June sat in a chair at the table by the window. A part of him listened to Sarah's elaborate plan while another part searched for Quin through his Aura Sense. He sighed in relief, having found her asleep in her room. However, that did little to abate his anger.

  It vexed him, though. How had the Kor’valin slipped past his and Quin’s detection? He silently cursed himself. He had dismissed the clone he left to guard the inns, thinking that since he was there, everything would be alright. How wrong he had been.

  Just a single day outside of the Dungeon, and he had already grown complacent. If he weren't in the Divine Realm, he without a doubt would have been dead. Then again, he wouldn't have done half the things he had if he weren’t. So he was only wasting his time dwelling on a non-issue. He'd have to ?be more vigilant in the future.

  When Sarah finished listing all the pros of her master plan, he shook his head with vehemence. Nope! What makes you think I'd want a monster like a Kor'valin as an ally?

  She is no more a monster than Keyvarah is as a Vampire, Sarah shot back. Besides, a Kor'valin and a Vampire aren't so different from one another. They both feed on Soul Essence and Energy.

  Yes, that I get, but their methods of doing so are… vastly different.

  Sarah scoffed.

  You are strong, but you pale in comparison to the progenitor of the Xarkor. They are an ancient people who've existed for close to a billion years. Utilize the Kor'valin's knowledge and experience.

  So what if you have to sleep with her to feed her? You're already doing so with Keyvarah.

  He sighed, exasperated. I mean, with everything going on between Keyvarah and me… not to mention Reyah and Yisha… it just doesn't feel right.

  Pfft! It's not like you and Keyvarah are actually together, and what about Reyah and Yisha? I thought you were opposed to the idea of being with them?

  He sank lower into his seat. Even if Keyvarah and I aren't technically together, it still doesn't sit right with me. And with Reyah and Yisha… you know it's more complicated than that.

  Hmph! If you're so opposed to feeding the Kor'valin, you could always have her feed off others.

  His stare hardened into a glare.

  Of course, I meant only criminals and the like. Sarah quickly added.

  Keyvarah stirred in bed but remained fast asleep. Taking the cue, he quickly got dressed and slipped out of the room as silently as a cat. However, he remained silent regarding Sarah’s question.

  It was Sarah's turn to sigh with exasperation. Fine! If you're so against feeding the Kor'valin the traditional way, then there is another, less… personal way to do so.

  He stopped for a moment before continuing on his way down to the tavern area. You mean to tell me that we've been arguing over a pointless topic?

  Sarah harrumphed as if shrugging her nonexistent shoulders. It was pointless only because you're too stubborn to conform to your new reality.

  He scoffed at her remark as he stepped off the stairs and into the tavern area. That is because I'm not bound to the constraints of your perception of reality. My reality is what I make of it.

  Fine, fine. Have it your way, my lord.

  He ignored her jeering comment as he made his way over to the bar. An Althori man, one as scrawny as an elm tree that hadn’t fully matured, sat at the right end of the bar. On the other end sat an Althori woman with blonde hair.

  The man downed what he assumed to be a cup of ale before motioning to the bartender. “Another, barkeep.”

  “I’ll take one as well,” he added, taking a seat between the pair.

  The woman turned to look at him. Several emotions flew across her face when her eyes landed on him, starting with confusion and disbelief before settling on contemplative interest.

  However, the man had the complete opposite reaction. The moment his eyes fell on him, he fell off his stool in a fit of panic. There he sat, caught between flight or fight, rooted in place with ?fear.

  “You have nothing to fear from me, Tenith,” June said.

  He accepted his drink from the Vyshtani barkeep, raising it slightly. “Thank you.”

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  A surprised look came onto the barkeep’s face, his stubby rounded black ears twitched slightly, but he nodded in response.

  June then turned to face Tenith, who still sat on the ground. “If my daughter brought you here, then you’re all good in my book. Let’s let bygones be bygones.”

  He sighed as Tenith remained there, wide-eyed. The man hadn’t heard a single word. He shrugged slightly before turning back to face the bar.

  As he brought his cup to his lips, Sarah’s voice came back with a question. By the way, would you like to know how to feed the Kor’valin without it involving fornication?

  He released a curt chuckle. Sure.

  He took a drink from his cup and hummed with surprise at the taste that washed over his tongue. It wasn’t an ale. Instead, the sweet fruitiness of it reminded him of a honey mead cider with a hint of malt.

  Then an image flashed in his mind, one Sarah had projected. He couldn’t help it as he involuntarily spat his drink out and coughed up a storm. Luckily, the barkeep had stepped away, else he would have splattered him in cider.

  What the fuck, Sarah! A little warning would have been nice!

  However, all he got in response was her cackling laughter.

  The barkeep rushed over with a rag and wiped up the mess in quick order. “Forgive me, ser. Was it not to your liking?”

  “No, I’m sorry. Just surprised was all.”

  The barkeep looked at him with a tilt of his head. “Begging your pardon, ser?”

  “Nothing,” he said before taking another drink. “It is a wonderful drink.”

  The barkeep stared at him for a second longer, unsure of what to say, before walking off into the back, mumbling the entire way.

  He sighed, placing his drink on the bar. To his right, Tenith had slowly made his way back onto his stool and slowly sipped from his cup. The woman to his left had shifted a seat closer to him.

  She was in the middle of moving closer when he turned to look at her with a smile. “Hi. Sorry that I haven’t properly introduced myself. I’m June.”

  She froze midway to seating herself, staring at him in shock. “You… You… You’re Quin’s father?”

  He held his hand out to her. “That I am. It’s nice to meet you…”

  However, instead of giving her name, she fell to her hands and knees. “Please allow me the honor of serving your family, Muh Lord.”

  A tinge of annoyance sparked within him at her behaviour, but not as much as the annoyance that bloomed at what he was currently dealing with in the capital.

  Why were people so insistent?

  Fillia looked at herself in the mirror, luxuriating in the black chemise that she wore. It hugged her body tightly, accentuating her curves in all the right places. The woven lace showed just enough skin to tantalize, yet left much to the imagination. It was the perfect weapon for the art of seduction.

  With a self-assured smile, she threw on a robe and left her chambers. The two royal knights stationed outside her door bowed and banged their closed fists against their breastplates in salute. She nodded in response and made her way down the hall with them trailing close behind.

  Aside from the clops of her chopins and the clacks of the knights’ greaves, the palace remained as dead as a crypt. Not a single beast or person stirred as she made her way towards her intended destination. The knights behind her remained the ever-stoic, silent guards.

  Coming to a crossing, she turned to the knights. “Wait here. I'll proceed alone from here.”

  They bowed in unison. “Your Majesty.”

  She took the left corridor and proceeded alone, passing by several doors before coming to a stop at the sixth. She adjusted her robe slightly, opening up the top to reveal some of her chest before knocking on the door. It didn't take long before the person within opened the door, and she threw him her most seductive smile.

  “Hello, June.”

  June frowned at her, perhaps taken with her beauty and presence in the dead of night.

  “Your Majesty,” June said with a slight dip of the head. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  Her smile widened. “You know, it's rude not to invite someone who has come to your chambers, let alone that person being your queen.”

  June's frown deepened. “That wouldn't be wise, Your Majesty.”

  She glowered and took a step forward. “You would deny your queen?”

  Before June could answer, she continued. “Do you know what we do to those who’d deny their queen?”

  June’s stare, that of annoyance, then shifted as the surrounding air went still like a lake on a winter's eve. He took a measured step himself, and a weight fell upon her shoulders. For a reason that was beyond her, she cowered from his presence, backing away several steps.

  “I do not actually. Care to enlighten me?”

  Her voice had abandoned her, leaving her unable to answer his question. “At a loss for words? Well, allow me to answer your first question then. Yes, I would deny you, for your daughter, the princess's honor.”

  With that, the weight disappeared, and June turned to enter his chamber. Before he did, though, he stopped and turned to look at her. “Please refrain from ever threatening me ?again. You sure as hell wouldn’t want me for an enemy.”

  Before she even had time to form a response, the door clicked shut.

  A multitude of emotions swirled within her after that exchange, and she didn’t know which one to focus on. Anger sat at the top of the list. He had wounded her pride as a woman and a queen. Yet for the life of her, she just couldn’t bring herself to be outraged with him.

  Because that Aura… what an Aura! Despite June restraining it, the power behind it had shocked her.

  Now there was a man with power befitting that of a ruler, more so than her son, and her late husband couldn’t even compare.

  That thought irked her? more than anything else. Worse, she still hadn’t gotten what she'd come seeking ?tonight.

  With a sigh, she recomposed herself before exiting the corridor. Her royal knights remained where she had left them, and they followed her without a word as she returned to her chamber.

  Upon arriving, she left the doors wide open as she threw off her robe. “Are you boys prepared to perform your duties for your queen and ravish her tonight?”

  Her knights remained stoic, yet their eagerness gleamed as bright as day in their eyes. They’d happily acquiesce to her demands, unlike June. That was what attracted her to him.

  But that mattered not for now as she climbed into her bed and sprawled out in a sensual pose. She beckoned her knights in, and they entered her chamber before closing the doors behind them.