The Crown's Fire - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: The Mark (2)
At Castle Helion, Kingdom of Helion

“Imbecile!!!”

Devon roared as he strangled the neck of the messenger in front of him. Everyone inside the throne hall cringed as they watched their king run amok, venting all his anger to the poor servants around him.

Different shades of crimson splashes all over the floor and walls were not a new sight in Devon’s throne hall. Some bodies of the humans and other creatures whom the Demon King had killed out of rage were still plastered all over the place, and his temperament became even more wroth due to the absence of his favorite mistress.

“Make sure to send more capable spies inside Ebodia Encampment!” Devon roared at them with gritted teeth, his veins bulging out of his skin in fury. He still couldn’t believe that Ezekiel managed to root out all his eyes inside Ebodia. “I want eyes on the Seer of Ebodia at all times!”

“Why are you so worked up like this, My Lord? I thought you trusted her,” Marla, one of his loyal mistresses, taunted as she approached him and caressed his face. “Didn’t you cast a strong spell on her and her brother? So why are you acting like this?”

She then started showering him with kisses and seductively caressed his body. But all Devon could think of at the moment was how much he wanted to infiltrate Ebodia’s encampment and have his hands on his Seer!

Yes, the damn woman was his and not Ebodia’s Seer. He simply lent her to Ezekiel just so she could awaken the Dragon King’s soul and its power inside that damn annoying prince.

Even more, he didn’t like the last report he received about how the prince of Ebodia had his woman sleep inside his tenth. For this reason, he was planning to see her by manifesting himself in one of the spies he planted in Ebodia’s encampment.

“What do you even see in that woman for you to be this obsessed with her?” Marla murmured as she licked his neck.

Devon growled and abruptly held Marla by the neck to stop her. “She’s everything you’re not, so shut your mouth! You’re not even someone who can compare to her, whore!!!”

Marla’s face reddened as she was pushed aside. “Why don’t you just torture and visit her in her subconscious if you would act like this without her?!”

That was true… The spell he cast on Tarah was supposedly powerful enough to grant direct access to her, allowing him to communicate with her directly and even visit her unconscious mind.

However, he already tried it before, but nothing happened. Something was blocking him from doing so… Fortunately, the main purpose of the spell was still working, which meant that Tarah’s brother would receive punishment for every wrong move she would commit against him.

“Call for Sibil and Zoran!!!” he shouted.

In that instant, Sibil and Zoran entered the hall. They were his most powerful warlocks, but Devon only trusted Sibil since he could control him. Zoran was bound to him as well, but surprisingly, he was unable to have full control over the warlock without using the woman he loved against him.

Nevertheless, he was satisfied with Zoran’s performance.

“Zoran, I want you to lead the attack on the northern borders and bring every Ebodian soldier to me alive!” he commanded. “I need more spies inside their camp. If you see any civilians along the way, capture them all!”

“Yes, My Lord,” Zoran answered.

“Sibil, make sure that you perfect the extraction of the dragon’s power in time,” Devon exclaimed. “I want no delays!!!”

Devon scoffed in annoyance. He could only get back his seer once the dragon’s soul was awakened and successfully extracted its great power from Ezekiel.

Zoran made his way out of the throne hall as soon as Devon dismissed him. Outside, he passed by the other warlocks.

“Tsk, he has become worse after his favorite mistress left,” one of the warlocks complained. “But isn’t he the one who sent her away?!”

He indeed noticed that Devon’s favorite mistress, who was always beside him, had been absent for days now. They barely knew anything about the woman. Everything about her was concealed to the point that they didn’t even have an idea about what she looked like since her face was always hidden behind a veil. All he knew was that she was from the fallen kingdom of Zion.

“Where did he send her?” he curiously asked.

“No one knows about it except for Sibil.” one of the warlocks hissed before leaving.

Zoran frowned. Devon didn’t trust him, but because of his power and capabilities, the former gave him important tasks, second only to Sibil. No matter how despicable it was, he still followed the Demon King’s orders. It was not because he already sold his life to Devon and the latter already owned it, but because it was the only way he could protect the woman he loved.

*******

At Rose Palace, Kingdom of Ebodia

“Do you know this mark?” King Stephan murmured beside Queen Dana, who was frowning over the small parchment with a drawing they received from their son Ezekiel.

“It looks familiar. I know that, somehow, I know this mark, but I can’t remember,” Dana murmured. “Ah, this is so frustrating. I’m sure that I’m familiar with this mark.”

The crease on her forehead deepened as she tried to recall it.

“Darling, don’t push yourself too hard,” Stephan told Dana as he gently caressed her shoulders. “Maybe this is nothing but a simple scar on the Seer’s back.”

His wife’s memories about her celestial origins had been slowly fading away with time. It all started when she gave away almost all of her divine powers to seal the dragon souls. By then, she had already reached the stage where she couldn’t even remember some of the more important and powerful spells that involved her divine energy as an angel.

“But I need to recall this one since it involves our new fated Seer,” Dana muttered with her eyes fixated on the mark. “Something is off. She shouldn’t harbor any mark on her body aside from the mark of Ebodia once she ascended. This mark is giving me an ominous feeling…”