Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Princess Letheya din Aedrider carefully entered the medical pavilion in the palace. Several guards followed her, as did one of her brothers, who begged her not to visit the patient.

"You cannot visit him personally! What if he attacks? He's not going to be happy!" Her brother begged. "I know we need him, but he's dangerous. We must tread carefully. Arcadios and Eroa both said as much."

Letheya continued to walk to the medical pavilion with the mission of speaking directly with their guest. Things had changed in the time he had been in and out of consciousness. Because of what they intended to ask, she figured that she should be the one to break the news.

She approached the double doors to the man's room and pushed them open gently. She was able to feel the frustration coming off Lucius, but it was nowhere near as threatening as it had been in the past. Were he not in a weakened state, Letheya was sure that she would have passed out from the pressure of his mana.

"What do you want?" Lucius growled.

"Lord Kane. Please, I have a request, you see my sister…" Letheya explained what had occurred over the last few days.

Ayalla left the palace the same day as the investigation in Stark Academy. She went to her territories in the northern part of the country and then went completely silent. All of the intermediaries they had set up stopped reporting, as did several of their spies.

At the same time, the intermediaries within the palace and Letheya's own territories were found dead by apparent suicide. Everyone feared the worst at the sudden turn of events. A day later, their fears were realized as Ayalla's troops in the north began to mobilize and march in the direction of the palace.

The elven kingdom of Aedrider was now embroiled in a civil war. Its borders had been closed, and citizens from outlying villages and farms had started to flee into the larger cities for protection from the battles.

Letheya's forces and those of the allied nobles and siblings had met Ayalla's and slowed their advance, but reports had started to indicate additional forces gathering near Varris. This would put Letheya's armies in the poor position of fighting a war on two fronts.

Lord Kane sat on his bed, listening intently to her explanation with an expression on his face that was impossible to read. She hoped that what she was getting at was clear, but there was only one way to be sure, and that was to ask him directly.

"So, Lord Kane, I need…"

"I'm not lifting another finger for you damned elves until I get Kalliope back!" Lucius shouted. The sudden yell made Letheya jump and the guards with her instinctively drew their swords. The man known as Desmond Adler put a hand on Lucius's shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

"As I told Desmond, I've done enough. Get me my Kalliope, now. I will watch your kingdom burn before I move another step without her."

Lucius's presence was nowhere near as threatening as before. Yet, for some reason, the look in his eyes forced Letheya to shudder in fear. Though the sheen of his eyes were entrancing, there was something within them that threatened to devour her.

"I understand your concern, Lord Kane… However our plan to fight back relies upon having every strong fighter we can get. That includes you. Our plan also includes using your skills working behind the…"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Princess Letheya din Aedrider. I swear on everything that I am that if you do not assist me in rescuing Kalliope, I will personally end the war for succession right here in this very room."

Never in her life had Letheya felt so afraid. For the first time in her century or so long life, she finally looked death in the face. Not having Lucius on their side immediately put a big hitch in their plans. However, not having him help them at all was infinitely worse. She had no doubt in her mind he would follow through with his less-than-subtle threat.

"Fetch Lady Voltara al Famyn. Tell her that Lord Kane has awoken and wishes to move forward with her plan in Seteste."

One of the guards at the door bowed and exited the room swiftly. The rest of them maintained a firm grip on their weapons and kept them leveled on the half-blood in front of them. No one spoke while they awaited the arrival of the lady. Only the sound of breathing and the occasional shifting armor of Letheya's soldiers broke the silence.

A short while later, Lady al Famyn entered the room, followed by Corva and her two attendants. The human leader of the Wisteria Concord had her typical charming smile on her face. It seemed the awkward air was still not enough to break her impenetrable façade. Or maybe it was more the fact that she expected such a scenario.

In truth, Voltara al Famyn warned Letheya not to broach the subject of joining the war effort. However, she stupidly ignored that advice and tried anyway.

"Princess Letheya, Lords Kane and Adler, as well as Lady Adler. Hello once again." Voltara said with a bow. "I understand you wish to collect on the favor I owe you for helping with the Orichalcum research theft?"

Lucius nodded affirmatively, allowing Lady al Famyn to inform them of her plan. She admitted to having several contacts within the city of Seteste. The plan was to smuggle Lucius in as a fighter. Since he happened to be in a weakened state, there was no need to hide his identity.

Voltara's contacts would happily proclaim his identity and claim that his weakened state was what allowed him to be captured.

They would then put their special armor and equipment onto Lucius which would make them feel secure in their decision to have him as a fighter. Corva also added her expertise to the situation. As someone who was knowledgeable in runes and enchantments, she was able to teach Lucius some of the tricks to escaping from the binds they would place upon him.

"Also, I will be gifting you Snow for the mission. She will sneak into the arena alongside you, but she will do so under the guise of a participant. With her help you should be able to escape with your friend." Corva said with a huge smile and thumbs up.

Though Letheya could not say for sure, Corva's retainer, Snow, almost seemed scared of the prospect of going on this mission…