Chapter 98
The Crown's Entrapment
âDark magic,â Xenia heard Lurio whisper out. In an instant, the wizard quickly cast a spell at the man, and she could only blink as the serpent tattoo on his back suddenly came to life.
âRelease him, donât go near him,â Lurio instructed.
Heeding the wizardâs instructions, Gideon released the man while he and Bartos kept their distance. In one quick motion, Lurio then made another spell; a round sphere materializing around the man to trap him.
âHah! Is this a joke?!â
The man laughed maniacally as his body wriggled, his head coming down as he laid motionless for a split second. Just as quickly, he then raised his head, his eyes now fully black as he smiled. Even his lips had turned black as he cackled menacingly, the tattoo on his back having already disappeared as a chill shot through Xeniaâs bones. The atmosphere inside the tent became dark and eerie, a telltale sign of Dark magic being employed.
This wasnât the first time Xenia had encountered black sorcery, but this one felt very different for some reason. It was powerful, and she could just tell that nothing good could ever come off such a thing. Turning to Lurio, she could already see the beads of sweat forming on his forehead, the difficulty of the task in front of him starting to become too much as he wrangled against the dark power.
âTell me your answer, Prince Ezekiel. I donât have all day to wait for your decision,â the man spoke with a deep and loud voice, a drastically different tone from before his eyes turned black. âSurrender now.â
âItâs King Devonâ¦â Lurio whispered out. âThis man is just acting as his medium now.â
Shaking his head, Ezekiel gritted his teeth as he tersely replied, âWhy bother to ask, demon? You already know what our answer will be. Ebodia will never fall in the hands of a demon! Nor will our people succumb to evil! We would rather die and go to heaven than be subjected to your evil deeds!â
Receiving the princeâs reply, the man shook his head with a grin. âI seeâ¦â He then stood up and moved as his eyes searched inside the tent. His gaze in particular darted towards Xenia and Tarah.
âHmmm, a seerâ¦â he drawled out, pointing the fact out with a long and heavy tone as he sneered at Tarah.
He then shifted his gaze back to Ezekiel and mocked, âI see now why youâre so confident. I just had Beirut killed, but youâve already found Beirutâs successor.â The man scoffed, âVery well. I will surely take her with me. It would be such a waste to kill such a beautiful young maiden of a seer⦠Make sure you keep her safe because I will soon come to take her away from youâ¦â
âWhat can we do? We have to end this man now,â Xenia whispered to Lurio. âWeâve heard enough of his blabbering already. Thereâs no point in keeping this devil alive.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Looking at Ezekiel, her brother was still disoriented due to Tarahâs appearance, and Xenia could only sigh at the humor of the situation before her. Why was nobody doing anything? If only she had her sword with her⦠She wouldâve already decapitated the spy before he could speak further.
Clicking her tongue, Xenia turned her gaze to Atlas and was even about to speak when her body suddenly froze at the sharp stare the spy was giving to her. Turning around, their eyes met, and she swore as her body shuddered in nervousness.
âAhhh, another remarkable beauty. I presume sheâs Princess Xenia?â the spy maliciously uttered as he seemingly inhaled her scent. âThose forest green eyes are so lovely.â
He opened his eyes, his lips curling up as he pointed out, âAh, youâre still unmarked and unclaimed, even. Would you prefer my mark then, Princess?â
He gloated, âHah! You better convince your brother and parents to surrender now, dear Princess. Iâm willing to make you my Queen, though in exchange, Iâll bury my fangs right into your neck and mark you till you scream my name in ecs-.â
âYou! I should kill you where you stand!â Darius grunted as he tried to strike the spy down. However, the barrier prevented him from ever reaching the spy.
âRemove this barrier at once!â Darius barked out in rage. âIâll crush this demon into pieces!â
The man laughed out loud at the ensuing chaos. It was a mocking laugh as he set his eyes on Xenia. âAh, isnât this exciting? The Werewolf King going amok and all that⦠Are you scared that Iâll steal your future bride? Well, you should be, because now that Iâve laid my eyes on her⦠Hmm⦠Iâve got a mind in wanting her.â
The spy then looked back to Ezekiel and stated, âHow about this, Iâll retreat and cease this war against Ebodia. In exchange, youâll give me this beautiful sister of yours as my wife. I will have Princess Xenia, and I will no longer attack Ebodia. Isnât it a fair trade?â
Xeniaâs body trembled as her eyes met the spyâs, his black eyes looking at her intently. With a wide smile and a devilish grin, she had never felt that scared in her life.
But before she could even blink or even tear her gaze away from the spy, Darius was already attacking the man right before her eyes. In one swift motion, he cracked the barrier, his hand already holding up the manâs neck in one swift motion.
Growling, Dariusâs veins were popping out all over his arms and neck, a testament to the amount of force that he was currently exuding.
Already, his human hands were slowly changing into his wolfman form, his claws elongating the longer he held the man aloft.
âYou will meet death before you can even touch a single hair on my mate! I will send you directly back to hell, you demon!â he yelled with gritted teeth, his eyes flaming with red-hot carnage.
âHah! Go ahead! See if thatâll-â
Before the spy could finish his sentence, Darius had already thrown the manâs body to the ground, his feet stomping onto his head and crushing his skull in one blow.
âCome hell or high water, Iâll crush you under my boot,â Darius firmly declared, grinding his heel on the dead spyâs liquified brains in disdain. âSend as many as you like. Theyâll all fall just as you will when I get my hands on you.â