Skor stared at the ceiling, lying on the hard surface of the marble bed. It was vastly different from the soft mattresses on the wooden beds in the human realm. The very idea of rest gnawed at him; it was a foreign concept he hadn't entertained in decades. He had consumed the mana potion just an hour ago, which Tashi had made in the Vyrmire Forest to save time. Yet, a sharp pain shot through his torso the moment he moved a muscle, prompting the healers to advise him to lie down without much movement. Despite this, he sat up with a grunt.
He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples as he tried to remember what had happened after Arisa's poisoned scythe struck him. Once again, he found himself unable to recall any details. At that moment, the poison had blurred his vision, and he had fallen unconscious soon after.
"Are you healed yet?"
The voice was unmistakable; Skor didn't have to look to know who it was. He looked at his torso; the deep red cut was still not completely healed, but the poison was gone at least.
"Not yet, but this is enough. I can move now, and you have my gratitude."
Tashi walked closer and kept the bowl of warm soup on the bed beside him.
"You can't move. Your wound is still not healed."
"I can't stay on the bed while out there..." Skor said firmly, leaving the implication in the air for her to pick up.
"I know, but you won't be of any help if your body doesn't support you in the first place. You'll just be a burden."
Skor clenched his fists; he knew she was right, but holding back on his duty, not being out there to look for Arisa, only fed him with restlessness, "Very polite way to put it."
Tashi looked at Skor for a while, as if trying to read what thoughts his mind held.
"Don't worry, there are other people who are looking for her."
Tashi smiled to herself, a rare sight to see on her usually calm expression of her face.
"Never seen you so restless before."
Skor looked at Tashi and said with a small smile of his own, "How long have you been here to see that?"
"Makes sense." Tashi agreed.
"All jokes aside, where is Arzoth? Is he the one looking for Arisa? And what about the demon queen?"
Tashi's plain expression showed yet again as she answered steadily, "The queen is expecting Arzoth here. She assumed he'll be here any minute now."
Skor furrowed, "Why would he come here? Should he not look for Arisa first?" A sudden realization hit Skor, his expression turning grim, "Unless he found out about the Empress being here?"
"I don't know the details or why the demon queen is so sure that Arzoth will show up. But if what you say is true, that he might know that Empress Valmira was here, then we have to stay on guard."
Skor said with a grim expression and a thoughtful look on his face,
"Especially when we don't know if Arzoth will stand with his daughter or mother."
Just before the weight of Skor's words could settle in, at that moment, a demon guard walked towards the chamber with purposeful steps, to where Tashi and Skor were; his footsteps were urgent but not rushed. The guard had no expression on his scarred face, having done and seen worse sins in his demonic life, leaving barely any trace of emotions inside. He paused just at the entrance, not daring to step into the same room as the ice dragon and the royal mage.
"The queen demands your presence this instant," the guard conveyed, and once the message was delivered, he considered his job done and walked away. Skor glanced at the door where the guard had been and then at Tashi.
Something was up, and the dragon had a feeling that whatever it was, it wasn't good.
Skor got up abruptly. He didn't have time to feel the lingering pain in his body. The demon queen shouldn't be kept waiting. He has seen the consequences of the very same in the past.
*****
Sarina was in the middle of the grand, darkened room. Her eyes were burning with rage. Her gaze swept over the guards who were assigned to keep an eye on the cell in which Valmira was kept. Her commanding presence was enough to make the lords crumple, let alone these demons. The demon guards were standing with their heads bowed, their fingers trembling, knowing they might have to face the demon queen's wrath.
"How did Arisa get past you?"
The guards stood rigidly, and one brave demon said, "We didn't see her coming in or going out, your highness." his voice trembled.
Sarina said with a deep furrow, "Then how did she manage to help the human queen?!"
The guards were quiet for a long time, testing the demon queen's patience. The same guard spoke yet again, holding each of their lives on his tongue, "A magic circle might be used, your majesty-"
"A demon can't create magic circles on its own. Not even a half bread." She hissed.
The guard flinched at the sharpness of her tone. They could hear not just the words of their demon queen but also the terrifying possibility of death rising in this instant. Sarina's breathing quickened, fueled by her apoplectic rage.
This level of negligence was an insult to her rule. She forced her eyes to shut, taking two long breaths to calm herself, because her anger always messes things up. She reminded herself.
"If her only chance of getting in without notice was a magic circle, then someone was helping her." Sarina thought out loud.
"And who do you suspect, your majesty?" Skor's voice pierced across the room as he walked towards her with Tashi walking beside him. Sarina's eyes snapped to the dragon and mage as they entered. Skor and Tashi stopped before the demon queen and bowed their heads before looking up at the queen.
Sarina turned to face them fully and said, "Someone who could create magic circles."
"Mages and dragons are the only ones who can do that," Tashi said. She didn't show any sign of defensiveness. She was looking at her queen, placing her duty as an advisor to the demon queen above her identity as a mage.
"Tashi and I are the only ones in this palace, your majesty. How can anyone else enter without your notice?" Skor said.
Sarina gritted her teeth and, one last time, glared at the guards and gestured for them to leave. The guards rushed out of the place, half relieved at being alive and half still terrified.
"I am not blaming you both. You have been loyal to the Valkyra clan for years. But I suspect the Primal Sovereigns."
Primal Sovereigns are the dragons that refuse to make a pact with other species. Looking down on them like they are just some pests with mana.
Primal Sovereigns—dragons who refused to have their abilities "sealed" by demonic mages.
While Skor and the dragons seen at the Valkyra castle allow themselves to be tamed or trained by demons, these Sovereigns would view such an alliance as a "pathetic submission".
Dragons like Skor have a Type A system; Primal Sovereign's strength cannot be measured with a system, so they are assumed to follow an unranked system that transcends the known limits of mana capacity.
Skor said, "If that's the case, if they are involved, then-"
"We might have something bigger to deal with than we imagined," Tashi said with a grim expression.
Skor thought for a while and voiced his doubt, "Forgive me, but it still doesn't add up, your highness."
"I know, Primal Sovereigns don't just help anyone out of the goodness of their hearts. They would never meddle with any of the species unless necessary. But if not them, who else could have the power to create magic circles and the ability to mess with the Valkyra clan?"
Just as Sarina finished her words, the demon guard hurried toward the courtroom, his expression a mix of panic and alert. When he opened the massive doors to the room, they heard the rustle and noise of utter panic and commotion outside. The guard, in his haste, forgot to bow, and even announce his arrival.
Tashi was the first one to speak, "You forget the respect for the queen-"
Sarina silenced Tashi with her hand raised. She stared at the guard with a furrow and asked, "What's the news?"
The guard bowed deeply as soon as Tashi reminded him of his lack of courtly etiquette and said, "Forgive me, Your Highness, but... the Primal Sovereigns..."
The silence that followed in the courtroom was deafening. Skor and Tashi tensed simultaneously. The air in the room thickened with anticipation and dread, though no one dared to voice their fears. Was war imminent? Had the Primal Sovereigns decided that the existence of the other species was no longer necessary? Was it...?
Sarina didn't let her thoughts wander any further.
"What about them?" she asked.
The guard replied, his voice trembling, whether from running or fear, or perhaps both.
"They are approaching the castle."
"What?!"