The Crown's Fire - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Devon’s Obsession
The reward had come unexpectedly, and Tarah took it as an advantage to have full access to Devon’s castle whenever she wanted. Although she didn’t have to wear a veil now, she still decided to conceal herself, wearing a cloak with a hood.

She was currently with Devon, walking through the hallways leading to the dungeons. It was then that Marla approached them, and Tarah frowned when she recognized the woman beside her, Asura.

“My Lord.”

“Your Majesty.”

The two women greeted Devon with a curt bow. Tarah could see how Marla’s expression dimmed upon seeing her, while Asura simply bowed her head, unable to look her in the eyes. At that instant, she could already tell that the latter had made another mistake detrimental to her.

Asura used to be more than just an acquaintance to her. In fact, Tarah treated her like a sister. But, their relationship was tested during Devon’s siege three years ago, when Asura rattled her hideout.

Tarah couldn’t blame her for it though, knowing that Asura only did what she could to survive that night. Besides, she already apologized, and Tarah knew it was a genuine one.

“My Lord, she’s not wearing her veil…” Marla remarked with a dark expression.

“There’s no need for that,” Devon answered. He then turned to Tarah and asked, “Would you like to talk to your friend?”

Tarah knew what was being asked of her. Now wasn’t the time for her to drag things on. She needed to go back to the field quickly, and yet, Asura’s expression was making her curious about what she had committed against her this time for her to not be able to look in her eyes.

Smiling, Tarah approached Asura, but she was interrupted by the sudden arrival of one of the dark witches under Sibil’s watch. The new arrival was panting hard as she knelt in front of Devon.

“My Lord, Sibil is asking for your presence!” the witch reported. “He’s badly injured, and the healers are having a hard time attending to him.”

Tarah raised a brow as she smirked. It seemed that Sibil hadn’t informed Devon of how badly he was wounded. Well, she would gladly do it for him then.

“Unfortunately, the prince had cut off his right arm in their previous fight, My Lord,” Tarah informed with a stoic expression. “That was what I witnessed before I followed the prince away from battle as he fought Vulcan for control over his own body.”

“Is that so?” Devon hummed with curiosity. “I will see him now then. You can head on without me, and do what you need to do. I will see you later.”

Devon then left, leaving Tarah alone with the two girls. She composed herself.

“Who would’ve thought that you would still return?” Marla mocked her with her usual scrutinizing gaze. “I had the impression that you won’t come back till your duty is done!”

Tarah ignored Marla and simply grabbed Asura’s hands. She would always do this whenever she saw the latter because it was her way to see through her friend’s past and their kingdom, where Devon had assigned Asura’s father, Laban, as the officer in charge.

Surely, Asura knew why she would always touch her like this… After all, she was the only person who knew about her gifts—not just the fact that she was a Seer, but also her clairvoyant ability to see the past.

Seeing through her friend’s memories, Tarah’s eyes widened as she gasped, “You…”

Tarah saw it all, and what struck her was that Asura had just blurted out about her gift of clairvoyance to a man she didn’t know.

Seeing her reaction, Asura’s face reddened as she quickly apologized, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

“What is going on?!” Marla interrupted from the sidelines.

Reminded of the other person in the scene, Tarah quickly let go of Asura’s hands and turned to Marla. “I didn’t know you were still here, eavesdropping on a reunion between friends.”

“I’m just sorry because I failed to take care of her horse that she asked me to watch,” Marla suddenly replied. Her brows then scrunched up as she pointed out, “I haven’t heard you speaking, whore, so how would she know about it?! You just apologized as soon as she touched you.”

“Because I’m guilty, and I feel bad, Mistress Marla,” Asura weakly explained. “I feel bad that I wasn’t able to keep my promise to her.”

Tarah narrowed her eyes as she approached Marla. This woman shouldn’t have the guts to question whatever it was she was involved with or doing right now.

Leaning closer to Marla, she whispered in her ear, “Would you like me to inform Devon of how you helped me escape before?”

Marla’s face paled, and seeing such a reaction felt very satisfying.

Tarah even glared at her and added, “Will you now give me and my friend the privacy we need then?”

Marla gritted her teeth but didn’t say a word. Instead, she simply turned around and left with her nostrils flaring up.

Watching the woman leave, Tarah let out a sigh of relief.

Just during the summer of this year, she had tried to escape from Devon, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to fight back against him if she remained confined within his walls. Then, once everything was settled, she planned to come back to rescue her little brother.

With this plot in mind, she approached Marla and convinced the woman to help her, knowing how much the latter wanted her gone from Devon’s side.

However, things didn’t go as planned because Marla’s goal was beyond just wanting her out—she wanted Tarah gone for good.

As a result, Tarah had no choice but to let Devon’s men capture her. That was when Devon put the damn Tophet Bloodchain Spell on her.

If Devon ever found out how Marla made a deal with her, the woman would suffer despite Tarah herself being mostly at fault. Compared to her, the object of Devon’s obsession, Marla was nothing.

Despite this, she didn’t mention what Marla did, aware that she could use such information to her advantage. It was an effective defense against Marla, especially whenever the woman spent time bullying her or her little brother.

“I’m sorry…” Asura murmured. “I promise I won’t make the same mistake again. I’ll keep that information from others.”

Sighing, Tarah turned around to face her. “It’s fine, Asura. Don’t think much about it anymore,” she coldly stated. “I understand your situation. And like I said before… I don’t mind what you choose to do to survive. It’s your life, so I won’t hold anything against you…”

Mentally shrugging at her lack of ability to change anything, Tarah went ahead to leave. But before she could take a step, Asura suddenly grabbed her hand and stuffed something into her hand.

“It’s from Luis,” Asura said.

Tarah frowned as she looked at the piece of parchment in her hold.