The Crown's Seduction-Chapter 342: Open Arms

Upon learning what had happened to her husband, Mineah immediately created a portal to their location. Together with Tarah, they safely arrived at an empty spot in the castle as she was directed by her companion. Mineah had a lot of questions for Tarah like how she knew where to go, but she knew that it wasn’t the time to do so.

"I can’t reach Lai through our bond," she whispered as she followed behind Tarah.

"Your bond with King Nikolai will not work inside this castle. Devon cast a powerful spell in it disallowing private communication through bonds," Tarah methodically explained. "Most spells will not work inside the castle except for the ones created with the essence of divinity."

She then pointed at what looked to be a dead end. "Do you see that wall? It’s a secret passage to where Devon detained King Nikolai and King Ezekiel. Remember that casting divine spells is your only way inside the castle. You must not get caught. Use all the gifts His Majesty gave you," Tarah reminded her. "Devon’s power will not work against them."

Mineah was about to nod, but Tarah didn’t seem to be done as she then gently touched her cloak. "These magical artifacts are blessed with divinity, meaning they can withstand the demon’s power. Use the armring and hide yourself well. I will come back to you after I get something," Tarah told her. "Things might confuse you from here onwards, but you must know my true heart, Your Majesty. I only want to save King Ezekiel and King Nikolai, so please trust me for now until we get them both to safety."

Finally, Mineah nodded at Tarah. While the woman’s words confused her, all she could do was take them at face value as she watched the seer leave her sight.

’What is going on...’

She couldn’t but frown the more she watched Tarah. She even witnessed how a guard greeted the woman casually. Then, she remembered Zoran’s words on how he saw Tarah inside Devon’s castle back in the day. It was then that her eyes widened. Could it be that Tarah was a spy? If so, who was she working for?

Mineah closed her eyes. She had a few thoughts, but her gut feeling was telling her to trust Tarah on this, so she would do just that...

Eventually, her waiting paid off as Tarah didn’t take long for her to return. Walking up to her, she then gave her a piece of paper.

"Here, study this. It’s a torn page from the magical books about the Chronicles of Angels," Tarah explained. "It’s written there how you’ll end your curse and how you’ll use the divine dagger. It’s in riddles, but I’m sure you’ll figure things out once you need to do everything."

Blinking, Mineah simply nodded before looking at the piece of the torn page.

’A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones... The wicked’s heart will rot and it must be removed. The light always shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’

"Devon might manage to hold you back from creating a portal to return home, but this... This, he won’t be able to stop," Tarah told her. "This magical carpet is unstoppable, so use it to escape with King Nikolai and King Ezekiel. Also, remember that killing Vulcan’s soul will be very tricky. He will try to deceive you, so you must make the right choice. Or else, you might end up killing King Nikolai instead..."

Mineah frowned. "What are you saying? Aren’t you coming with us?"

Tarah had a faint smile. "I will have to go on my own way from here onwards, Your Majesty," she admitted. "You’ll be on your own now."

Mineah could only blink at Tarah as the woman simply disappeared before her. Without wasting any more time, Mineah ignored what she just saw and used the armring to hide herself from the guards patrolling the area. Now hidden, she then made her way to the wall Tarah pointed her towards. Casting a spell with divine essence to open it, she quickly went inside the moment it opened.

Walking down the dark passage, Mineah could feel her heart beating erratically at what possibly awaited her. She knew that it was also the side effects of casting a spell with divinity, but she couldn’t help but feel apprehensive at what she was doing. Already, she could feel another crack forming on the wall protecting her from the chaos inside her body, and there was no telling how many more would form from here.

’This isn’t good....’

With worry in her mind, she quietly walked through the dark passageway. Using divine spells needed divine energy, and the more she used it, the more her chaos would grow because of how weak the protection would become the more she used her divine energy.

A few paces later, Mineah’s body froze as she heard screams of agony from a distance. Listening in, her face paled the moment she recognized both her husband’s and her brother’s voices shouting in pain.

"I must hurry," she muttered to herself.

Looking at various entrances before her, Mineah used her boots to run back and forth to find the correct passage to where Nikolai and Ezekiel were being held. It was hard because their voices were echoing inside what looked like the insides of a cave underground, but she didn’t let that stop her one bit.

Eventually, she found the correct spot. The chamber was filled with powerful energy, and Mineah’s eyes widened in horror as she was just in time to witness how Devon’s minion had Vulcan extracted out of her brother’s body.

And yet despite this, they somehow didn’t manage to get a hold of Vulcan. Instead, a bright flaming light exploded around the area. Mineah managed to protect herself using the magical cloak she was wearing, and when the burning flames subsided, she saw how everyone inside had been burnt alive. Some were unconscious, however, having somehow used a certain amount of their inner energy to protect themselves against Vulcan’s power.

Gathering her courage, she quickly moved to approach her brother Ezekiel. Pulling his unconscious body onto the magical carpet, she then turned to her husband to get him next, but Nikolai’s unconscious body had suddenly disappeared somehow.

"Lai?"

She called to him just as she quickly released the divine dagger from within of her. This was the exact scene Tarah told her about... This was the part where she had to save Nikolai, kill Vulcan and break her curse.

"Mine..."

Nikolai’s voice reverberated inside the room, and Mineah found herself encircled by her husband’s many forms. There were at least thirty of them, and she didn’t know which was the true one.

"This is annoying," the Nikolais grunted together, and this time, Vulcan’s voice also blended together with them.

Mineah frowned. She was aware of the dragon’s voice since she had encountered this dragon before inside Ezekiel’s subconscious mind.

"Your brother’s body managed to reject my soul, but your husband’s body accepted me with open arms..." Vulcan annoyingly hissed as they all stared at the divine dagger in her hands. "Now I see why..."