Once Betrayed Never Forgotten

Chapter 23: Frozen Fury

Fury courses through me like a wildfire, burning bright and relentless. The events of the evening replay in my mind like a broken record, each moment etched with frustration and confusion. I’m sprawled on top of the massive four poster bed in my chambers, still clad in the red silken dress i wore to the Blood Moon Ball. Moonlight pours through the windows, casting an eerie red glow over everything, as if the night itself is echoing my tumultuous emotions.

The grand ballroom, probably still bustling with dancers and nocturnal revellers, feels worlds away from the turmoil that has consumed me. I close my eyes and let my thoughts drift back to the celebration, the swirling dancers, the chandeliers casting their golden glow upon the elegant masquerade. For a moment, I try to imagine the merriment that must still be unfolding there, oblivious to the drama and chaos that erupted on the balcony.

And then, my

my mother’s transformation flashes before my eyes, her rebirth as a vampire. The memory is a vivid tapestry woven with emotions – awe, shock, and a strange mixture of happiness and sorrow. Seeing her altered appearance, the radiant beauty that seems to defy the shadows that lurk in our world, is a sight I struggle to fully comprehend.

But amidst the flurry of emotions, one image stands out like a haunting spectre – the confrontation on the balcony. The accusations, the tension, and the realisation that I may have been used for purposes I can barely fathom. My thoughts gravitate towards Aleksandr, and the questions he’s left hanging in the air. Would he have taken things further? Was he telling the truth about stopping himself before things got dangerous for me? Can I really trust him? My mind runs through different scenarios, each one more unsettling than the last. Would he have… forced himself on me? The possibility is chilling, a knot of fear tightening in my chest.

My anger simmers as I imagine his defiant stance, his clenched fists, and his refusal to admit wrongdoing. The feeling of betrayal claws at me, and I find myself questioning his every word and action. I’ve been deceived before, treated like a child and kept in the dark, by my own mother no 10 less, and the thought that I might be walking down that same treacherous path again leaves a

bitter taste in my mouth.

Bon

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Once Aleksandr had finished seducing me, and he had his way with me, would he have just disposed of me, like some insignificant disposable thing, a pathetic human, trash to be discarded?

My mind wanders to Anya’s expression of fury. I wonder if Aleksandr will be punished, and what that punishment will be. I’m so angry with him right now, so hurt and betrayed, that I’m finding it

hard to even care.

As I lie on the bed, gazing at the blue flames in the grand stone fireplace, their flickering dance. casting an otherworldly glow on the ceiling, I feel a wave of exhaustion washing over me. The

crackling fin seems so than Mbe a dentat med sabeuset hyparatie lullaby, like the busting of a milton Draps bros. the weight of the night press down on my ayotide, and Fm pulled into the

Em

The tramition frim wedsfetness to the dreams world in oromiens, like stepping into an alternate reality. I’m corretorted by an icy cold, the chili seeping into my hones. The castle’s passages stretch out before me, dark and forebeading, like the corridors of a haunted labyrinth. I move like Tormless ghost, drifting along, the entire castle closed in frost and ice Snowflakes fall from the ceiling, swirling around me like ethereal whispers in the corridors.

In the distance, screams pierce the silence, an eerie symphony of terror and agony. I’m drawn to the sounds, compelled to follow them through the frozen labyrinth. I drift deeper into the castle depths, my senses heightened by the icy grip of the nightmare.

The screams grow louder, and I pause before a grand bedroom. The door stands open, revealing scene that freezes me in place. There, on the four–poster bed, is a shadowy, muscular male figure thrusting into a figure on all fours, chained and naked. The snow falls from the ceiling, creating blanket of white that contrasts with the darkness of the room. A mixture of shock and revulsion washes over me as I realise that I’m witnessing myself in the throes of ecstasy, panting like an animal as the mystery male behind me thrusts into me over and over again, bending me to his will.

m transfixed, watching the expression of wild frenzied pleasure on my own face, my senses overwhelmed by the scene before me. But before I can react, a gust of icy snow–laced wind slams the door shut, obscuring the view and shrouding it in darkness.

The nightmare’s grip tightens, pulling me deeper into its twisted narrative. I fall through darkness for a moment, then find myself standing before a grand entrance, a doorway to a throne room with impossibly high ceilings, seemingly infinite. Inside, my mother and Konstantin sit upon thrones of ice, clad in regal white and silver mediaeval garments. Their crowns glint with sharp icicles, and they appear frozen in time, unmoving statues in a realm of ice and sh. +10%

Bonus

My heart pounds as their mouths open in unison, their jaws unhinging and hanging oper 07:33 forth streams of bright red blood that cascade like fountains down their chins, staining the fronts of their robes crimson. The scene is grotesque and surreal, an unsettling tableau that sends shivers down my spine. Before I can react, an invisible force yanks me away from the sight, pulling me down the corridor like a puppet on strings.

Finally, I reach the heart of the castle, a vast cavernous chamber that I recognize from a previous dream. At its centre, an enormous heart hangs suspended. But now, the heart that once pulsed with life is blue and still, covered in a layer of frost. I’m drawn to it, my hand reaching out to touch the frozen surface.

Chapter 23: Frozen Fury

The screams return, louder and more piercing than before. They echo from within the heart, a chorus of agony that reverberates through the chamber. The sound builds to a crescendo, and I’m overcome by a sense of suffocating dread. Gradually I can make out words in the screams, a bloodcurdling plea.

“HELP ME! PLEASE, HELP!”

With a start, I awaken from the nightmare, gasping for breath. The room is bathed in the same eerie red moonlight that had pervaded my dreams. My heart races, and I press a hand to my chest, trying to steady my breathing. The vivid images of the nightmare linger, their chilling grip refusing to let go..

I sigh deeply, leaning back on the bed until the screaming rings out again, just outside my bedchamber’s locked doors.

Oh no… there’s someone out there. Someone terrified.

I don’t have a choice.

Whoever… whatever… they are. I have to help them.

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