IT WAS TIME FOR HEIRES’ return.
Xara had been looking forward to it all week. Finally, she’d know where the key to Osric’s prison was. With Delton and Darius in Cadia, she could use her men to free Osric. After the scene in the library, Delton had become quiet. He still observed her, but he’d stopped going to the library. She’d be lying to herself if she said her body hadn’t responded when he hovered over her, her back pinned to the bookshelf. But she was more than her bodily responses. She was a collection of broken hopes, invisible scars, and painful memories. That’s why she could never surrender to him.
A torch gleamed in her hand, highlighting a wooden boat with a white sail. Dark water filled her vision, making her uneasy. Arched marble pillars stretched over the underground canal that lay under the palace. She was going to use this boat to make her way out of the palace. A shaft of moonlight from the narrow space above lit the hidden space. The canal ran all the way to the red-light district, meeting another canal there.
Michael stood next to her; his eyes filled with worry. She was dressed in men’s clothing, her hair pinned back under the cloak she wore. Xara would get off mid-way, go to one of her warehouses to change, and then head to the red-light district.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go? It’s too dangerous for you to travel alone at this time.”
“I will be fine,” she said, eyeing the water ominously. Her knees felt weak. It had been a long time since she dared to step into a canal. After she’d almost drowned in River Wolfburg, she’d developed a fear of water bodies. But desperate times called for desperate measures.
Initially, she’d planned to send Michael, but an angel with white wings would be found out easily. Besides, Michael didn’t know Heires. It was all for Osric, she told herself. Her mask was under her cloak, tucked between her skin and her shirt. A thin blade was perched on her hip, its hilt digging into her midriff.
“I think the medicine you drugged King Delton with at dinner worked. He was sleeping when I last checked, but I’m afraid he’ll find out once he’s awake.”
“It’ll be too late by then. I can handle his scrutiny.” She stepped onto the boat, feeling it sway a little under her feet. Sitting down, she pulled the hood over her hair. “I will be home in a few hours. Keep an eye on his room, in case he wakes up.”
“Be safe.” Michael watched her row her way out of the palace. The best part about the canal was that nobody could see it. No guards were allowed inside this chamber because they didn’t know it existed. It had been her father’s secret. He’d told her about when she was a child.
The boat passed through a dark passageway. She felt the muscles under the shirt as she rowed her way down the dark passageway. The torch that she’d carried sat behind her, attached to the back of the boat. Walric had used this canal to get in and out of the palace undetected, but it was her first time. She followed the flow of the canal, moving in the direction of the city.
When she looked down at the deep, blue waters, her stomach churned with dread. At once, her mind darted back to the night she’d thrown herself in River Wolfburg after Delton’s cruel rejection.
“I believe only your death could please me,” he told her on the night she tried to kill herself. “For as long as you live, I will never love you.”
His final words had been cruel and dismissive. After he’d exiled her, she begged her father to come to her and tell her the reason Delton had decided to exact revenge.
“He thinks I had a hand in his parents’ death.” King Elian’s pulled face told her.
“Did you?” she asked, her heart dropping. From what she’d heard, the previous king and queen of Inferno had died in an accident. The nature of the accident wasn’t disclosed, which led her to believe it might’ve been a false story.
“Of course not! He’s unhinged. God knows where Delton got that idea from.” The way her father refused to look her in the eye bothered her. “This exile is a good thing. I couldn’t sleep last night thinking of what he’d do to you…how he could hurt you.”
Despite his imposing stature and reputation for cruelty, Xara never thought Delton wanted to hurt her. However, she also didn’t plan on remaining in exile. She wanted a life with him. It was what she had been raised for, what she had longed for. She had promised herself a happy ending.
“I will talk to him,” she said, confident he would take her back once she cleared up the misunderstanding.
With that, she’d returned to Inferno City one last time, trying to make him understand that he was mistaken about her father. But when she’d actually confronted him, nothing had gone her way. He’d laughed, the cold-hearted villain had laughed when she told him he was mistaken.
“You don’t expect me to believe that, do you? Your father lied to you. So, you see why I cannot forget. We will never be husband and wife in the true sense of the word.”
“I don’t want a life like that. My father might have hurt you, but things can be different between us. Why can’t you see?” she said. “I will do whatever you want me to do…I’ll atone for his sins.”
“Will you?” he surveyed her carefully.
“Yes…anything for you to forgive me….” She hated how immature she’d been. Xara should’ve believed everyone who said Delton was a monster. Instead, she’d wasted her time trying to redeem him.
“I believe only your death could please me.” His eyeballs were hard as granite. “For as long as you live, I will never love you.”
With that, he marched out of the court, his cape trailing behind him. She sank to her knees, choking on the tears that she had been holding back. All she saw was a bleak, loveless future. She couldn’t accept that kind of future. Xara had only wanted one thing in life—true love. But Delton had torn away her only dream.
She left the palace with a heavy heart, wandering through the city aimlessly. She cried and cried, hiding under the hood of her cloak. The city lights stabbed her eyes. Darkness was the only path open to her. So, when she came to a stop next to the river, she knew what she must do. Her hopeless heart was reflected in its dark, churning depths.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to recall the life she had. But nothing came to mind. She’d been born a princess to a king whose sole purpose in life was to seek power. She’d never known her mother’s love. Xara had no siblings either. There was not a single loving memory that came to mind in her final moment. Her existence had been that of a shadow, of a girl who merely existed in reference to others. The only thing she’d ever wanted was love, and now, even that had been denied to her.
Her descent into the depths of River Wolfburg had been like floating in the air. When the warm water hit her face, she knew she was drowning. She sank deeper and deeper into the darkness, her lungs filling with muddy water. All that lay for her was darkness and in the darkness, she felt comfortable.
Xara was sick of trying to be happy, of hoping, of believing that good things could happen for her. In the final moments of her life, she saw the truth clearly. This is where she belonged—in this nothingness. This despair.
She was vaguely aware of the sound of water splashing as her breaths began to leave her body. Something hard hit her within seconds. Arms closed around her body, pulling her up. Xara couldn’t see anything. Her capacity to think had dissolved with the bubbles. But she knew someone was there. Someone had saved her.
When she awoke, she was in a house with stone walls. Her body felt heavy and feverish.
“Princess Xara,” Osric hovered over her, his narrow brown eyes swamped with relief. “Thank god you’re alive. I thought I was going to lose you forever.” His final words were cut off by a choke.
Xara foggily recalled her meeting with Delton and her trip to River Wolfburg. Once she got to that point in her recollection, memories of her suicide attempt returned to her in a flash. Her face flamed as she lay eyes on Osric. He had rescued her.
“Why did you save me?” she asked in a small voice. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep. Her heart still felt heavy.
“What do you mean?” Osric asked. “I saw you drowning and came running. I know you can’t swim.”
“I wanted to drown,” she said, her voice rising a pitch. “That’s why I jumped. I…I don’t want to be saved.”
“Princess Xara…” Osric didn’t touch her. “Why would you say that?”
“Delton…he and I won’t work out. He…rejected me and I don’t think I want to go on.”
Then, she began crying. Between sobs and breathless words, she told him the entire story.
“I’m going to kill that bastard,” Osric said at the end of it. “It’s what he deserves.”
“Calm down.” A male voice emanated from behind Osric. Next to Osric stood another man–with cropped blond hair and a large gait. He was dressed in a pair of faded black trousers and a white shirt.
“W-Where am I?” She quickly brushed her tears away, realizing they weren’t alone.
“This is…er-” He paused. Xara glanced around the room and found several crates of alcohol. There was something else too—sealed packets of white powder on the floor. “What is that?”
“Lag.” The man next to Osric replied. “Though I doubt a posh lady like you would know anything about it.”
“This is a warehouse,” Osric said. “They…er…”
“We illegally supply alcohol and Lag to Inferno City.” The man said. “But the crown caught my boss and now I don’t know what to do with all this.” Xara tried to sit up on the bed and Osric immediately rushed to help her. She noticed she was lying on a rug on the floor, not a bed.
“This place was closest to the river. He agreed to take us in.”
“It’s my job to get rid of these crates,” the man mumbled. “Your bodyguard here said he’d buy it from me if I let you stay.”
Osric’s eyes were downcast. “It was the only way he’d agree to take you in.”
Xara eyed the bottles of alcohol. She wanted a drink. Didn’t tragic romantic heroes always drown themselves in drink until they wasted away? Osric’s gaze followed hers.
“Don’t even think about it. Let us return to Cadia. Your father will help you.”
“No, I don’t want to go back,” she said. “I… I don’t want to be a princess or a queen. I’m done depending on men who don’t care about me. I need to be alone… to heal. And then, I’ll find something that only I can do.”
“Princess Xara…” Osric looked unconvinced by her bravado, but Xara knew she couldn’t go back to Cadia and beg her father for help. Neither could she rely on Delton. For now, she had no choice but to go to Snakefront.
“We’ll leave for Snakefront.”
“Be sure to take these crates wherever you go,” the man said. “The warehouse needs to be emptied by tomorrow morning.”
Her bleak gaze perused the large quantities of illegal substances. But as she eyed the crates of lag and alcohol, she wondered why she’d ended up in this warehouse, of all places.
She’d discover the answer three weeks later when she sold her first crate of lag to a pleasure house in Snakefront.
City lights came into view as the wooden boat entered the city of Cadia. Xara’s boat merged with several others, giving her the anonymity she desired. When she was near one of her warehouses, she climbed out of her boat, leaving it tethered to the land. Then, she transformed herself into the most notorious crime lord Atea had ever seen.
IFER SAT in a pub several hours later, facing Heires. It is where they’d agreed to meet once he returned. With Delton back in town, pleasure houses and warehouses were being watched. She needed a legal establishment that offered privacy to conduct her business. Xara first discovered Brothers in Arms fifty years ago when it opened. Ifer had funded the establishment when it was on the verge of going under and in return, the owner allowed her to use the secret room behind the pub.
“What did you find out?” Her voice came out impatient. Heires looked around her, no doubt expecting a reward for showing up. When none seemed forthcoming, he began speaking.
“My man confirms that Osric is being held at the king’s personal prison,” he said. “Only the king holds the key to the prison. My men suspect Felix might have another key, now that the king is in Cadia, but I need more time to investigate.”
“I don’t have time. You know I’m an impatient man.”
“I’m sorry…one week wasn’t enough to tail Felix. I had some other business to take care of in the city.”
Xara hadn’t followed up on Heires’ trafficking. With her husband back in town, she was locked in the palace all day, trying to avoid suspicion.
“Where does the king keep his key?” she asked. With Delton in town, she could easily arrange a robbery.
“He carries it on his person,” Heires said. “Wears it in a necklace around his neck. They say he never takes it off, not even when he sleeps.” Heires paused. “That’s another thing. The palace staff says the king doesn’t sleep. He hasn’t slept in ages.”
Xara exhaled shakily. Delton’s midnight jaunts in the library might be an indication of insomnia. Technically, demons didn’t need to sleep but the fact that he didn’t only made her task more challenging.
“Stealing the key is going to be difficult, even for you,” Heires said. “King Delton is a formidable force to reckon with.”
She was irritated by Heires’ implication that Delton posed an obstacle for her.
“I will take care of that.” He raised an eyebrow. Xara clapped and one of her men rushed forward, placing a pouch of gold coins before Heires. He received it with a smile, thanking her.
“Let me know if you need any more information. It is always great doing business with you.”
“Heires.” She made her voice deeper. “Have you ceased the import of people from Terra?”
He glibly replied, “Of course. I would never go against Ifer.”
“I will consider your request if you keep up the good work for a month.”
“Understood.”
She found the instantaneous response suspicious but since there was no news of trafficking, she let him go. From there, she went to the warehouse and checked on the supplies. Her men had made sure they weren’t being watched, getting rid of suspicious people before she got there. She traveled in a covered carriage, making sure nobody found out who she was. Once she was satisfied with the inspections, making sure everything was on track for the next week, she left.
In her usual manner, she went to a pleasure house first. That day, she chose a new one that lay off the red-light district. She hadn’t spotted any suspicious figures around. The place would help her transition identities from Ifer to Xara before she made her way back to the palace.
The smell of alcohol, lag smoke, and sex greeted her as she stepped into the establishment, shocking the proprietress half to death. When the woman saw the mask under the cloak, she ushered her to an exclusive room. She sent the woman away with explicit instructions not to disturb her for the next hour. Xara changed into her gown, placed a bag of coins on the table, and put on her cloak, using the back door to get away, making sure nobody saw her. She ran back to her boat and once she was sure of not being followed, she began to make her way back to the palace.
On the way back, she saw courtesans moving in the distance, going in and out of pleasure houses. She envied their transient lives. How easy it’d be if she were like those women who never expected anything. Those who were content with never knowing true love. Life was cruel to dreamers and romantics, slaying their dreams on the guillotine of reality.
Xara rowed in the direction of the palace until the other boats disappeared. She followed the course of the river until she was back at the palace. Marble pillars stretched over her when she finally got back. With her disguise and mask tucked under her clothes, she emerged from the boat, wearing her cloak.
Something moved in the shadows as she took her first step away from the canal.
“Michael? Is that you?” she asked, moving closer.
“No, Xara, it’s me.” Delton’s raspy voice triggered her nerve endings. A deep sense of fear settled in her belly as he emerged from the shadows, blue eyes glinting with malice. “Would you like to tell me where you’ve been?”
Xara took a step back, trying to get away from him. “Aren’t you asleep?”
“Asleep? Did you think your little dinner trick would work on me?” He was approaching her. She moved further back, putting one leg behind another. She took a step back, then another, then another, until she was at the edge.
That’s when it happened.
One leg hit the edge of the pavement. She lost balance, her sole sliding into the water. Her entire body jerked backward, pulled by gravity. The descent came in slow motion, the instinct to survive overriding fear. But there was nothing she could do except fall.
“No, no, no—’
With a loud splash, she fell into the water.
