The palace of the royals reeked of blood and roses. In the grand hall, velvet curtains masked the stench of suffering, and servants moved with broken eyes and bloodied hands. Screams echoed from the lower wings where the queen's punishments were carried out in secret.
Queen Lorelei stood atop the staircase, her siren song drifting through the room like a poison perfume. Beneath her feet, a slave twitched, freshly whipped and discarded like trash. King Kristoff lounged on his obsidian throne, watching with disinterest as another servant was dragged away, her sobs barely audible beneath the sounds of booted heels and burning incense.
"Where is she?" Kristoff growled, his voice cracking with rage.
"We don't know," hissed Lorelei. "The spell should have pulled her here. Something interfered. A divine presence."
They'd tried to kidnap the goddess, to chain her in the dungeons and drain her magic, but she vanished mid ritual. A blast of divine energy knocked three guards unconscious. Now, the palace was seething.
The queen clapped her hands. A shimmering projection appeared...FaeNet, their precious social media web. With a flick of her fingers, a slanderous post went viral.
👤@TheQueen (verified)
"WARNING: Dangerous Goddess on the Loose. Threat to the Crown. Known for seducing powerful males. She must be stopped."
The comments exploded, some hateful, some skeptical. But amidst the bile, support grew. Whispers of rebellion brewed in real time. The people had seen the ritual. They knew.
Later that night, deep beneath the palace, Lorelei and Kristoff descended into the catacombs. Torches lit the circle of shadows, their most vile loyalists gathered.
The Bone Seer. The Twin Butchers. The Shifter Collector. The Mirror Witch.
They bowed.
"She's not hiding," Kristoff spat. "She was stolen. We need a new plan."
"We need blood," Lorelei purred, her nails dragging across a silver blade. "And we start with her allies."
At her command, guards seized Princess Gailia. She screamed as they dragged her down. The court watched with cold eyes.
"The game begins again," the queen whispered.
And the basement echoed with laughter and screams.