Chapter 68: The Empty Coffin
Music Note- Please search for ’ash_knight17-Garden of Poison (GOP)’ on Spotify
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The force of the sandstorm was ruthless, swiftly enveloping the surrounding atmosphere around them in a thick veil of haze. The wind roared with enough force to cause the horses to topple over, their riders tumbling to the ground along with them..
Earlier, when Dante had advised Anastasia to use her shawl, she had used the transparent fabric to cover her eyes while draping the remaining length over her face. The wind forcefully pushed her aside, and she instinctively flailed her hands, shouting,
"Prince Dante!"
Anastasia walked forward, hoping not to be separated from the others, but she couldn’t see anything with the swirling sand hindering her vision. She continued to stumble aimlessly, desperately calling the princes’ and princess’s names.
Thankfully, she crossed paths with Prince Dante, who said, "You are walking straight in the direction of the sandstorm. Come this way. Aiden and Emily must be somewhere on the other side."
But as they walked on in the sandstorm, the wind’s velocity increased, and it became increasingly hard for Anastasia to take a step forward as they were walking against the wind, struggling against the formidable gusts. Not a moment later, she shrieked when she felt her body being lifted off the ground.
"Dammit!" Prince Dante cursed, quickly grabbing her wrist, "Don’t let go of my hand!"
But as the seconds passed, their struggle intensified, and slowly, it wasn’t just Anastasia but even Dante who was lifted from the ground, both flying in the air in a swirling, circular motion. Anastasia, who had been trapped within the walls of the palace all these years, had never experienced anything like this before. She had seen a few sandstorms from afar, from the palace, but those tempests never reached the high walls of the kingdom.
Anastasia closed her eyes tightly in fear as she felt her body flying in the air, thrown around at the mercy of the wind. Eventually, as if her body yielded to the natural pull of gravity or the sandstorm abruptly spat them out of its swirling fog, both of them were sent crashing to the ground.