I watch Eris get pinned by the mages without a fight. Her body jerked at the touch of Calix’s staff and in a split second she stopped moving. The sight of her began to boil my blood. How could someone so small and weak cause us so much problems? It made no sense.

The other mages let go of her and he squats, bending over, as he passes two fingers over her nose.

“Well is she dead?” Mother asks in expectancy.

“No” he said standing up “She is alive like I knew she'd be”

The crowd murmurs at his statement.

My brows knit in confusion.

Then who was behind this?

“Everyone, it would be dangerous for any of us to leave the palace in our vulnerable state and it would be best to stay here till we can find a solution to this issue” Calix speaks out “To every elite a room will be given by the king himself so rest assured you shall be provided with maximum comfort”

Mother steps in leading them out of the ballroom. They mutter following her lead.

“Everyone, right this way” she says as they head out the door.

I take this as my cue.

“Calix” I call out “we must speak, now”

He dismisses his subordinate mages and I take one last look at Eris, disgust takes over my system and I lead the way for Calix to my secret chambers.

“She's quite a beauty,” he says, walking closely to me. “You’re a lucky man to have all that to yourself” he jokes.

“Please spare me the unsolicited comments, she's nothing but a slave”

We settle in and I pour myself a glass of wine, the strongest I can find and gulp in down letting the flavour burst down my neck.

“I see you haven't changed” he says “still drink when you're tense ey?”

“It is better than wallowing in sadness in a hole dressed in rags” I say pouring another glass.

I offer him some and he shakes his head declining.

“Wine has never been a good substitute for blood”

I scoff gulping it down as well then set the glass aside.

“Now tell me, why didn't you let me kill her earlier”

He leans back and a smile appears on his white bearded lips.

“Well that's simple your majesty, I could see her innocence right through her and your resentment through you. Don't forget I'm wicked not evil”

“That makes no sense, she's just a commoner, a nobody it wouldn't make any difference if she died or not”

“Oh really and what would you tell the people of Hyaledrana about the woman you've been married to for only three years?”

“Oh please she's as weak as her people, what could they possibly do?”

“You're playing a dangerous game Zyran, don't forget a drop of water might be harmless but once it becomes an ocean it's more than enough to be a lethal weapon. Don't let the throne get to your head”

I scoff rolling my eyes as I pulp into my chair.

“You've obviously forgotten who you're talking to, I'm king Zyran, the one and only of my time. No one will ever dare cross me. I've ruled for more than six generations , conquering lands for as long as I can remember, feared by many, known by all so I know nothing can scare me”

“You're more foolish than I thought” he smiles.

The door swings open and mother walks right in. A quick glance in his direction is all it takes to signify that this conversation is far from over as mother shuts the door behind her.

Something about the atmosphere suddenly thickens and I can feel a dreaded irritation.

“Well?” She asks “have you too been able to find out anything?”

“No but I guess your all knowing son can find out quite easily” Calix retorts.

“Oh please don't start with this-”

“Enough, I don't need any more bickering from you two! What I need is an answer. Where in the bloody hell is that orb?!”

The room goes silent for a while until Calix speaks.

“I sense that the orb is far off from the palace”

“Far off?!” mother and I exclaim in unison.

“Yes,”he says thoughtfully “If it were here I would have felt its power somewhere in the castle as soon as the ritual started, but I couldn't feel anything. So we have two options in our hands, it's either the orb was stolen by a trespasser in our midst or-”

“It was destroyed….” Mother trails off.

“The orb can be destroyed?!”

They both look away from me at my question.

“But if it were destroyed whoever attempted such a ludicrous adventure would be destroyed by the orb as well”

“And if that happened I would have felt its power being tampered with”

“Well that leaves us with the first option” she says.

The feeling of not knowing this very important information irks me and I begin to feel agitated.

“Excuse me, am I missing something?”

“Where on earth would it be then?!” she asks, pinching the tip of her nose.

“I sense that it's in the ocean, surrounded by bodies of water lurking all around” Calix says looking ahead like he always does.

He exhales slowly and he and mother lock eyes.

“To get it back we'd need a scapegoat” he says.

“The girl!” They both say.

“Why can't I go?” I ask disrupting whatever it is they have going on “I'm the king after all”

“Because you, little Zay, are weak, not only will you put your life in danger you risk getting seen by the commoners”

“I am your king and you will address me as such! I am no longer that little boy you once knew”

“You're right the little boy i knew had brains”

“Enough!! What is with you too?”

I look eyes with Calix who stares at me without fear, I hate him for that. All must fear me and so will he…soon.

“We have only sixty days to get the orb before we all begin to succumb to our primal instincts, if she doesn't bring back the orb before then there shall be chaos”

“Well how do we make sure she does?”

“Simple we give her a death sentence” he says and a flaming red fire appears in his hand. “Come along” he says and mother and I follow him down to the ballroom where Eris lies unconscious.

He begins to mumble words only he seems to understand and then casts the fire onto her back. She screams in pain but doesn't wake up as her back begins to emit a strange fiery light and I cover my eyes to shield my vision. By the time it goes away there was large writing of ink.

“It is done” Calix says.

“What is that?” Asks mother as she tilts her head just as the ink snakes around Eris’s back.

“That is a mark of a living curse, a death penalty. She has only sixty days to live now. If she refuses this assignment the mark would kill her and if she fails to complete the assignment before the end of sixty days she'd die a slow and excruciating death.

I gulp giving him a side glance.

To think I actually thought I was more evil than him.

The mark finally settles on the left corner of her back forming the number sixty.

Calix throws a satchel at me and I catch it easily.

“You're her lover aren't you?, you break the news to her” he says with a smirk “go easy on her”

His eyes turn to the stiff being on the ground, Duke Vincent, who was dry from lifelessness.

“Oh I actually forgot about you” he says as he touches him with his staff and Vincent immediately springs back to life, gasping for air like aa though he was drowning. His eyes held nothing but fear as he shook.

Mother helps him up and leads him away with Calix trailing behind.

Most days I hate Calix's ego, other days I despise him and sometimes I wonder just what he is.