CH.94

Back at the secluded villa

An oppressive sense of tension weighed heavy and suffocating as the once serene infirmary now felt like a fortress under siege.

Meredith's lips were pressed into a thin, grim line while her brow furrowed deeply in contemplation and disbelief at the events that had just transpired.

She had narrowly managed to subdue that mysterious witch, or whatever malevolent entity it was, that had tried spying on them.

Meredith locked gazes with Knox. Her eyes were hard and steely yet filled with concern.

Her lips tightened even further together as she took in Knox’s tense stance.

Enzo standing nearby with his arms crossed over his broad chest, could practically feel the waves of misery and rage roiling off Meredith in scorching hot flashes.

He had known her long enough to recognize that look - she was absolutely livid, but also unsettled in a way he had rarely witnessed in ages.

"What did you see?" Enzo asked gruffly.

But Meredith didn't offer any answer. She simply continued staring at Knox with an indecipherable look on her now harsh features.

The man in question was clutching Serena with his strong jaw tightly clenched together as if he were physically biting back an onslaught of turbulent emotions.

His usually composed and stoic demeanor was now fractured, revealing a glimpse of raw, unfiltered anguish beneath.

Things were tense as all hell between the three of them.

Meredith could tell that Knox hadn't been himself ever since he performed that otherworldly scan over Serena's prone form. They all knew that whatever he had seen or found or been looking for during that examination, the answer clearly wasn't good news.

Enzo glanced back and forth between Meredith's stoic expression and Knox's murderous one. His brows were creased with confusion and concern. Suddenly, something seemed to click into place in his mind, causing his own eyes to fly wide instantly with disbelief.

"Shit..." he breathed out in a ragged exhale. It was really, really bad if Amaris truly had been corrupted by someone like who he thinks...

If his suspicions were correct, then Knox's identity, even their own, wasn't safe anymore. And neither was Serena after whatever mental violation she had endured.

Enzo moved forward and squatted down once again at Knox's level. He stretched out one arm, placing a gentle hand on his grandson's tensed shoulder.

Knox was practically vibrating with fury, it was rolling off of him in waves that Enzo could feel deep in his very bones.

He didn't know if he should be happy or concerned that his normally unflappable, emotionally stunted grandson was finally allowing himself to feel something so intensely.

Knox had never been one to outwardly show much of any emotion since he was a kid.

“Boy. What's eating you up inside like this? Talk to me." Enzo said, keeping his tone soft and gentle. However, Knox didn't utter a single word in response.

He simply kept his tormented stare locked on Serena, his eyes reflecting a look that no person should ever have to experience. It was the soul-shattering gaze of someone who had just lost something incredibly precious and profound to them.

Enzo's own eyes drifted down to study Serena's unconscious form again with an even deeper frown. The poor girl was clearly still among the living. She hadn't been killed or anything like that. So what was it that Knox had lost that was causing him such immense pain? Unless…

Realization seemed to dawn on Enzo. His eyes suddenly went as large as saucers and a scorching wave of anger began boiling up from the depths of his core.

If what he suspected was the case, then that vile, wretched woman deserved the worst possible fate imaginable on this planet or any other.

Enzo dipped his hand into the pocket of his pants and fished out Knox's sleek smartphone, tossing it over underhanded. "You received a message earlier when you were still out cold," he explained.

Knox didn't even make any move to pick up the phone and check the message. He remained utterly motionless.

Seeing that Knox was in no state to deal with anything further right now, Enzo decided to simply show him the message they had received earlier.

"You are ordered to return home and prepare for your marriage with Princess Dorothy, or I will that human to go through the Bonding Ceremony. You know how brutal that whole archaic tradition is for an outsider like her." The message read.

"It was from your father," The words tasted like ash in Enzo’s mouth.

They all knew the ceremonial rules and customs surrounding the royal lineage all too well.

A human could never truly succeed at such an ancient rite because it involved a series of intense physical challenges and combative trials.

Any woman vying to become Knox's wife would have to defeat every other potential suitor in one-on-one battles until only one remained standing. And the final victor would be obligated to immediately marry Knox, whether either of them agreed or not.

It was an incredibly barbaric process stemming from the arrogant beliefs of superiority that the new king clung to.

Knox's jaw clenched even tighter at the reminder, if that were possible. His gaze darkened, swirling with undisguised hatred and unrestrained rage.

Meredith watched the reaction carefully, her own legs trembling slightly as she stepped forward to place a grounding hand on Knox's other shoulder.

“Son,” she gently called out his name in the same soothing tone a grandmother would use with her grandson.

"Danger…" Her voice wavered slightly with the weight of her next words. "All I saw from the one who tried to spy on us...the same being we assumed was Amaris herself...was actually Sahar."

"You mean, Sahar, the damn new queen?" Enzo asked incredulously, his face twisting into an expression of utter disbelief as the name dripped from his lips like acid. "What in the world would Amaris be doing with someone like her?"

That woman had always been one after immense power.

The thought that she had been the malevolent force behind all of this chaos wasn't entirely shocking. However, Amaris' involvement was what left both Enzo and Knox doubting their eyes and questioning everything they thought they knew about their once longtime friend.

"We need to be prepared. She's not just powerful, she's cunning - a master manipulator," Meredith stated. "And if the one you called Amaris is anything like you two and is truly involved in this, it means we're in more danger than we ever could have imagined.”

Enzo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Amaris is considered the most powerful female after the first Queen of the Sky Empire herself. Her abilities are unparalleled. Although she had involuntarily played a significant role in Kazdrellian's fall to earth all those Millennials ago, she would never purposefully use her powers for something so destructive and malicious. It goes against everything she believes in, every principle she holds sacred."

"Then what could she possibly be doing consorting with someone as wicked and vile as Sahar?" Meredith asked. "I am a woman and I could tell from her tone while she was possessing this poor girl's body that she was a desperate woman trying to win her lover back at any cost."

She immediately shrank back when Knox shot her a disapproving glare.

"They were never lovers," Enzo clarified gruffly. "It was a one-sided, deranged obsession on Amaris’ part because Kazdrellian never had any time or desire for romantic entanglements. He avoided women like plagues his entire long life."

While the couple continued their heated discussion over the current troubling situation, Knox's mind was working furiously, calculating every possible angle and scenario.

His thoughts raced as he weighed the heavy choices laid before him on how he could mark and protect Serena without inadvertently killing her in the process.

There were only two options he could come up with: the curse had to be lifted somehow. And for that to happen, he would need to make the ultimate sacrifice and give his own life, because that was the terrible price he had to pay for a curse that should never be lifted. Or he would have to give her the complete other half of his core essence - his very life force.

He had already bestowed upon her half of it in their past life together. Yet that alone was enough for her to destroy him.

Knox's jaw clenched tightly as the weight of this impossible decision bore down on him, causing his broad shoulders to slump ever so slightly from the burden. His eyes burned with tormented indecision as his tortured gaze fell upon Serena's peaceful, unconscious face. She looked so vulnerable, so fragile in this moment.

Who knew what she would do with it this time?