” Xenia smiled at him and turned her face back to Erika.

Jarek had his fists clenched in anger as he thought to himself, “So it is true. I have been played. She is alive. Damnit!! But How???”

His rate of breathing was elevated. His blood pressure was elevated. Despite his shortcomings. Despite his failures. He was ready to attack.

He quickly thought of a plan, “She hasn’t bloodbent me because to do so would require too much power. She wouldn’t be able to hold me while also holding everyone else including Jacek and Vega. And she doesn’t consider Erika a threat. She is hoping I don’t take this opportunity to attack her. A successful attack would mean freeing all of these hostages from her grip.”

He tried to think clearly amidst the chaos her sudden appearance had engendered in his mind, “It’s time to call your bluff, Empress Xenia.”

His right hand hanging at his side suddenly formed a glowing white ball of ki. Then his other hand formed a glowing ball of ki as well.

The formation of two ki spheres in his hands immediately garnered Xenia’s attention, “Now Jarek, we can hurt each other another time. Perhaps in the bedroom even, if you wish. I’m not married just yet, after all.”

She then winked at him; however, before her playful demeanor had even disappeared from her face, Jarek raised both hands combining the ki blasts into one larger one and launched it directly at Xenia.

The powerful ki blast had an upward angle just in case she dodged. The upward angle would guide the ki blast over the crowd and off into the sky missing the entire venue.

Xenia didn’t move an inch. Instead, just as the ki blast was about to make contact, her entire body rippled with an eerie and translucent aura. The ki blast went right through her translucent body continuing forward into the sky.

Her body had entered the void only for a moment to dodge the attack. She turned to look at the blast flying away into the sky, and with a big smile on her face, she raised her hand forming a portal in front of it.

As she formed one portal, another portal formed over the guests sitting in the raised seating behind the tunnel entrance.

The ki blast flew into the portal into the sky and almost immediately flew out of the portal hovering over the guests behind the tunnel. The blast flew out of the portal and down to the guests exploding instantaneously upon contact.

Hundreds of people perished immediately in the blast, and a hundred more on the periphery were severely injured.

Xenia turned around with a delighted smile on her face, “Jarek, I had no idea these distinguished and honored guests were so expendable to you. I always knew you were a bad boy.”

She then bloodbent him having him slowly walk to her.

“What? Didn’t think I could bloodbend you while also holding everyone else?” She tilted her chin down and eyed him with an evil smile, and he realized she fully intended for him to attack her. He had walked right into her plan.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

As she slowly walked him over to her standing in the aisle feet away from a stunned Erika, she continued, “Come now, Jarek. Are you upset that I wore white to your son’s wedding? Not just white, a wedding dress of my own.”

She then ran both of her hands down her chest and abdomen smiling at him, “Or are you upset because you know what comes next? You may be the only one here who knows that my wedding dress isn’t complete. You know the BloodStar tradition. Don’t you?”

Xenia looked around with her arms out, “Well, since these guests are so expendable…”

Xenia then bloodbent 15-20 guests in the rows adjacent to her in the aisle tearing their heads clean off. She then bloodbent their entire blood supply out from their carotid arteries and into the air forming a calm stream of blood circling around her. Next, she softly and slowly layered the blood onto her white dress turning it blood red.

Not a single drop of blood landed on her pristine skin or her flawless hair. She was careful to perfectly control the calm vortex of blood allowing it to slowly be absorbed by the fabric of her dress until she could feel the blood seeping through to the other side of the dress against her skin. Once the entire dress had been soaked and bathed in blood to perfection, she dropped the remaining blood from the air allowing it to splatter against the ground.

The guests who had not been sacrificed to complete her dress were all frozen in fear.

She then smiled at Jarek, “Better? Now I’m a proper and traditional BloodStar bride.”

She continued forcing Jarek to walk towards her even against his mighty struggle until he was but two steps away from her.

“I don’t want much for my wedding gift from the Heraklinos Empire. See, my station in life has risen, Jarek. I am Empress BloodStar now. And with my station, so too have my desires risen.” She then forced him to take the last two steps towards her until they were face to face.

“My desires for powerful men.” She leaned in until their lips were all but touching, “I’ve had the son. I want to taste the father.” She then plunged her lips against his kissing him passionately multiple times while also bloodbending him with fine motor movements to force him to kiss her back like he meant it.

She kissed him and forced him to kiss her back as they made out in the aisle for upwards of one minute until she finally broke off their kisses releasing a suction sound from their interlocked lips as she did.

“Mmm. Just as I thought.” Xenia leaned in to whisper in his ear, “I like you. You’re a good kisser. I plan to have more of you, soon. All of you, soon. So I won’t kill you today.”

She then put her hand up against his abdomen creating a powerful red ball of ki and released it right into his stomach blowing his entire body off the ground and back to where he previously stood. He flew through the air and crashed into the ground before Xenia bloodbent him into a bowed position like the others against his will.

She then turned towards a still stunned Erika, “Just us now, Erika.” Xenia licked her lips, “Those Heraklinos men. I’ll be wanting more of the father, but you can keep the son. I’ve had my fill of him. And I’m not interested in a man who would…” Xenia eyed Erika up and down, …stoop so low.”

Erika grit her teeth and prepared to respond; however, Xenia gripped her throat with bloodbending shutting her up before she could even start.

“I’m afraid, Erika, that the Sage Empire gift to me will be much more costly.” Xenia stepped forward and kissed a scared and trembling Erika on the lips. Xenia pushed her dress up against Erika’s smearing her perfectly white dress with streaks and splatters of blood.

Xenia knew Erika hated every second of their kissing, so she bloodbent Erika forcing her to kiss her back too. Between kisses, Xenia said, “My fiancé is gifting me an empire. I must give him something even better.”

They continued kissing until Xenia finally said, “So Erika. Give me something better. Kiss me better. Hate me better. This may be your last chance.”

Xenia smiled through their kisses as she raised a hand causing every kneeling person in attendance to suddenly lift their heads to watch the two girls making out in their white and red wedding dresses.

Xenia then lowered her hand next to Erika’s side and motioned to create a ring of blue fire around Erika’s feet.

“Now Erika, this… is going to hurt. I promise. Scream for me better. Die for me better. Do it for me. Do it for my fiancé.”

The blue fire of Xenia’s death domain began to slowly creep up Erika’s body burning away her wedding dress, burning away her flesh, burning away her bones, burning her away into nothingness.

The fire crept up Erika’s body as Xenia controlled an exceedingly difficult localized domain commanding it to burn where she wanted and only where she wanted.

The two brides stood in the aisle both actively kissing one another as they made out in front of their audience until the blue fire reached Erika’s pelvis. Xenia released her bloodbending grip of Erika’s throat allowing her to scream.

The pain was exquisite, sharp, and overwhelming. Erika screamed for the entire world to hear as the fire crept up her body slowly.

Xenia kissed on Erika’s screaming lips enjoying every second as Erika writhed in pain.

“That’s it. Scream. Show me fear. Show me terror. Show me despair. Show me hopelessness.”

As the fire disintegrated Erika’s body, Xenia held her upper half levitating in the air. The blue fire of her death domain finally began to creep up to Erika’s heart melting it slowly killing her.

However. Xenia wasn’t finished. She bloodbent the remaining blood in Erika’s face freezing her screaming face in place while she continued kissing her now dead, petrified face.

The blue fire continued creeping up to Erika’s neck sparing her spinal cord until only Erika’s head, face, and dangling spine remained. Xenia then grabbed the top of Erika’s head and palmed it, holding it up for everyone to see.

As Xenia held the head high, Constance stood and walked behind her empress. After Constance, Vega stood and walked over next.

Jacek was completely confused as he thought, “Vega? No. No!”

Xenia laughed and called out to Jacek, “Yes. Vega is mine now.”

Jacek stared her down, and Xenia simply winked back at him.

She then called out to the larger audience, “After my wedding, prepare for war! Or… if you love me… give me the gift of war on my wedding day. If you so dare.”

She then formed a large void portal at her back. She took one last look around with a smile on her face and dress dripping with fresh blood. She then turned and entered into the portal followed by Constance and Vega.

As she disappeared into the portal, her bloodbending disappeared as well, freeing everyone.

Jacek looked to his father who was standing up holding his stomach where had been attacked. Jarek looked to Jacek, “It’s time you learned why I seldom train you. It’s time I show you the true power of the Heraklinos name.”

Jacek frowned but nodded at his father.

Jarek then nodded back, “It’s time I show you why the Heraklinos Family has never lost a war.”