Chapter 7: Dungeon

"But my brothers-"

Lionell cuts you off. "Don't worry about your brothers. They know of the plan and are actually on board with it."

It takes you about thirty seconds to completely understand Lionell's words. You didn't happen to hear him wrong right? "I'm sorry what?" 

Lionell blinks his eyes and snaps his fingers again resulting in the book disappearing with a poof. "You're talking about Jeongi, Yoonsi, and Haru right?"

"How do you know them?" 

Lionell opens his mouth only to close it when Yvon sends him a glare from your side.

Instead, he shows you a dimpled smile. "It's a long story actually. I'll have them explain to you themselves. It seems like my work here is done. I best be going now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Calla."

You offer Lionell a hard stare.

Talk about being suspicious.

But the crazy thing is that you're not aware of this. I mean, as your brothers' sibling, shouldn't you at least be aware of the people they surround themselves with?

Especially if it's something to do with other creatures. Like them.

"Thanks, Lionell." Dyan says while you raise you pointing finger up only to slap it down harshly.

Lionell talks about your brothers like he personally knows them all too well. Like they've been friends since forever. That smile he displayed acts as proof. You've never encountered a person who shows a genuine smile when they talk about strangers. 

The wizard gets closer and extends his hand, out as if expecting you to place your hand above his.

Still surrounded with with suspiciousness and doubt, you give him your hand nonetheless.

Lionell places a quick kiss above your hand before leaning closer to your ear, whispering in a manner that only you can hear. 

Surprised, you're about to yank yourself back only to have him keep you in place before speaking.

His voice shifts to a serious tone all of a sudden and the words that come out from his mouth end up bringing a shiver slithering down your back like a snake. 

"Piece of advice, always watch your back and don't easily trust those around you." He then draws back and sends you a smile. "We'll meet again." 

That said, Lionell Draziw disappears in a blink of an eye. You can't stop thinking about what he said though. The contrast between his voice right now and the one from a few seconds ago, there's a visible difference. 

He told you to always watch your back and not to trust anyone easily. For a wizard that's known to be the greatest in the realm, it almost as if he doesn't trust the prince himself. 

"Yvon, it's been a long day for Calla. " Dyan says once the wizard had disappeared." The guest room on the east side is ready for her. You can bring her there. I trust that you'll tell her the rules."

"There's more?" 

Your best friend links her arms around you with a nervous laugh, causing her eyes to squint down into identical crescent moons.

You still can't get used to her freezing temperature.

You wonder how she's been able to match her temperature with humans whenever she was on earth.

Did she use a spell for that? Or was it a potion?

If such things existed, where can you find one for yourself?

"Just a few. They're essential so that you won't get hurt."

"What am I? A child?" 

"I mean. You sometimes act like one."

She laughs again when you send her a glare. "I'm joking. This way." 

Aziel's Pov 

"I'm joking. This way."  The second the girls leave, Aziel turns his gaze towards Dyan. 

"Did you have to do that?" He asks in a low voice. The atmosphere's tension that had lessened a while ago is slowly returning and Dyan can feel it. 

Walking over to the bed, Dyan feigns ignorance. "Do what?"

"Cut her." Aziel's talking about the way he accumulated his entrance. Specifically, when he gave Calla a wound on the wrist. 

Dyan shrugs his shoulders. "I had to confirm it. You know Lionell doesn't appear unless it's for something intriguing." He takes out his sword and sits on the bed. The edge of the blade reflect the presence of the Prince on the room, seconds before Dyan twists it to hit the ray of light piercing from the window. 

"What if something went wrong? She could've died."

"She could have. But she didn't." Dyan lifts an eyebrow up in question. "Why do you care all of a sudden?"

To Dyan, the behavior displayed by Aziel right now is new to him. He's used to seeing the boy acting indifferent regardless of the situation. 

"I don't." It's a firm response that shows Dyan how there's no more room for discussion. The latter keeps his mouth shut as the Prince walks out the door.

Calla's Pov 

Yvon ended up giving you a tour of the whole palace.

So much to the point that your legs started aching. Even in a realm so far from home, you still lack the stigma.

From the garden to the throne room, the kitchen, the library, training grounds, where they hold the royal meetings, the emergency toilets in case you're too far from your room, and then, at last, your favorite part. The bedroom.

You've calculated that it takes about a hundred and twenty steps from where Yvon's room's located to yours. 

Which is not fair by the way. 

The room looks modern, much to your surprise. You expected something to resemble the medieval times. There's a bed that looks comfortable, sheets black as the night and you have your own bathroom. There's a tv to keep you occupied too. You begin to wonder what types of channels exist here. 

Vampire drama?

Vampire News?

"Oh, and one more important rule to keep in mind." While on tour, she's also been narrating the rules of the palace.

Some of them you personally found unnecessary though. I mean, who in their right mind would step into the dungeon filled with mutated animals?

"The room in the west wing? Don't go there."

"Why?" You drag on lazily, popping on the bed face first. "Is there a floating rose protected by a glass I can't touch?"

Yvon blinks her eyes. "That's not funny. But yeah. I guess it's something like that. All in all, just follow all the rules and you'll be alright, Calla."

Stuffing your face against the pillow, you hum loudly. For some reason, Yvon doesn't think the response is satisfactory. You're offended by that but choose to let it slide. 

You wonder what time it is. When the volcano erupted, it was during the afternoon. You were probably out for five hours before getting auctioned and once you arrived in the palace, you blacked out again. All those countless times you collapsed resulted to you losing awareness of time. 

It's probably late afternoon right now. I mean, you can still see that it's daylight outside. 

"I'm serious, Calla."

"I heard you."