Comrade 27

Evangeline sat rigidly on the edge of the silk-upholstered divan, staring into the crackling flames of the marble fireplace, but no warmth could penetrate the ice that had formed around her heart.

Sebastian and his knights had departed hours ago, their horses’ hoofbeats thundering into the night as they searched desperately for Marcus and Adrian across the kingdom’s vast territories.

But Evangeline could not simply remain here, helpless and idle.

Her heart felt as though it was being slowly crushed by an invisible vise, her mind torturing her relentlessly with horrifying thoughts of what unspeakable horrors could be befalling her precious boys at this very moment.

They needed her desperately.

And she would not fail them as their mother.

“I shall find them myself,” she whispered fiercely to the empty chamber.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she rose from her seat with newfound determination, grabbed her traveling cloak from the ornate wardrobe, and pulled on her sturdy riding boots.

Her hands trembled slightly with nervous energy, but her maternal resolve was infinitely stronger than her fear.

She knew with absolute certainty that every precious second that passed was another second her innocent sons remained in mortal danger.

Evangeline crept silently down the grand marble staircase, her soft-soled boots making no sound against the polished stone steps.

She stepped carefully through the palace’s main entrance, the cold night air biting sharply at her exposed skin, but she paid no heed to the discomfort.

A royal guard stood at rigid attention by the massive oak doors, his alert eyes immediately focusing on her movement.

“Your Grace, where might you be going at such a late hour?”

She forced her expression into one of serene calm, keeping her voice steady and composed. “I merely require some fresh air to clear my troubled thoughts. The palace feels suffocating tonight.”

The guard hesitated uncertainly before nodding with respectful deference. “Please remain within the palace grounds, Your Grace. We are maintaining the highest level of security.”

Evangeline offered a small, carefully practiced smile before turning away, walking with measured steps toward the moonlit royal gardens.

The moment she was safely out of the guard’s line of sight, she broke into a desperate run.

She had no clear idea where Lady Cordelia had taken her beloved children—but she possessed something far more powerful than ordinary tracking skills.

A mother’s intuition.

Evangeline paused at the edge of the palace gardens, closing her eyes tightly and forcing herself to focus all her maternal instincts.

The scent of damp earth and ancient pine trees filled her nostrils, the crisp night air making her senses feel unnaturally sharp and alert.

Then a subtle but undeniable pull in her very soul.

An invisible thread connecting her to Marcus and Adrian, no matter how far they had been taken.

It was faint, barely more than a whisper in her heart, but it was absolutely real.

Evangeline’s pulse hammered frantically as she followed this mystical connection, moving swiftly through the dense forest that bordered the royal estate.

The maternal pull grew stronger as she ventured deeper into the shadowy woods, her boots crunching softly through the carpet of fallen leaves.

Then, she stopped abruptly.

The invisible trail was leading her eastward—beyond the kingdom’s protected borders, into the dreaded Shadowlands.

Her chest constricted with terror.

No.

She took another hesitant step forward, and suddenly she recognized something else woven into the mystical connection to her sons.

An aura of absolute darkness.

Dark magic.

Evangeline’s blood ran cold as winter.

Lady Cordelia—what exactly was she?

The pieces of this horrifying puzzle suddenly clicked into place with devastating clarity.

Lady Cordelia was not merely a revived princess.

She was something far more sinister. Something infinitely worse.

A creature of dark sorcery.

Half-human. Half-demon.

Evangeline’s stomach twisted painfully with this realization, but she did not hesitate for even a moment.

She pressed onward with fierce determination.

Her sons were somewhere ahead in that accursed darkness, and nothing would prevent her from reaching them.

Entering the Shadowlands, Evangeline moved with careful stealth, keeping to the concealing shadows as she approached the edge of the forbidden territory.

The very air felt colder here, thick with an oppressive atmosphere that seemed to drain hope from the human soul.

She spotted a forbidding stone fortress in the distance, its towering black spires and iron gates standing ominously against the star-filled night sky.

Evangeline slowed her approach, controlling her breathing as she crept closer with utmost caution.

The mystical connection to Marcus and Adrian was strongest here.

They were inside that accursed place.

Her precious boys were trapped within those walls.

Evangeline’s chest ached with overwhelming maternal fear, but she pushed forward with unwavering resolve.

She had to rescue them immediately.

Inside the Fortress, Evangeline discovered a crumbling section in the outer wall, slipping inside the fortress completely undetected.

The interior was dark, ancient, and filled with an eerie silence that seemed to press against her very soul.

She moved carefully through the shadowy corridors, her maternal instincts heightened to supernatural levels, following the invisible thread that connected her to her children.

Then she heard it.

A small, heartbreaking whimper.

Her heart leaped into her throat as she followed the sound, which led her to a massive wooden door reinforced with iron bands.

Evangeline pushed it open with extreme caution, and her breath caught in her throat.

Marcus and Adrian were inside.

The boys were huddled together in the corner of the dimly lit chamber, their small wrists and ankles bound with heavy iron shackles attached to the stone walls.

Adrian’s eyes widened with desperate hope when he saw her, and he released a tiny, broken sob.

“Mama!”

Evangeline rushed forward without thought for her own safety, dropping to her knees beside them. “I am here, my darlings. Mama is here.”

Marcus was trembling violently, his innocent face streaked with tears of terror. “We want to go home, Mama.”

Evangeline’s heart shattered into a thousand pieces, but she forced herself to remain strong for their sake. “I am taking you home right now, my brave boys. Hold perfectly still.”

She reached desperately for their iron restraints, her delicate hands burning at the metal’s cold touch, but she ignored the pain completely.

She had to free them immediately. But before she could, a sharp, explosive pain erupted at the back of her skull.

Her vision blurred instantly, darkness crashing over her consciousness like a devastating wave.

She barely heard Marcus and Adrian screaming her name before everything went completely black.

The last thing she saw was a dark silhouette stepping into the chamber—Lady Cordelia, smiling with wicked satisfaction.

“It took you long enough to arrive, Evangeline.”