The Crown's Entrapment

As much as Xenia didn't want to lose in the apparent battle of intense eye contact with Darius, she had no choice but to be the first to look away. She simply couldn't last against his blazing gaze. It was like he was devouring her with those predatory eyes of his.

Already, she could see the tainted blood staining the armor and weapons of their men. It had been a bloody fight it seemed, with their rage burning in their hearts to avenge their well-respected Seer.

Almost instantly, their mages and healers quickly approached them to attend to the wounded.

Darius also had dried blood on him, but he still wore his armor despite it, indicating that he fought in his human form even though she could also see dried blood on his arms and hands… He probably also used his sharp claws, seeing as she remembered how Darius would use his claws even though he was still in his human form.

"Hmmm… We're fine, Sister, so stop doing a vague assessment with just your eyes," Ezekiel teased her.

Hearing her brother, Xenia promptly ignored him as her eyes darted back towards Darius, making sure to assess him from head to toe in an effort to look for any injuries. She then heaved out a sigh of relief after making sure that both Darius and her brother were indeed fine and free of injuries.

It was only then that she dragged her gaze onto others, her eyes widening upon seeing a familiar figure that was helping their healers in attending to the wounded.

"Tarah?!" she called out, even blinking just to make sure she saw her clearly.

After a few moments of making sure that what she was seeing was correct, her lips instantly curled up, Tarah also smiling back at her as they met each other's gaze. Burning with excitement, Xenia immediately rushed towards Tarah, sharing a hug with the healer as they both greeted one another.

"You just left without even saying a word," she murmured as she broke the hug, a smile still on her face as she faced the healer.

"I had to, Princess. I know we'll meet again soon anyway," Tarah replied with a pleased and knowing smile.

"Oh right, you're a seer!" Xenia unknowingly blurted out loudly, her eyes widening as she covered her mouth. She had almost forgotten that Tarah was like Beirut for a second there.

"You know she's a Seer?" her brother Ezekiel interrupted, making Xenia nod in confirmation. Giving Tarah a passing glance, he then turned back to her and asked in his low tone, "How's the burial?"

"Wizard Lurio arranged for the Master's ashes to be safely stored. We also built a tent for it so that anyone can visit and pay their respect while the war is still ongoing," Xenia reported.

"We'll return with his ashes back to our kingdom once all of this is over." She then asked, "What's with all the civilians?"

Ezekiel nodded at the princess's words. Looking back at the captives they freed from Helion's camp, he let out a sigh as he gave out his own report. "They're the captives we freed from the enemy camp," he explained.

"And while I'd want them to stay and recuperate with freedom, I simply cannot take the risk of letting them stay for too long. Helion is too cunning, so I instructed Atlas to gather all the captives we brought in all into one place. We'll have them properly treated and taken care of, all while being supervised and tightly guarded by our soldiers. The risk of having a spy inside our encampment is simply too high…" Ezekiel hung his words, his eyes dragging towards Tarah's suspicious presence.

"For what it's worth, I understand your sentiments, milord," Tarah replied with a knowing look.

Ezekiel let out another sigh before he instructed everyone that went with him in the battle to rest. Meanwhile, those that didn't join the ambush were ordered to attend to the captives and do what was needed for their comfortable stay.

Once all was said and done, the prince then asked Jayra to help Tarah get settled. However…

"I would like to help tend to the wounded, Your Highness," Tarah politely requested.

Hearing her request, Ezekiel nodded in agreement. All help was appreciated, and it was only fortunate to have more healers, even if they were a tad suspicious than most people.

As soon as Tarah left, Ezekiel turned to Jayra and said, "Look after her, Jayra. We're not sure if she can be fully trusted.

"I understand, Your Highness," Jayra quickly replied, immediately moving to follow the suspicious healer into the fray of the wounded.

After seeing to his suspicions, Ezekiel then looked at Xenia and Darius and said, "I will need to speak to the two of you."

Xenia simply followed as her brother walked forward, leading them towards his tent as her and Darius followed him from behind.

"How are you feeling?" Darius asked her. He had a blank expression on his face, making Xenia wonder what exactly was going on inside his head.

"I'm feeling better. Thank you," she whispered out in reply.

Somehow, the matter of her new arrangements popped up inside her head. After Ezekiel had talked to them, she planned to inform Darius about her moving to another tent. How would he react?. Did she even want to know what kind of reaction he'd show her?

After a few moments of walking, they were finally inside Ezekiel's tent, the latter promptly turning to face them as he spoke with his eyes trained solely on her.

"I'm only doing this as a precautionary measure, but you practically didn't know anything about Tarah except for the fact that she's a healer and a seer, right?" Ezekiel began. "If so, then you shouldn't put your guard down around her. Make sure you carefully watch her every move. She'll be your responsibility from now on."

Darius raised an eyebrow at the prince's words, an obvious question was being left unasked, judging by the look on his face.

"Are you doubting her?" Xenia inquired. Tarah seemed to be a good person, and she honestly liked her.

"She has ice blue eyes," Ezekiel murmured.

"But she doesn't have silver white hair," Xenia countered. "I thought those two traits should come hand in hand?"

She then added, "You know, I think it'll be better if you're the one to watch her carefully, Brother. I'm not really good at reading people, and you're well aware of that fact since you often scolded me about it back in the day."

Hearing her reasonable proposition, Ezekiel helplessly looked at Darius and said, "Then it'll be King Darius's responsibility. He's the one who suggested bringing Tarah with us as a token of his gratitude in the first place."

"Wasn't that what you said in the first place?" Darius scoffed. "Very well."

Hearing her brother's request, Xenia frowned as she stated, "No. Why would you ask the king for such an absurd task? You should be responsible for Tarah from now on. Don't ask Darius about such a thing."

She then turned around with a scoff, "Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll be taking our leave now. I also need to talk to Darius in private, and we're already burning daylight as it is."

Without any fuss, Xenia quickly left the tent, Her brother's words sitting unacceptable to her the more she thought about it.

'Why would he ask Darius to look after that woman? It's so absurd!' she annoyingly mused.

Xenia was too deep in her thoughts that she failed to notice how wide Darius's smile was at the moment. It almost reached his ears as he followed Xenia's back, the princess walking towards Darius's tent without her noticing his eyes.