It had been a long while since Raxx had been challenged by anyone. Faye got more and more compelling to him by the minute.
Breaking from his thoughts, the shadow demon shook himself and hurried ahead through the storm. He wound his way through the deserted streets and alleyways of Banesteppe, heading for the king’s compound.
Raxx didn’t have far to go before he found Zelrus. The demon king stood in the courtyard, along with three soldiers who sat on horseback. The king’s own horse – an almost impossibly large, black stallion named Endri – stood beside him.
Zelrus was in his full battle regalia, covered head-to-toe in dark grey plate armour and a long, black cloak sweeping down from his shoulders into the snow.
The soldiers’ horses were all laden with travelling equipment and weapons. Raxx was relieved to have caught the king before he left.
“My king.” Raxx solidified a respectable distance away from the horses, though two of them still shied away from him.
“Ah, Raxx – I was hoping to see you before I left. Are there any developments?” The king turned to his horse, adjusting the various leather straps on the saddle.
“The princesses and the commander are still incarcerated. They seem to have settled as well as they are able to, given the circumstances.”
King Zelrus nodded, his face suddenly growing sombre.
“I have been investigating some of the majick abilities the middle Goldwyrm girl is rumoured to possess, but without personally witnessing it I can’t really speak for her power or her risk to us. I would like the opportunity to look into this matter further, but in order to do so--”
“Raxx,” Zelrus warned.
“What are your plans for the faeries, my king?” Raxx asked.
“I am not releasing them. I have been going over and over this in my head and have not yet made any decisions about what I want to do with any of our prisoners – Lephas included.”
The king paused, hoisting himself up into Endri’s saddle with a grunt. He gathered the reins in his hands and steadied the stallion before fixing Raxx with a steely gaze.
“They are to remain imprisoned until I return from my meeting with Cirro. I am hoping to gain more insight into the faerie’s backgrounds and their true allegiance from their uncle. Until then, keep an eye on them. At the first sign of trouble, you know what to do.”
Raxx simply nodded. “Do you know how long you will be away?”
“No, but I am keen to keep my visit short. Oriel will be keeping on top of things whilst I am gone, but keep an eye on him too, would you?” Zelrus sighed and shook his head wearily.
“As you wish, my king.”
With a curt nod toward Raxx, Zelrus nudged his horse on and shouted a command to the soldiers. They all followed behind, falling into a line.
Raxx trailed after the group silently from the shadows as they made their way to the edge of Banesteppe. He remained watching them from the city’s border until he could no longer see them through the flurry of snowfall.
Cold and hungry, the shadow demon eventually turned away and headed back towards his home. He had a suspicion he was going to need to be well-rested before whatever Tabitha had in store for him that evening.
It made him uneasy to be disobeying his king’s wishes, especially given how raw Lephas’s supposed betrayal was in Zelrus’s mind.
The shadow demon had never had cause to go against his king before, but this was different. Regardless of his feelings towards Faye, the Goldwyrm princesses were a force to be reckoned with and it was imperative that force was on their side.
Zelrus wasn’t a majborne, he would never truly comprehend how dangerous those faeries could be. Raxx needed to get to the bottom of this – both Lori’s mysterious talent and his connection to Faye – before it was too late, king’s orders or not.
Raxx hoped Zelrus would see it that way, should he ever find out.
When Raxx slipped silently into Faye’s dark cell later that night, he was surprised to find the princess asleep. Any other night he would have left her – she clearly didn’t need the comfort of his company this evening – but he knew how tenacious Tabitha was. The witch would not take Faye’s sleeping as an acceptable reason for cancelling their plans.
With a sigh, Raxx approached the sleeping princess and crouched beside her, shaking her gently.
“Faye.”
The faerie startled awake. Her eyes were bleary from sleep and he watched as she struggled to full consciousness.
“Raxx?” Faye mumbled, rubbing her face with a hand. “What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”
