Brewing Storm - Chapter 164

Versailles woke with an aching body. Recalling the activities she’d performed with her mate, her face flushed beet red. She vigorously shook her head and banished the images and hopped off the bed with an excited spring.

“Now that I’m feeling better, I need to focus on the affairs of the Crimson Palace. As the Queen of the Underworld Palace, I need to fulfill all the duties and responsibilities of a queen.”

Holding the blanket to her chest, Versailles strolled to the rack of robes and her eyes brightened. In the midst of the various robes was the pure white, flower petal dress she got on the ice night of the banquet.

“I’ll wear this!” It was by far her one and most favorite. She had never received any new or clean clothes from her parents in the Sybil realm. So receiving such a beautiful gift from her mate made her feel cherished and loved.

A feeling she never experienced under her parents’ roof.

With bright eyes and a sweet smile, the serpentine proceeded to the washroom.

A while later, garbed in the shimmer petal dress with her flame hair flowing down her back, Versailles leisurely strolled out of the Purple-Radiance Palace to the Crimson Palace.

The path from the Purple-Radiance Palace to the Crimson Palace was serene and quiet, with no servant beasts to be sighted. Versailles remembered Ramose’s words in the banquet hall. The area around the Purple Palace seems to be closed off to the other beasts of the Underworld Palace.

“It seems only the servants that bring in meals and bathwater can enter the Purple Palace.”

But there weren’t so many rules for the Crimson Palace.

“Serpentine Queen!”

“Serpentine Queen!”

As Versailles entered the Crimson Halls of the Crimson Palace, she received the respectful greetings and bows of the servants, who looked at her with strange expressions in their eyes.

Versailles noticed the looks but wasn’t too bothered by them. She had been receiving strange looks and hearing unfounded tales since she entered the Underworld Palace. At this point, none of the beasts’ behaviors bothered her.

She walked through the long crimson halls and curiously took in the scenery. Flame Plants encircled crimson glasses and bright red stones walls to form a magnificent display of beauty and majesty that took her breath away.

Long, jagged edges of crimson towers stretched upwards, looking savage and brutal in their raw display of the Nar realm’s deadly beauty.

There was an interesting fragrance in the air, faint and light, but powerful enough to relax her guard and tense muscles. As the intoxicating scent entered her nostrils, she felt her surroundings blur for a split instant, before righting themselves.

Versailles was so mesmerized by the structure and layout of the Crimson Palace that she lost her way. By the time she returned to her senses, she was in a long, empty hall with only crimson crickets twittering’s for accompany.

“Hold on, where is the Main Hall for the Crimson Palace?” How was she going to find her way out of this crimson maze?

On every side of Versailles were tall walls that looked exactly the same, while in front of her were four identical paths that led to who knew where. She didn’t even know from which of the four paths she came from…

Bewildered and completely at a loss, Versailles dazedly stared at the four paths debating whether to risk it and take one or wait for Ramose to find her.

On an inconspicuous corner of the Crimson Palace.

“Have you accomplished it?” A cold voice emotionlessly asked.

“Don’t worry, Luciana. We did exactly as you instructed. The Serpentine Queen is stranded in the Four Illusionary Roads. Unless one of us goes in to lead her out, she won’t be able to find her way back.” A little beast with cat ears and red pupils excitedly relayed.

“And you didn’t leave any clues behind?”

“No, we were afraid if we did anything too obvious, we’d get implicated. We lighted a Bewildering Incense1 before leading her towards the Four Illusionary Roads. Under its influence, even if she saw our faces, she wouldn’t be able to recognize us. The Bewildering Incense would’ve distorted our appearance.” The little beast confidently declared.

“Good. Here is your reward. If this works successfully, tell everyone that I’ll treat you all to a full course meal.” Throwing a heavy pouch of nectar fruits, Luciana turned and vanished into the shadows of the dark alleys.

Serpentine Queen? Hmph! More like a one day Queen!

A ferocious light flashed in Luciana’s eyes as she lifted her hood and covered her face. Then her frail figure disappeared into the mass of beasts.

Bright-eyed, the cat beast bent on her knees and cuddled the pouch in her arms.

“Heh…Luciana, you paid us to do what we wanted to accomplish. In the future, if we happen to get caught or found out, we’ll be able to use her as a shield.”

“That Luciana is truly deluded. She’s already the mate of the Werewolf King’s right-hand Commander. But it seems she isn’t satisfied.” A shadow appeared from behind the cat beast and stood with clasped hands.

“How will she be satisfied? She has her sight on the Werewolf King. But will the Wolf King be interested in bedding a beast that betrayed her own mate?” Another voice sounded as a limping figure stepped out from the dark.

“Forget about her. Now that the Werewolf King has mated, his self-control won’t be as sturdy and unshakable as before. This is our chance to warm our way into his bed. Once we become his bedwarmers, our status in the Underworld Palace will no longer be the same.”

“At that time…” The three exchanged looks and a cold smirk formed on their lips.

Ramose was in the midst of dismissing his Betas when his heart thumped and dropped. An ominous feeling invaded his senses and he inadvertently pushed out of his seat.

“Light?”

His mate was the only one that could make him feel restless and disoriented.

“King’s Pack, the Serpentine Queen is in danger! I want you to find her whereabouts as soon as possible. Place the entire Crimson Palace on lockdown.” Ramose shouted the orders over his shoulder as he raced out of the Crystalline Palace.

“Yes, Wolf King!” Olsen and the rest immediately got to their feet and race off.

Da**! His mate had only entered the Underworld Palace. How could she be in danger already?

Ramose’s heart was in his throat. If anything happened to his mate…

He ruthlessly shut down the thought. Nothing would happen to her because he wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her!

With a hammering heart and trembling limbs, the Werewolf King dashed towards the Purple-Radiance Palace.

Versailles’s head ached as if a thousand nails had been hammered into her skull.

“What’s going on? Why do I feel so funny?” Her surroundings were spinning, but Versailles vigorously shook her head and tried to focus on the paths in front of her.

She needed to get out of here.

“I’ll never wander these rotten halls without guidance again.” Versailles had no idea which path was which. But she wasn’t the type to sit and wait for rescue.

She closed her eyes and when she reopened them, her violet pupils swirled with a golden light. In her serpentine form, her red-gold hair floated above her head and her golden tail glistened under the crimson glow of the walls and silver-blue light of the moon.

Stretching to her full form, Versailles flung her tail in the first path and slammed hard enough to send tremors throughout the region.

“Not this one.” There was no cry of surprise or shriek of fear even after her powerful slam. She withdrew her tail and faced the second path. Versailles did the same thing, slamming her tail hard enough to make the ground tremble, but there was still no reaction.

“Strange…even if these paths are dead ends, the tremors should’ve been fierce enough to raise alarm. But I sense no one rushing this way…”

The entire situation was starting to feel weird. But it wasn’t the time for her to think about it.

“Whatever this is, as long as I leave this place, it will come out in the open. But the prerequisite is that I leave here…”

Focusing back on the two remaining paths, Versailles flung her golden tail in the dark path and slammed again. But the result was the same as the first two.

A deep frown appeared on her face as her serious gaze focused on the last path.

Things are definitely strange. But what is the issue? I need to know what is going on here to be able to solve the problem. Otherwise, I won’t be able to leave here.

Taking a deep breath, Versailles flung her golden serpentine tail in the last path and slammed with all the force she could muster.

BOOM!

A giant mushroom cloud of dust and debris formed before exploding outward. Versailles felt the ground she was standing on shake and her figure swayed.

But even on the last path, there was no one.

“What is this?” Versailles was truly alarmed now. The paths that should’ve led her back to the Underground Palace seemed to be blocked. But how was that possible? How could all the paths that could lead her outside be blocked?

On the other side, the Werewolf King was frantically searching the Crimson Palace for his mate. But the serpentine was nowhere to be found, again.

“Da**! Where did Light go? I told her to never leave the Crimson Palace without informing me. So how could she leave without saying anything so soon? Betas search every corner of the Crimson Palace. I want to see the Serpentine Queen within half an hour!”

“Wolf King, we searched all the places we could think of. She isn’t anywhere. But aside from the kitchen and bedroom, where else do females like to go?” Olsen helplessly scratched his head.

“We just checked in the kitchen. The Serpentine Queen isn’t there.”

“I think she might be exploring the Underworld Palace.”

“She isn’t anywhere in the Crimson Palace. Are you saying she’s gone outside?” Hugar cautiously probed.

He knew his King wasn’t happy with his mate’s departure from the palace last time. He didn’t want to get himself in trouble by directly making such a statement.

Ramose’s brows tightly knit together.

Did Light really go out of the Crimson Palace without informing him? No matter how impulsive his mate was, Ramose believed that she would never do anything that would hurt him.

And her leaving without informing would really hurt him.

But if she wasn’t in the Crimson Palace, then where was she?

“Alright, we’ll go outside the Crimson Palace and search for her.”

Sighing helplessly, Ramose hurriedly changed into his wolf. At the moment, the only thought on his mind was finding his mate before it was too late.

But just when he was about the cross the threshold of the Crimson Palace, a violent explosion resounded from his back.

“What…what was that sound?” The Betas fearfully asked.

“This…is the ground shaking?”

So, it’s not just me.

Ramose was relieved to see the other wolves looking around in panic. This proved the tremors he sensed weren’t just his imagination. The Underworld Palace was truly trembling.

Light…

“Betas, scatter and find out where the tumors are coming from. I have a feeling the Serpentine Queen might be behind them.”

“As you command, Werewolf King.” The wolves backed away and raced in the direction the vibrations came from. Even if it took them everything they had, they needed to find the Queen soon.

Ramose was about to follow after them when another loud explosion resounded from his side. Though very dull, this last strike seemed to contain all the power and strength contained within the attacker’s heart.

Ramose’s eyes narrowed and he placed a paw on his chest. His erratic heartbeat had calmed. But the urgency to find his mate still remained.

Without hesitation, the werewolf turned and ran towards his left. A dark tunnel appeared before him and he entered without a moment’s delay. His mate was already stupidly trapped somewhere within its depths. Why would he hesitate and waste time?

“Light, hold on a little longer. I’ll find you and bring you out. Hold on and protect yourself.”