The Phoinix: Age of Demigods (53 page)

She loved him even more for his never
wavering faith in her. Bre shook her head and mumbled, “Stubborn,
stubborn man,” under her breath. Bre touched the side of Eoghan’s
face and unfroze him from the spell. She quickly untied his hands
and knelt down in front of him so she could entwine her fingers
with his.

“
Marry me,” Eoghan
whispered in her ear.

“
No,” Bre chuckled and
pushed her hair out of her eyes, “Die with me.”

Eoghan flashed his usual prize-winning
grin as he said, “Gladly, Brat.”

The blue light faded and
the sword Elpis drew back to kill Eoghan pierced both
of
their chests. Neither
cried out in pain
. They
firmly grasped each other’s hands and stared in
each other’s eyes, welcoming the lull of death.

Cries from the men rushing to stop
Elpis were a distant sound as The Power built up in both Bre’s and
Eoghan’s chests.

Elpis smiled gloriously
thinking she won both powers because of “foolish” love. However,
she quickly discovered their hearts
were
not all she pierced. White
light blazed out from the wolf
pendant
around Bre’s neck. The sword
stabbed the smallest edge of the necklace before plunging into
Bre’s chest, but it was enough to cause a massive surge of
power.

The light quickly consumed
the entire pass
,
and the screams of Elpis shook the earth miles away. The
screams of her defeat
were
the song of victory in the heavens.

When the light subsided,
Breanna, Eoghan, the animals, Elpis, and the bodies of the dead
vanished. It
was
as if there had never been a battle. All that remained was
the wolf
pendant with jagged cut on the
back of one of the wolves
and
Elpis’
sword
,
with
a red string wrapped around the blade.

Brian, Lysandros and Cailean ran over
to the where Bre and Eoghan had been. Brian picked up the sword and
examined the weapon. The handle burned his palm. He ripped a piece
of his shirt to wrap around the handle in order to hold
it.

“We failed her. Elpis won
and vanished with Breanna’s power. How are we going to stop her
now?” Lysandros
squatted
down
,
on the verge of tears. “I promised her mother I
would protect her.”

Brian
,
still examining the
sword
,
said,
“Elpis does not have Bre’s half of The Power. It is here on the
sword.”

“Maybe they survived
that…whatever that was. Maybe they were transported somewhere,”
Cailean added
,
flustered, grief starting to set in.

Brian patted his brother
on the back to console him. “No, Cail
.
Without The Power in their bodies,
they would not be able to survive such a surge. Breanna and Eoghan
are physically dead, but that does not mean
this
is the last time we will see
them. Elpis, however, is another story. There are too many gold
eagles here. She may have escaped a true death again, although, I
have a feeling that she will not be an issue right
away.”

“What do you mean by
physically dead?” Cailean asked
,
hopeful
.

Brian smiled and plunged the sword
into the ground. The Power spread from the sword and into the
earth, casting a red hue throughout the land.

“
She will rise
again
,
because
the prophecy has not been completed,” Brian gave a light-hearted
chuckle.

Brian helped Lysandros up
and swung his arms around Cailean’s and Lysandros’ necks as they
limped out of the pass. “This is not the end,
boys
.
Let’s be
prepared for the next time, huh?” Brian laughed loudly.

The sounds of Brian’s laughter echoed
through the caves as if they celebrated with him.

Chapter 40

New Beginnings

I
n the year 527 A.D
.,
a
nobleman’s
second son and a princess slept warm in their
beds. A reoccurring nightmare plagued them on the nights of the
Blood-Moon, always the same burning white light.
They felt
the pressure
of someone squeezing their hands and a slight burning throb in
their chests.

The windows blew open and
glass shattered in their rooms
,
but they did not wake from their slumber. White
light consumed the room as the two fifteen
-
year
-
olds tossed and turned. A red burn
mark appeared on their chests over their hearts.

The
nobleman’s
son gritted his teeth and
gripped the sheets of his bed, bearing the pain as a true warrior
would…silently.

The burn mark singed his
shirt as it glowed brighter. The boy gasped for air as his
lungs
burned
from
the inside
,
filling with ash. When the light vanished from his room, the
boy shot up in bed, sweat dripping from his
forehead
, and screamed
, “Breanna!”

The princess could not
hide her pain as the
nobleman’s
son could. She cried out with tears streaming
down her face. She tore at her nightgown
,
pressing a hand against the burn
mark. As the room grew hotter from the white light, the princess’
breathing stopped and she fell limp on the bed.

Suddenly, she rose from
her bed and walked over the broken glass to the windowsill, leaving
a trail of blood footprints. Her eyes flung open
,
revealing silver irises with
flecks of green.

In a low raspy voice, the young
princess repeated, “Two halves of the whole will reinstall as
Regina to all. The death of one will burn into another.”

Her lungs once again
filled with air and her eyes returned to her
normal
,
brilliant
hazel. The princess collapsed on the floor,
stared
out her open window at a full
crimson moon and breathed one word, “Eoghan.”

The howl of wolves was the last sound
she heard before she passed out.

Three men sat around a
fire
,
laughing
and joking until they heard the wolves’ lamenting howl in the
forest behind them.

The eldest of the
men
,
named
Brian
,
smiled up
at the Blood-Moon and said, “And so it begins...again.”

You can discover new
stories about the characters you already know, and some you
don’t,

by visiting the following
links:

www.slmancuso.com

www.facebook.com/slmancuso1

www.twitter.com/SL_Mancuso

Thank you so much for
reading!

Much love,

-S. L. Mancuso

Coming Soon

The Phoinix

The Light of
Albion

No one could navigate
Camelot Castle better than Breanna. She would occasionally use
secret tunnels to avoid her teachers or spy on people. Mainly, she
would use them to sneak out to the stables and enjoy a night run on
her favorite horse, Whisper,
the
fastest in the kingdom. Whisper was a white
stallion with
a
black mane and tail, larger and stronger than any other
horse. Few people were able to ride him without being tossed from
the saddle.

Cailean and Bre
snuck
through the
tunnels so they could get a good look at the future knights of
Camelot. Cailean did not need to sneak about
,
spying on the new recruits, but he
enjoyed the frivolousness and thrill of possibly being
caught
and
told
off by Brian. Breanna brought out the child in his
heart.

The new knights were all
around Breanna’s age
:
if not eighteen
,
no more than two years older. This new group was the largest
Breanna had seen. Normally, only two or three in a group gathered
in the hall, but today, six men arrived. All
of
the recruits
were
over six feet tall,
and
some were
clean-shaven
while
others sported a scruffier look. They either had brown or
hazel eyes
;
Bre
fancied the hazel. However, one recruit with piercing blue eyes
caught Breanna off guard.

The handsome recruit was at least 6’2
with well-toned muscles. Even though Cailean and Breanna were
hidden in the secret passage, peering through peepholes in the
wall, the man looked straight in their direction and smiled. Bre
automatically responded with a flirtatious smile, but she was sure
he could not appreciate it from her hideaway.

Cailean stumbled backwards
in shock after noticing the
instinctive
flirtation.
Cailean placed a hand over his
mouth
,
mumbling,
“It couldn’t be.”

Before Bre could ask what was wrong,
Cailean grabbed her arm and sprinted down the
passageway.

“What’s the rush, Cail?”
Bre asked
,
barely
able to keep up.

“We
have
to find Brian!” excitement
filled Cailean’s voice. His hand tightened around Bre’s
wrist
,
making it
impossible to shake him
loose
, even if she tried.

The two busted through the
passage door and found themselves
in
the hall where the future knights
waited patiently. Cailean and Bre skidded to a halt when they
realized where they were. Bre’s heels were more slippery than
Cailean’s boots, causing her to slide past Cailean and into one of
the recruits. The man was so large and muscular that when Bre
slammed into him it was like running full force into a wall. The
man would not have noticed if it were not for the small
squeal
she
made
when she hit the ground.

The room erupted into
laughter as Bre sat on the floor looking up at the man, dumbfounded
at his size. The giant recruit peered over his shoulder and then
whipped around, apologizing as if it were his fault she hit him. He
started to bend over
to
yank Breanna up but slightly jerked
back
,
thinking
twice about touching her
, staring
at his hands accusingly.

Cailean tried to hide his chuckling,
but when Bre cracked a smile, he burst out laughing.

Still giggling, Bre raised
her hands up towards Cailean, “Oh
,
shush and help me up.”

Cailean wiped away a tear and stepped
towards the princess to help. Before he reached her, the man with
striking blue eyes and handsome scruff picked Bre up with a firm
grip around her waist. “Are you alright, Ma’am?” he asked with a
dashing smile that made Bre blush.

Bre was
cut off
before she could
respond.

“That would be Your Majesty, not
Ma’am,” an authoritative voice corrected the man.

Bre grimaced as she turned around to
find Brian looming in the door, shaking his head disapprovingly at
her and Cailean. Brian bowed his head slightly in Breanna’s
direction, “Princess Breanna.” Brian gave her half a smile and
shook his head as if saying “only you.”

Relieved he did not
scold
her, Breanna
chuckled and wiped dirt off her hands
.
“Hello, Sir Brian! This nice
gentleman kindly broke my stride.” She smiled sweetly up at the man
she hit.

“The name is Percival, Your Majesty,”
Percival turned red from embarrassment.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Percival,”
Breanna curtsied to the recruit, who was turning redder by the
minute.

“Why don’t you get ready for the feast
while we contend with the recruits?” advised Brian with more of a
‘do as I say’ tone.

“It was a pleasure
watching you fall, Your Majesty. Maybe next time it will be me who
you fall for,” another handsome recruit walked over to Bre and
kissed her hand. He had bright hazel eyes and wavy brown hair that
swept just below his ears. His voice
was
smooth and
soothing
, and he had
a smile that could make any girl swoon.

“Easy, Gawain,” Brian warned the
future knight, raising an eyebrow.

Brian put a hand on Gawain’s shoulder
to let him know Breanna is protected at all times.