I left the king's study with a sense of grim determination. There was no denying the palpable miasma of fear and uncertainty that clung to every stone wall within the stronghold. Time was of the essence, and I needed to act swiftly.
My next destination was clear—meeting with Princess Lilliana. But before that, I had a grim task—to examine the severed head of Marcus. I had to uncover any clues about the dark power that reanimated these soldiers. It was macabre work, but necessary.
Navigating my way through the castle, escorted by a guard who couldn't hide his uneasiness, I reached the place that would be my chambers where they'd stored Marcus's head. It rested within a clear jar on a large table, eyes still unsettlingly animate, moving to follow my approach.
"Give me my damn body back!" Marcus roared at me, but his voice was muffled from the jar.
"No can do. I blew it to smithereens. Tough luck," I said as I walked over, and that made the face pause.
"Then just kill me!" He snapped, but I just shook my head.
"Can't do that either, or at least not yet. Where is my mother, and siblings?" I asked, and Marcus paused before squinting at me.
"YOU! You're that useless brat, aren't you?! How did you get this old so damn fast?!" He demanded, but I just rolled my eyes, shaking my head.
"Not what I asked you. Start talking or I will just fill your jar with spiders and leave you there," I warned, but that didn't seem to bother the tough guy.
"You think that I will betray the king?" He asked, but that made me round on him with a feral look in my eyes.
"Do you think that monster is still your king?! Do you think that he cares about you? Who is it that you serve? The kingdom, or that damn shade standing in my mother's place?!" I snapped, ready to throw the jar at the wall. All of this was so frustrating, I just wanted to scream.
I knew it would be bad, but how do you prepare yourself for this?! Everyone in this city was doomed to die, and all I could do was scream at this head in hopes that I can save at least one fucking person! I felt like everything I had worked for was worthless, and it was in the face of this adversary!
"You can't stop that thing, you stupid child! You may look like an adult now, but you are still the same stupid naive boy!" Marcus laughed, and I had never wanted to boil someone alive more than I did in that moment, but I sucked it all down. I was not a child, and I needed to get my shit together.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, I focused on why I was here — to understand the enemy, to gain information, to save lives.
"You're wrong," I said calmly, reigning in my anger. "I am not the same person I was when you last saw me. And I'm going to prove that by saving who I can, starting with my family. One way or another, you're going to help me."
The head grimaced a grotesque sight within the confines of the jar. "You cannot fathom the powers at play here, the forces you're trifling with," he spat. "But if you must know, your family was taken to a secure location by the king's order before this started. Your mother, brothers, sisters—none are here. And even if I knew where, I'd take that secret to my grave."
It wasn't much, but it was something—a small reassurance amidst the chaos. My family was out there, somewhere, possibly safe from my father's madness. It gave me a sliver of hope to cling to.
"Good. That's all I needed to know for now," I said, my mind racing with the implications. "But I am far from done with you. You might only be a head, but I will make use of you until I can find no more. I remember the beatings that you gave me, and the scorn in your voice when you addressed me in my youth. Now you have no choice but to aid me, as much as it displeases you."
Marcus sneered, but it was a sneer without bite now, his situation rendering him impotent. My next step was to have him taken to a secure room—somewhere his voice wouldn't carry and incite fear or unease in those who heard him—and begin my work in earnest.
Before leaving to meet Princess Lilliana, I instructed the guards. "Keep him away from the main areas, silence him if necessary, and make sure no one else interrogates him without my presence."
With Marcus's information secured, I composed myself and set off to find the princess. It wasn't a meeting I was particularly looking forward to given her reputed temperament and the strained nature of our betrothal. But she was pivotal to Jagar's survival, and as much as I disliked what the marriage stood for, I understood the reason.
I was escorted to the training grounds, where I found Princess Lilliana amid aggressive sparring with a pair of knights. She moved with a blend of power and grace that was mesmerizing, her skill undeniable. The sight confirmed all the rumors—I was indeed betrothed to a warrior princess, and matching wits with her was going to be as challenging as any battlefield I'd face.
"Princess Lilliana," I called out when there was a break in the action, stepping forward into the open grounds where she could see me. "I am Prince Gideon. We need to talk."
The look I received was laced with venom, and a clear challenge sparked within her vivid green eyes. She straightened from her sparring stance, her sweaty hair clinging to her forehead in fiery tendrils. Dismissing the knights with a wave of her hand, she turned her full attention to me.
"Prince Gideon, the Bejeweled Pawn of Havenby," she addressed me with a mocking tilt of her head. "What brings you into my training yard? Come to size up the qualities of your latest 'acquisition'?"
Her tone was abrasive, and the sting of her words was not lost on me. But I understood where her animosity stemmed from—the loss of her freedom and the uncertainty of her kingdom weighed heavily on her.
Instead of playing into her attitude, I pulled my shirt off and walked over to the weapons rack. Tarps off. I needed to get rid of some of this frustration that was building up. My new wife-to-be seemed to want to be my target, but just unloading on her would not be right.
Grabbing a wooden sword I turned, and took a deep breath before pointing at the strongest-looking man holding a wooden staff, and then another with a short sword and shield. "Come at me."
"Excuse me? Are you too scared to raise your blade to me?!" The princess demanded, glaring at me, but I returned the glare.
"Have you not spent the last, who knows how long warming up?" I growled and then looked back at the two men. "Come."