Chapter 69 

~Valeria ~ Realizing the danger, my first instinct is to throw myself between Raphael and Astaroth, but there’s no time. All I can do is watch, my heart sinking to the pit of my stomach. And I do watch. I see Astaroth’s head suddenly fly off his body before his hand can land a fatal blow on Raphael. “Not my son,” Aldous, the King, says, standing tall, his hand dripping with blood. “Noooo!” Florence screams, running to her father’s decapitated body. The fighting in the ballroom stops, silence reigning. Aldous turns, sensing someone approaching—Dagar, who had only been watching all this time. “Will you give it up, King?” Dagar asks. “Give what up? My people? My Kingdom? No. Never.” “Very well, then face me,” Dagar says. “This was not the plan,” I tell him. “You are a child and do not understand this world. I did not come back after all these years to play nice,” Dagar says. “I accept!” Aldous roars, tearing off his shoulder cape. He strips away the confines of his clothes, revealing the