Page 47 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

The doors open, and Alad enters with a bemused look. “Walkyer’s not happy with you.”

“I’ll deal with him later. Can you put the surveillance up around the Left Wing, where the maids’ quarters are located?”

“What time?”

“Eleven thirty onwards,” I answer. “Where’s Layla?”

“In the dungeon. Ziri found her and put her down there.”

“At least Chloe will have someone to communicate with until I deal with Layla.”

“You don’t want to question her now?”

I shake my head. “No. I want to understand the maid’s movements before anything else.”

Alad moves closer to me and simultaneously shows the surveillance cameras on the Right-Wing and Left-Wing.

My brows furrow, and I point to the two guards talking to an earth elemny in a long floral dress that reaches her feet. I then arch my brow and scoff a laugh when the fire elemny walks away from his post.

Leaning closer to the phone, my grin broadens at the structure of the woman’s face. A glimpse, but I’ve imagined my hands around her throat ever since I became interested in hunting her down. Her sleek jaw, sharp cheekbones, pointed nose and doe eyes hold a menacing gaze beneath her come-to-bed eyes.

My heart beats faster, and this excitement burns inside me. She dressed as a maid, opened the door, and entered without fear. She has her destination set—she desires to kill King Ragan.

“Fast forward to eleven fifty-five onward,” I demand, unable to contain my excitement any longer.

My shoulders tremble with amusement when she leaves as an earth elemny.

Stepping away from Alad’s phone, I chuckle darkly under my breath at the thought of this being the most enjoyable hunt. To think I can kill the unawakened brat I’ve wanted my hands around since seeing her at Ebon Hall Entrance is a blessing in disguise after the horror I had to endure today. I can imagine tasting the crimson spilling from her heart when my hand slides into her chest, breaking her ribs and clutching at what keeps her alive.

“Where are you going, Prince Reen?” Alad asks.

“We have a crowning to prepare…and then,”—my grin broadens—“I can hunt the woman who makes my heart beat.”

Act 11: The Hunt

Across the Line [Linkin Park]

Chapter 22

Pandora Hart, July 10th

I stayed informed by watching the news on the ship. They crowned Walkyer earlier than I expected. It bothers me that they aren’t telling the full story on social media, television, and blog posts.

News outlets claim Queen Ji-Sun committed suicide, saying “the Queen couldn’t endure another day being tethered to a king who was fooling around with sex workers.”

Many sympathised with her and claimed it was a thousand times more traumatic when someone from the tethering cheats. Not only are you aware that they are cheating, but you feel everything and can’t control it.

It’s disgusting when they put it like that. But it’s also sad they’re spewing this narrative when, in reality, I murdered the King, and she was just an unfortunate bystander tethered to him.

They are also aware.

Prince Reen slaughtered the two guards on duty with such intensity that it blurred most of the televised footage because of its graphic nature. He killed the guards on the left side, where I had entered.

Obviously, this was no suicide, and he is aware of someone sneaking in to kill the King. That’s the unsettling feeling in my stomach. Does he know who it is yet? Or is he only aware of the gate the elemny entered? I pray he has no more information than that and is still looking for clues about who killed King Ragan.

Regardless, I need to see Nancy so we can get the fuck out of here.

I enter the apartment building, take the stairs three at a time, and then walk down the hallway until I reach my door. Keys jingle when I pull them out of my pocket, and as I find the right key, my focus lands on Nancy’s door. Skin peels away from my lip when I bite and gnaw on it.