"It was said that the king could only harness his powers if they found a mermaid, as per the clergy," he said, turning his broad, sturdy back towards me. His front facing the window reflected his image and the mask, which hid his emotions too well for me to see. "And they are very difficult to find, being a rare species on land. Don't you think?"

"Yes, milord," I said, withholding my breath as my heart picked its pace at something that I didn't know yet. "I have never met one myself, and have believed them to be mythical."

"But recently, he said he has noticed in him stamina so strong that none has ever come to possess. There is a continuous strain from holding in this power as he keeps on liberating it. What do you think could be this reason?"

"Could it be that the person is in the castle or in near proximity, milord?"

"And who do you think that is?" he said, as he turned around to face me. His eyes shimmered a colour a normal human could never have.

"I can't say much, sire. I only think that there must be more information on how one can get these powers. Besides, what would we get by tormenting a mermaid when His Highness already has the destined powers? There is already enough bloodshed."

He smiled slyly at my answer and walked towards me. When he came to close in my comfort zone, I stepped back as he strode forward. In a trice, I was backed against the wall with him stealing in my breathing space. He reached for my jaw and stroked it with his fingers.

With his head leaned near my ear, he whispered, "Then how about we start with torturing you for keeping your true self a secret, my lying darling?"

A/N:

• This is going to be a long book with multiple twists. Please do be patient with me for daily updates which will be at or after 14.00 (GMT +8).

• To separate the time frame or show that a good amount of time had passed in a chapter, I use "~" to represent it. In simple words, it is used to indicate a sudden scene change (as in the case of an appearance of a dream which I, sometimes, specify it indirectly).

• Feel free to put in your suggestions, ideas, thoughts and polite criticisms in the comments. I would get back to them shortly.

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NO part of this book is allowed to be plagiarised in any format as the work solely belongs to RoseOfBlues.