Shia took a final sip of the aromatic cup of tea that Lady Edelfina had served. She had never been a tea drinker, but this tea tasted like heaven. It had actually helped quell the headache she had been suffering due to the amount of guiding stones in the Capitol. She reminded herself that she should ask Lady Nanris for the supplier’s contact before she leaves.
Out of all the people in Gaulane, Shia had been so surprised to get an invitation from Edelfina. It was no secret that they do not get along. The way that her beautiful emerald-green eyes flashed sharply at her and the number of times she would twirl her curls violently whenever Shia was around showed the deep animosity that ran between them.
She actually thought that Edelfina would be the first person to laugh at her fate. After all, she was present at the library when she sought Prince Danterion’s help to escape the king. However, this lady from a well known noble house sent out a letter asking for her presen
The world shifted dangerously under Shia’s gaze. Perhaps this served her right. She had been so flustered when she cornered Lady Edelfina earlier that she had failed to determine the actual amount of poison that her own body could handle. The truth was that she had half-wanted to die back there. Lady Edelfina’s proposition seemed reasonable. Death would have been the best route for her. By the gods of Teotroly, she will wed the king in two days! What can she do to stop it if not just die? She and Khailis had already thought of a plan, and although Khailis had assured her that it will work, she was still doubtful. She wanted to see Langrion so badly and tell him that help was on the way. She had tried talking to the king about it, but he was pensive about this and did not give her any answers yet. It looked like he was half-expecting her to propose something indecent, but even out of desperation, she couldn’t bring herself to do so, so she simply walked out of him at
Danterion let Shia sleep for a few minutes before attempting to wake her up again, but it was futile. He couldn’t let anyone know what had happened so far in account of Edelfina, so he could not do anything but to let her lie peacefully on his lap. He looked back at her face and saw that she had grown a little paler and thinner since he had last spoken to her at the library. He could still recall her brave countenance at that time as she said her words: “I will forget your sins if you help me free Langrey and Khailis and expose the truth about the king.” She looked like a person who would never give up on her convictions once she had set up her mind to do it. If she was like Nana in terms of tenacity, who had never wavered to decline the advances of his uncle even after so many years, she would never retract her decision to take revenge against her family’s killer. However, here she was – a girl whom his brother had be
Shia had mixed feelings as she sat by the table for lunch that day. Because of her inability to control herself in front of Lady Edelfina, she had lost not just the whole afternoon to sleep yesterday but had been aggrieved when she remembered that her wedding with the blasted king was quickly inching itself forward. Really, the pressure of fleeing and breaking away from everything was building up inside of her. “Shia, you can’t crack under pressure,” Khailis said, exasperatedly to her early that morning. Khailis had deliberately tried to wake her up before the start of the day by stripping her blankets away, making her feel extremely cold. Although dazed by her actions, she was grateful. Time was running out for them. The sooner she gets out of bed, the better. The morning time flew by swiftly as they entered Mage Silas’ void and practiced wielding swords. A part of the deal that Shia made with the king was that Khailis wasn’t permitted to carry a sword anymo
The room was small, dark, and musty. The stench of vomit and urine also hung heavily in the air. A small window, about the width of two palms, illuminated the place and nothing more. The floor seemed to be covered in hay based on how people’s boots sounded upon them. It seems that there aren’t any chairs, beddings, or even a wash basin in Langrion’s side of the room. Shia’s squinted her eyes. She couldn’t see Langrey directly, but she knew someone was sitting down to the ground in front of her. In an instant, the figure rose, and grabbed the steel bars that had separated them from each other. As Shia’s eyes became more adjusted to the dark, she could see a towering familiar figure. She looked at his face. Despite the lack of sunlight, Shia could see how gaunt his Langrey had become. Beads of sweat were pouring down on the prince’s face, and his hair was messy. She wanted to cry to him and shout his name, but she couldn’t. She needed to do what she has to do.
Langrion picked up the ring Shia had thrown down against the hard floor of his cell. The ring on his fingers felt unusually warm, or was it because Shia had just worn it? He turned it around and saw that it matched his mother’s signet ring in appearance, but that signet ring was hanging securely around his neck. He had carried it with him ever since the day Shia had given it back. Even after spending a night together with Shia, he did not give it back to her because he was waiting at the right time to propose to her, and she knew that Nana’s death wasn’t the right moment. Now, he starred back at the duplicate ring she had tossed to him eagerly. He was perplexed. Where did this ring come from? Also, why did she give it to him? Under the dim lights, Langrey was surprised to see that he could make out the figures in its insignia. Unlike his ring, there was only the figure of a single heron at the left upper corner of the cross. Then by and by, Shia’s words earli
Dawn crept in quickly for Shia. She barely slept as she thought of the things they needed to do today. On the other bed next to her, Khalis, presently acting as her lady-in-waiting, stirred. “Shia, it’s time.” Shia nodded. The plan needed to be executed at a specific hour before the wedding. The help that had been promised to them won’t be available until that time came. If they were too early or too late, the king might be able to sense that they plan to escape and stop them. They didn’t want to risk it. “I’ll check on the void with the mage. You go ahead and get dressed. You need to be present for breakfast and get ready for the wedding ceremony. I’ll be back after breakfast.” Shia nodded. She hoped in her heart that Langrion remembered the codes they had talked about when they were riding at the back of Gavil’s wagon a few weeks before. She also hoped he had enough sense to use the ring to open up a portal. Otherwise, they’d have to proceed
By the time that the great bell of Gaulane chimed twelve times, the preparation for Shia’s wedding had been complete. The servants had donned her into the dress his majesty had picked for her the day before. They had braded her hair upwards, revealing her long, slender neck and had decorated her hair with flowers and jewels of every kind. “Please add more pins to my hair,” Shia requested. “It’s already well secured, my lady.” “It’s alright. I just want to make sure it’ll not fall. Please add more.” Thankfully, the servant had consented to her request. They added more metal pins to her hair. If her hunch was right, she would need them badly today. After the servant finished fixing her hair, Shia tentatively looked at her reflection at the mirror. She looked like an exquisite porcelain doll – a soul less, lifeless caricature of beauty, which perfectly fitted the position of a queen to a vile old king like Caldwell the First. Satisfied, S
Shia’s eyes weren’t deceiving her. The figure descending from the void was Langrion! “Let her go!” He stuck a sword at Sirion’s hand, but just as Sirion had said, human weapons have no effect on him whatsoever. The sword slid from his body, as if his skin was covered with an invisible shield. Although the attack did not hurt Sirion, it helped to loosen his grip on Shia’s ankle, enabling Shia to crawl quickly away from him and stand on her feet. “What a surprise! You’re still alive! You are one lucky insect,” Sirion spat. “Sending an assassin to kill us while we were inside a monster’s stomach weren’t enough! Try harder, brother!” Langrion made another attempt to slice away Sirion’s body, but his sword just grazed smoothly in his stomach. “Insolent fool! Do you think your feeble attempts can beat a god?” Activated by the ash-colored cursed one staying closely by Sirion’s side, the possessed bodies suddenly started to clo