President's Daughter's Bodyguard-Chapter 122: The First Flame

Chapter 122: The First Flame

The moment the chamber filled with the roar of boots, Danielle knew the brief victory she had carved out was slipping from her hands.

Argash’s men swarmed through the carved stone archways like a tide of armored shadows.

And so, their arrival struck the room with sudden violence.

The Helena women barely had time to react. They raised their hands in shaky defense, but the men didn’t hesitate. They struck them brutally, knocking them to the ground without mercy.

Danielle tried to move toward one of the women, but two men grabbed her arms before she could even finish the thought, and they twisted her wrists until real pain went up her arms.

"Stop! She is the vessel!" Helena cried from the floor, as blood ran from her split lip.

Argash ignored the warning. He limped forward, his thigh still bleeding heavily where Danielle had stabbed him, and his eyes had that thirst for revenge.

"You dare raise your hands against your Lord’s chosen?" he hissed at the injured women. "You disgrace yourselves. All of you deserve the same flame that awaits her."

The Helena women trembled where they knelt. Some covered their faces. Some silently wept. None dared speak against him.

Argash pointed at them with a shaking finger.

"You allowed her to wound me. You failed your sacred duty. I will burn you all when this is done. Every last one."

Danielle felt something inside her change.... She watched the women flinch at his words, and watched the way their shoulders folded in fear, not devotion.

Dani straightened despite the hands restraining her.

"You blame them for your own weakness."

Silence snapped through the air.

"What did you say?"

She stepped forward until the men were forced to drag her back a step.

"You heard me. You call yourself a leader, but you rule by fear. You hurt them every time you open your mouth."

The women stared at her, wide eyed and stunned. No one in this place had ever spoken to Argash like that....not eveb once.

Danielle lifted her chin.

"How long will you endure this?" She asked his men the same question. "How long will you let a coward decide who lives and who dies? Look at what he just promised you. Fire! Death! Punishment!!! For what? For not being strong enough to protect the monster who has been draining your lives for years?"

One of the women gasped softly. Another lowered her gaze, shame creeped over her face.

Argash snarled.

"You dare speak to them as if you understand their purpose?"

"I do not understand their purpose," Danielle’s voice was way louder than before. "Because they deserve better than this. You claim your lord chose them. But where is he? Where is this mighty lord you scream about all day? Why does he need you to speak for him?"

She laughed then.

"You keep saying you are chosen. You keep saying he chose me. You keep saying he demands sacrifices. Then show us. Make him appear. Call him down with your amazing power."

Her words cut through the chamber like a knife.

Even the men holding her seemed unsure for a moment. They exchanged glances, as if she had spoken something too dangerous to even consider.

Danielle pressed harder.

"You claim he owns my destiny. You claim he owns theirs. Then prove it. Or are you just a scared creepy man hiding behind a story?"

A ripple passed through the Helena women. A small, trembling shift. A whispered question echoing behind their eyes.

"You dare challenge my Lord’s divine presence? You dare question the ancient rites?"

"I do...And so should they. Why should they bow to a man who cannot even defend himself from a girl with a knife?"

Gasps filled the room.

"You will not poison them with your rebellious tongue."

Danielle stepped forward, dragging the two men with her.

"Why not? Afraid they might realise you are nothing more than a fraud in a robe? Afraid they might walk away? Or worse, fight back?"

A murmur rose among the Helena women. It vibrated in the air like electricity.

One woman whispered,

"Lord Argash... is she lying?"

Another whispered,

"Why would our lord need so much death?"

Argash’s eyes widened as he realised the change not only by women but some of the men too. He saw the weakening faith and the cracks. And so, he lunged at Danielle in a rage.

"Silence!" he roared.

Before she could react, his hand shot out and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her head back. The shock jolted through her spine as he pulled her forward, forcing her to her knees.

"You insolent little parasite," he whispered into her ear. "You think you can undo centuries of devotion with a single breath? You have no power here."

Danielle winced but refused to look afraid. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"You are terrified of them thinking for themselves," she said through clenched teeth. "You are afraid of the truth."

His hand tightened brutally.

"Enough."

With a sudden violent motion, Argash swung her toward the fire pit. She stumbled and the men holding her dragged her backward before she fell into the flames.

The heat licked at her skin as her hair brushed dangerously close to the sparks.

Argash stepped closer, his eyes glowed with victory.

"She will be the first to burn," he announced to the room. "The first sacrifice. Her death will mend all the fear she has seeded in your hearts."

Danielle looked up at him, and was breathing hard, her chest was rising and falling so aggressively, and this made her forget her senses.

"You will never break me," she hushed, staring at the fire.

Argash grabbed her jaw with a crushing grip and leaned in.

"I do not need to break you...I only need to end you."

His shadow fell over her as the flames danced higher behind him.

And the fate he promised in that moment darkened the chamber like an eclipse.