The Crown's Fire - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: The Zion Priests
Tarah immediately hid the parchments that were apparently from Luis inside her magical pouch, planning to read it later. She was inside Devon’s lair at the moment, so she didn’t want to take the risk.

Quickly making her way down the hallway, she was about to take the descending stairs to the dungeon when she almost bumped into a man who was also in a hurry.

“My apologies,” he panted.

“It’s alright,” Tarah simply answered as the man stared at her for a moment. “You seem to be in a hurry, Milord.”

With nothing else to say between them, she gave him a curt bow before quickly walking past him.

She knew him. It was Zoran, one of Devon’s more powerful warlocks. She had also heard about his story from the servants since many of them admired the man.

It didn’t seem like he could recognize her as Devon’s mistress without a veil on her face, which caught her by surprise. He probably wondered who she was.

Shrugging, Tarah continued walking down. She was about halfway through her destination when a familiar dizziness hit her.

She immediately stopped, holding onto the wall for support as another vision suddenly surged through her head. The vision looked a bit blurry, so this time, she closed her eyes to see it better. It still wasn’t clear, but she still recognized Zoran in it.

Gathering her senses, she opened her eyes. “That man…” she murmured with a sigh as she walked down the stairs. “I guess we’ll see each other again in different circumstances.”

With that out of the way, Tarah proceeded to the dungeons. There, she saw Devon’s eunuch, Azza, already waiting for her.

“She’ll be allowed to enter any place in the castle as she pleases,” the eunuch informed the guards. He then moved his palm, creating a small ball of water with her face on it, and handed it to his assistant. “Spread this edict…”

Tarah raised a brow when she saw that. It seemed like Devon truly meant his words this time, giving her more freedom to do what she wanted. Did he truly believe that she would let him make her his Queen then?

She gritted her teeth at the thought. However, she quickly focused on the task at hand to prevent her mind from delving into her deep anger and grudge toward Devon.

“Please follow me, your Ladyship,” Eunuch Azza told her.

Tarah followed, but she still kept her guard up. She knew that the Eunuch Azza was here to spy on her, so she had to be careful in her choice of words when talking to the Priests. Then again, she still had other means to get rid of Azza if she needed to.

As they made their way through the dungeons, she took in the sights around her with full attention. It was her first time coming here ever since Devon held her captive. The demon usually had her either confined in her bedchamber or brought with him during his battles and sieges.

Her lips trembled the moment she stepped foot inside. She could already hear screams and smell the pungent odor of blood around her.

It was horrible. The only consolation she felt right now was knowing that her parents’ demise went way better than those currently suffering under Devon’s captivity. Closing her eyes, she did her best to control the tears that started flowing down her cheeks.

Quickly composing herself, she held herself back as Eunuch Azza led her to a prison block protected by a powerful spell.

“Wear this, so you can enter,” Azza stated as he gave her a long necklace made of braided hair.

Tarah did as she was told, and then the eunuch gestured for her to follow him inside.

“Her Ladyship is here to get some information,” the eunuch started.

Normally, it would not be needed, but she wasn’t wearing a veil at the moment, and the eunuch didn’t exactly give them enough information about her identity.

Tarah bit her inner lip as the head of the priests bowed down to her. She quickly knelt down before him, and it took her all before she could no longer contain her tears from running down her cheeks again.

“I am sorry, Priest Saul,” she murmured with a sob.

“Your Ladyship, King Devon asked me to remind you that you only have a limited time in this dungeon,” Eunuch Azza hissed at her. “Please proceed with what you’re here for.”

Nodding, Priest Saul grabbed her hands. He then gave her a serene smile as he said, “See what you need to see, your Highness… Everything you need is within your reach.”

Tarah’s eyes widened as she wondered if the Priest was aware of her clairvoyant gift. Without wasting time, she asked, “I need to know about the Dragon King Vulcan. Its soul was already awake, but the spirit holding its great power is still dormant for some reason.”

Knowing she had limited time, Tarah quickly channeled her ability, with Priest Saul holding her hand. She looked into his past, making sure to note every important detail she found within it.

“What you need is all inside the Ancient Book of the Dragons,” Saul started before he started talking some more. For some reason, he was speaking in riddles, and Tarah felt like the Priest was intentionally doing so just so he could spend more time with her.

Tarah closed her eyes, and this time, she gripped Saul’s hand tightly due to how there were some visions in his memories that were blurred out to her.

“Please pardon me if you don’t understand some of what I’m saying,” Saul muttered. “It seems that my memories are slipping away from me…”

“What a nuisance.” Azza scoffed from behind. “I don’t know why His Lord is still keeping all of these useless scum in here!”

Abruptly, Tarah opened her eyes and turned to give Azza her sharpest glare. In response, the eunuch could only curse under his breath.

As Devon’s favorite mistress, no one could lay hands on her except for the Demon King. In addition, it was well known that all prisoners from Zion were deliberately kept by him as leverage in exchange for her obedience and complete submission.

“Now that the king is favoring me more and more because of how useful I am… Should I ask him to demote you?” Tarah theoretically asked, making Azza’s face pale. “Tell me, Azza. Should I try my luck and see who Devon will favor more between you and me? Should I tell him how you tried peeking on me during my bath?”

Cornered, Azza quickly knelt on her feet and had his head bowed down to the ground. “Please, Your Ladyship. Forgive me if I offended you.”

“Leave me, then. Even the sound of your breath is distracting me from getting the information I need,” she grunted.

“I’ll be waiting outside the prison cell then,” Azza promptly nodded.

Tara ignored the leaving eunuch as she looked back at Priest Saul. His hair was gray the last time she saw him, but now, it was white. He had aged a lot, it would seem.

“You need to go back to the temple…” Priest Saul said. His grip on her hands then tightened, and Tarah’s lips parted as she saw a vision coming to her.