Читать книгу Swan Lake. Dragon Empire - Natalie Yacobson - Страница 2

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 fatal words, «but my power will not be here. Everything around me, whether I like it or not, must become dark and terrible. Malice and death will reign here, and I must become their king. I should not listen to human cries, feel their suffering, regret their fate. My fate has prepared such a fate for me, it is as cruel to me as to everyone else, but the more pain in my heart, the stronger the shackles of passion and death, so share this with me, be my queen!»

Diana turned to look into the dark pool of his eyes. Where did man come from in the sinister world of the prince of darkness? The proposal was more like a dream.

«I can’t,» Diana whispered, and at the same moment the gold wedding ring slipped out of her hand.

«Then whatever happens,» he said, and as soon as it fell to the floor and hit the marble slabs, like a broken love, a thunderclap thundered in the distance, and it seemed, in her very heart. The sky above the palace turned dim, turning into a blue hell and bursting with a terrible thunderstorm, bright lightning split the green tall tree even in the darkness, and its fragments caught fire with a burning fire, this ring of lost love wooed the end of the world with the dark horror of hellish, otherworldly life.

Boulders of rocks burst out of the ground, everything groaned and roared, as in a nightmare, everything sobbed and cried for its former beauty and met its new ruthless master with streams of tears.

Waves of silvery radiance ran along the walls and darkened the beauty of the palace, and now – this was the world of stone monsters and bats. The bright face of the palace became the darkness of an eternal, merciless curse. Marble slabs and ornaments became in an instant the gloomy stones of a huge castle – the lair of the king of darkness. His last hope did not come true. Now he was suffering, although the shadow of the cruel ruler had already crept into his heart. He was the master of evil, and nothing could stop him on his difficult and dangerous path in the conquest of the world, but he needed only one of all this nightmare of eternal life, the one and only and therefore even more dear, beloved heart.

The wind rushed into the hall and ruffled her long hair, and the master of evil slowly, as if in a nightmare, extended his hand, white as snow, to her, but he did not order, he begged, and in front of her eyes, as if in reality, an ugly and spiteful face rose red-haired witch whispering:

«You can never be evil.»

«No,» she burst out, «never.»

She looked at the corpse, now everything in it was cold and dead, even the heart that she loved so much.

The eyelids of his beautiful eyes closed forever, and his hair fell to the floor. It was his love for her that ruined him.

Without even casting a glance at the dark figure in front of her, she rushed to him, but the marble face did not feel her last, farewell kiss. At that moment, the lord of darkness looked at her like a snow-white flower that grew in the kingdom of evil, he was in love with a white swan, and she became his curse.

«How could you,» she uttered through crying, but there was no answer in the dead silence, he had nothing to say, in her eyes he was a murderer and a villain, but he was guilty of only one thing, his love.

«You are a killer,» Diana whispered, «you took so many lives in just one night, and in just one moment you destroyed all my dreams.

«You will stay with me,» his eyes flashed with cold dazzling hope, «change your outfit for a black dress of the queen of evil, for a golden crown with a blood-red ruby, human wealth is nothing compared to the fabulous treasures of the world of darkness, you will be beautiful even as a black swan.»

She glanced at the royal crown. Its gold now shone as brightly as all the treasures of the earth could not shine, but now something dark appeared in it, the seeds of dark crimson, like blood, pomegranate shone where the pure tears of diamonds had flowed before, during the life of their love, and in the middle of the crown burned like the flame of hell itself, a fiery red ruby. Nearby lay a lush dress, everything in it was beautiful: jewelry, lace and sleeves that looked like swan feathers, except for one color, black as pitch. Everything foreshadowed her fabulous riches, this night called her to become the queen of darkness, but at the last moment she remembered the distant sunlight, the light of day, there was so much beauty in it, and the darkness was an eternal witchcraft secret. What could overpower good or evil? The rays of a clear dawn still stood before her eyes, and her eyes were blue, like the azure sky during the day, the day did not hide its beauty, and the night kept in her soul that which tormented her all her life.

Diana looked at the royal throne, now even its splendor seemed gloomy and dark, and fear crept into the soul of anyone who saw this room, but, no, she could not become evil, could not forget the light in her life, she was no longer a queen, she was an ordinary girl in love.

«How I wish I could die with him,» she whispered, and another bitter tear rolled from her eyes down her snow-white cheek.

«You must stay with me,» exclaimed the prince of darkness.

«Diana,» he shouted warningly, but she rushed to the dais, grabbed the golden goblet prepared by the red-haired witch, and when her white hands touched the sparkling gold, something inhuman appeared in them, in the union of gold and thin fingers of the beloved of the dark and damned demon.

«Goodbye,» she whispered and quickly raised the goblet to her lips, blood boiled in it, gold flashed like fire around her white hands.

«No,» he shouted, and it was the cry of a mad lover, not the prince of darkness, but he knew what this witchcraft ritual was fraught with.

She took the first sip, and that was enough, her head was spinning, the blood in her veins was boiling and seething, blazing with fire, she dropped the precious goblet from her hands, and the blood from it spread over the marble floor.

He rushed to Diana, but it was not he who hugged her, but death itself.

«No,» he whispered, and a crystal tear ran down the face of the lord of shadows, even he was only able to cry once in his life. He pressed her golden-haired head to him, and the last call of dying love made him pronounce, like an eternal damnation, only one name:

«Diana.»

But she fell to the floor, a crown of golden hair adorned her pale face, she was as dead as his love.

«Goodbye, Diana,» he said, and a cold mask of pain distorted his face, no one will ever read this secret in his eyes, he won’t hear her name, he won’t see the feelings of his heart, no one should ever know that love lived in his heart. evil genius.