THE DEVIL'S BRIDE
Episode 13: Ashes Don't Beg
By Rapwizzy Debaron
The realm was quiet.
Too quiet.
The aftermath of war left ruins and corpses — but Evelyn didn't cry.
She stood over Caleb's grave, wrapped in the same flames that once bound her to love.
Lucien kept his distance. He'd seen that look before.
It was the same one he wore when he lost his kingdom.
Cold. Unforgiving. Ready.
---
The castle healer approached Evelyn.
"You need rest."
"No," she said, eyes locked on the horizon. "I need power."
---
Later, in the Hall of Whispers, Evelyn entered the forbidden chamber — one even Lucien refused to speak of.
At the center stood the Mirror of Souls, sealed for centuries.
Lucien found her standing before it, barefoot, trembling.
"Open it," she said.
"It feeds on blood," he warned. "And it doesn't show truths. Only possibilities."
She stepped closer. "Good. I want to know what I'm capable of."
He hesitated. Then sliced his palm.
The mirror cracked open, breathing out ancient fog.
Within it, Evelyn saw herself — not as a bride, not as a pawn… but as a queen.
Crowned in flame.
Her enemies bowing.
Seraphina broken.
Lucien at her side — by choice, not by fate.
But then the vision twisted.
In that same future… Evelyn stood alone. Her eyes pitch black.
And around her?
Ash.
Everyone gone.
Even Lucien.
---
She collapsed, choking on the weight of what she saw.
Lucien knelt beside her. "That's one path. But it's not your only one."
"I don't care," she whispered. "She took everything from me."
Lucien touched her face. "Then let's take everything back."
---
Far away, in the ruins of the Gate...
Seraphina watched through the flames.
"She's waking up," she murmured to a hooded figure beside her.
The figure didn't speak — just placed a burning crown in her hands.
"The Devil's Bride is no longer mourning," Seraphina smiled.
"She's becoming what I always feared."
---
To be continued…
Evelyn has seen her destiny — and its price.
Seraphina prepares her final trap.
And the path to the throne is now bathed in fire.
Vote if you're burning for Evelyn's rise.
Comment: Should she take the crown, no matter the cost?
Follow @RapwizzyDebaron — Episode 14 unlocks a betrayal within the castle… and Evelyn's first blood oath.