Swan Lake. Dragon Empire. Natalie Yacobson

>Swan Lake

      Dragon Empire

      Natalie Yacobson

      Translator Natalia Lilienthal

      © Natalie Yacobson, 2021

      © Natalia Lilienthal, translation, 2021

      ISBN 978-5-0053-2083-4

      Created with Ridero smart publishing system

      The secret of my love

      Pandemonium reigned in the palace, people were overtaken by evil spells. The courtiers turned into statues, blinded, turned to stone, someone’s skin was covered with plants, someone’s ice. Nobody understood what was happening to them.

      Diana lunged forward, making her way through the noise and crowd. She alone remained untouched by magic.

      The spirit of evil crept into the palace, and now everything here was in his power. Everything merged in murky darkness, only the insane cries of people doomed to become victims of evil were heard.

      It all happened because of her. She fell in love with two at once. One of them was light, and the other was darkness, but which of them did she love more: the one who was the beautiful prince of her dreams, or the other, gloomy angel. They were all chained together by the secret of witchcraft, and now not only their souls perished, but also the lives of everyone who were at the royal court.

      «Diana,» a dull voice whispered to her, and, as if waking up from some terrible dream, she looked around, but everywhere the same nightmare reigned.

      People fled in different directions, trying to survive, but they could not be saved from their death, as well as from the new ruthless ruler of the world.

      Diana knew one thing, she had to get out of here at any cost to help the one she loved.

      The scarlet velvet curtains flew open in front of her, and she found herself in the dark passage to the throne room. Diana stepped uncertainly forward, to where everything previously belonged to her, but now became the possession of death.

      Everything in the hall seemed to stand still, not a sound, not a step in the deathly silence.

      The golden crown shone on the red velvet of the throne, as if drawn there by the hand of fate itself. Now it meant only one fate for those who wore it – death.

      Diana noticed how a black shadow flashed near the throne, and her eyes were filled with horror, she tried to follow with her eyes the rapid movement of an obscure figure and suddenly met her gaze with a small elevation, he had not been here before.

      She looked closely, and, indeed, there was something that looked like a golden goblet, but what could it mean. Another moment, and Diana cried out in fright, a trickle of blood flowed along the edges of the goblet, and it mingled with the scarlet rivulets flowing from the lips of the young king.

      The royal crown did not become his life, it became his curse, and now he lay on the marble floor, his hair scattered over the cold slabs. How young and beautiful he was, but the embrace of death thickened over him, as over the flame of a loving heart, and his last word was:

      «Diana.»

      She bent over the chilling corpse.

      «No, don’t die,» she whispered, «don’t leave me.»

      A bolt of lightning cut through the darkness around them, before Diana stood the dark figure of a tall and sinister man.

      «You killed him,» burst out from Diana.

      «He had to die,» came the cold answer, «remember, Diana, you were supposed to become my love, we were betrothed to each other by my and your birth where the forces of light met the power of darkness, a distant star said that in my life there will be only one love, and I really fell in love.»

      She knew that the genius of evil, the lord of the night, the ruler of the dark forces, or the devil himself stood before her, but he became so because of her, only she was to blame for everything, but no love could save his heart from falling to the forces evil.

      Darkness could not kill his beauty, but nothing truly beautiful remained in his soul, a pale face, black long clothes, like the dress of a sorcerer – a warlock, but not the prince of her dreams, and only his eyes, yes, it was eyes, expressed so much witchcraft and alluring beauty, how many were not in the whole world. What kind of person stood in front of her? What terrible secret was his heart hiding? Only she knew about it. She alone loved him, although she hated the bloodthirsty spirit of his dark power. She alone was the love of an evil genius, but no one knew about it, it was the secret of her love.

      The queen stood next to the shadow of former love, but this shadow, this genius of darkness was now stronger than ever.

      A malevolent smile shone on his face, but it was the bitter smile of lost love.

      He knew everything, all the secrets of the world and shadows, the earth and the seabed, love and sorrow, but the beauty’s pride ruined him, he was powerless in front of her imperious and sad look. A ruthless killer, an insidious devil, an omnipotent lord of evil, he stood before her, but she was not afraid of him, the only one of all.

      But not only the memory of evil was hidden in him, there was also a moment of light, the only clear moment in his life, he ruled over the world of shadows, but memories ruled over them, and this was their grim victory.

      Now he was a winner, but this did not please him, because he himself was defeated by an earthly beauty.

      Their eyes met for just a moment, but this moment seemed to them an eternity, his dark gaze and the clear eyes of the queen, like a dark union of an angel and a demon. The darkness no longer separated them, nor did the difference between them. Diana resigned herself to the fact that there were two loves in her life: dark and light, insidious and noble, witchcraft and beautiful, and who knew which of them was stronger than the other.

      Diana stood motionless. Nothing mattered anymore: not the corpse lying in front of her, not the torment of the people, not the danger awaiting in the distance. Demon and beauty, oddly enough, were brought together by a feeling above life and death. What a pity that his heart belonged to the darkness. And her soul was torn between a dark angel and another, stronger and lighter love.

      A witch’s wind rushed into the hall and, blowing into her beautiful face, open to his feelings, pulled her blonde hair from her shoulders, but now their hands joined, and no longer the voice of the devil, but the voice of an unhappy lover whispered:

      «Diana.»

      «Diana,» this sound, like the sound of some kind of witchcraft, echoed in her thoughts, and she cursed her name, which became a symbol of love and death for two unfortunate souls, and then a completely different and sad voice of the one who died just a few minutes ago, uttered her name.

      Diana’s eyes opened instantly, and now there was not even a shadow of witchcraft in them, her will was stronger than the deceptions of darkness, and if this night was ready to become the moment of her death, she had to boldly accept her.

      «Rothbert is the king of a dark country, the king of violent power,» she said, trying to drown out the pain with loud words as well as the tears that came to her eyes, «what people could choose you as their ruler, what lonely soul could love the dark heart of the king of evil…»

      «Do you remember, Diana,» he said, «you forgot everything, but I remember the only bright moment in my life, and I will never forget it.»

      «You have become the ruler of darkness, the whole world trembles before your name, there is nothing to hide, you are the cause of the horror that settled here, but why, because of what did you become like that?»

      She waited for an answer, but he only sadly raised his gaze and looked straight into her eyes, enveloped in a sad and unsolved mystery.

      «Because of you,» he said.

      «No,» she turned away, and a tear rolled down her snow-white face.

      «From now on, I will own this country,» were heard his