DEREK MORRISON CAME BACK FOR REVENGE

Chapter 3

The moment Derek saw the letters in the messenger’s hands, his eyes widened, because he had been waiting for one of them for many years, and although Master Zachariah had never told him the exact day it would arrive, Derek had always known that the old master would eventually send a message telling him to leave the mountain and return to the world below.

He had no idea who had sent the second letter.

Still, he stepped forward and accepted both letters from the messenger, then signed his name on the delivery record while keeping his eyes on the seals. The messenger did not stay to exchange greetings or ask questions, because anyone who traveled to the mountain understood that every extra moment spent there could become dangerous.

The mountain was not a place where ordinary messengers could travel.

Its paths changed after dark, wild animals, and beasts moved through the thick forest, and dangers hid beneath the trees, behind the rocks, and inside the deep fog that often covered the upper slopes. Only messengers chosen for the journey were allowed to come there, and only those who knew the safe path had any hope of returning.

As soon as Derek finished signing, the messenger bowed, turned around, and hurried away without wasting another second.

Derek watched him disappear between the trees before looking down at the two letters again.

One carried Master Zachariah’s seal.

The other carried a purple seal shaped like a crowned war goddess holding a sword.

The moment the four women saw the purple seal, their interest changed. The anger that had filled their faces only moments earlier faded into surprise, and all four of them moved closer to Derek without even realizing it.

They knew that seal, everyone in the country knew it.

The purple mark belonged to the Queen of War and was used by her family’s highest members, especially Patricia West, the War Goddess Princess of the West family. No one used that seal for an ordinary message, and no one received it without a serious reason being behind it.

Derek turned the letter over in his hand, broke the purple wax with his thumb, and unfolded the paper.

The room became quiet.

The four women watched his face as he began to read.

[ Derek,  

As you know, our families made a marriage arrangement between the two of us many years ago. The agreement was signed by both families, sealed with our family marks, and supported by the approval of our elders.  

However, many years have passed, and I have gone far beyond the person I was when this agreement was made. I am now the War Goddess Princess, and I have decided to end this marriage arrangement.  

 From this day forward, you are to stop telling people that we are betrothed. You are not to present yourself as my future husband, and you are not to claim that I am still promised to you. 

 This marriage, this betrothal, and every arrangement connected to it are cancelled from this moment onward.  

Patricia West.]

Derek remained still after he finished reading.

His eyes stayed on the letter, but he no longer seemed to be looking at the words. He had known about the marriage arrangement. Master Zachariah had mentioned it several times over the years, and Derek had understood that his father had agreed to the marriage before his family was destroyed.

Even so, Derek had never expected Patricia to cancel it in such a cold and direct manner.

He had not expected her to send the message after fifteen years, as if the promise between their families had been nothing more than an old paper that could be thrown away when it became inconvenient.

Derek’s fingers tightened around the letter.

His family had once been powerful, respected, and feared, but that family no longer existed. His parents were dead. Every member of his bloodline had been murdered, and the name that had once opened doors now carried no strength because almost everyone believed that the entire family had vanished from the world.

Patricia had become a War Goddess Princess.

He was only the last survivor of a ruined family who had spent fifteen years hidden on a mountain.

There was no need for her to keep a marriage promise with someone who no longer had anything to offer her.

That was what this letter meant.

Derek slowly lowered the paper, and although his face remained calm, a dull ache settled inside his chest when he understood that Patricia no longer considered him relevant.

Before he could say anything, Sophia’s anger exploded.

“Who does that woman think she is?”