The Crown's Fire - Chapter 79

Chapter 79: I Need Your Help
Making her way through the Capital City of Cordon, Tarah eventually found the place Aurelia told her about. It was a small tavern that presumably also had a few private rooms, something that would hopefully suit their needs in this discreet meeting.

Entering the tavern, Tarah didn’t bother looking around before making her way to the reception desk. There wasn’t much time before she would inevitably have to report to Devon, so she had to make every second count. There, she told the lady manning the desk that she was supposed to meet someone.

“A reservation under ‘Medicine Melancholy,’ you say?” the lady asked.

“Yes,” Tarah nodded. “It sounds weird, I know. But that’s exactly what was told to me.”

The reception lady gave her a soft gaze before letting off a shrug. “So it would seem,” she chuckled. “The room is by the far left on the very edge of the hallway.”

Nodding at the lady, Tarah made her way to the meeting room. Knocking on the door twice, she then proceeded to open the door without waiting for Aurelia to answer it for her.

“Took you long enough,” Aurelia scoffed at her from where she sat by the table. “I almost thought you were lost or something.”

“I wasn’t, but thank you for the concern,” Tarah smiled back as she took her seat. “And I see that you’re still as prickly as ever. Also, ‘Medicine Melancholy?’ Really?”

“Thank you for the compliment,” Aurelia smirked. “As for the codeword, I thought you’d appreciate the extra security.”

The seer couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s specific brand of caring. As much as most would think of Aurelia as a cold and aloof woman, her friend still had a heart and her own ways of showing affection.

“Now then, why exactly are we here besides simply dealing with this as a social call?” Aurelia directly asked.

Tarah took a deep breath as she prepared to explain her situation. “Look, I… I need your help…”

Aurelia immediately raised a brow. “Go on?”

“Right… As of the moment, I’m currently disguised as a woman named Tarah. You should call me that for now,” she began. “In addition, I… I need you to trust me on this in the same way that I trust you. My and my brother’s life is hinged on this, so… Can I trust you?”

To her surprise, Aurelia simply scoffed. “Is that all? I suppose I can help. And I trust that I’ll have a further explanation in the near future, am I right?”

“Yes,” Tarah nodded. “I can’t do it now, but I assure you that I’ll tell you everything.”

“Then we are in agreement,” her friend nodded before giving her a faint smile. “Just tell me what needs to be done and I’ll see what I can do.”

At that, Tarah beamed as she smiled at her precious friend. Thankfully, this part of the plan went off without a hitch. However, there was still one more thing she had to do today.

“Thank you, Aurelia,” she sincerely thanked her friend. “Also, I might have to leave shortly.”

“Have something to attend to?”

Tarah blinked as she nodded. “I… Yes. I have to see someone and reassure him that nothing is going wrong,” she explained. “I hopefully won’t be long though. You can wait for me here.”

“If you say so,” her friend shrugged. “Still, do be careful. I don’t want to have to nurse you back to health again, alright?”

“Thank you…”

Giving her friend another grateful nod, Tarah stood up and mentally called for Devon. Like last time, a black portal appeared in the room, and she promptly stepped into it leaving Aurelia on her own for now. Before she knew it, she was back inside her bedchamber at Helion Castle, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

“You’ve returned,” Devon greeted her dispassionately. “Hopefully you bring better news.”

Tarah gritted her teeth. “Unfortunately, I’ve come to inform you that the merging process between Ezekiel and the dragon’s spirits is still ongoing, My Lord,” she explained. “Again, I promise to deliver him to you when the time is right.”

“Is that so…” Devon grumbled. “Come here.”

Tarah bit her lip as she walked up to the demon king. Before she could even prepare herself, she felt his hands run across her skin, his palms sliding underneath her clothes as he addressed her.

“I’m getting impatient,” he whispered into her ear. “When exactly will you deliver him to me?”

The seer did her best to remain calm as she replied. “If you wish, I can show you when it will take place.”

“Show me then.”

Their skin already in contact with one another, Tarah simply willed the vision she needed to show itself to him. The visage of her delivering Ezekiel to him the day after the prince’s coronation as the new king of Ebodia then appeared, and it seemingly pacified the Demon King.

“That’s near then,” Devon smirked. “Very well. Proceed with the plans for now.”

“As you wish, My Lord,” she coolly replied, inwardly doing her best to stop herself from throwing up from his ministrations. “In addition, I suggest that you pull back your armies for now to avoid wasting them. You can always attack once more once you have the power of the dragon.”

“I’ll take that into consideration,” the demon king cackled, his hands still on her as he enjoyed her presence. Tarah also strategically shared important information about Ezekiel’s heritage, anticipating its imminent revelation, to prevent Devon from growing suspicious during her absence.

“Interesting… Anything else?”

“That is all…” Tarah replied, hoping that his constant groping would finally end. “May I be excused, my lord?”

“Huh? Do you think you can get away that easily?” Devon laughed. “There’s no way that you think I’ll let you go just because you told me exactly what I wanted to hear.”

She did her best not to scream, her thoughts moving rapidly to avoid thinking about just how much she wanted to get away from the man. No, she didn’t want to hurt Levi because of this. She would endure, and she would eventually escape once everything fell into place.