Kapitel 28: Chapter Fourteen - The Beginning of A Rebellion (Part 2)
The North-West Border...
"How many have you killed?" Kobal yelled over the raucous clashing of steel. "I think you're getting a little old for this, Balan!"
"Shut your trap!" Balan growled fiercely, thrusting his sword into the enemy's chest. A thick, wet sound followed as he removed it from the fallen corpse. "If you have time to flap your lips, then your hands aren't working hard enough. There are too many of them to hold off. We have to cut our way through!"
Both stood with their backs facing each other, stances in the defensive. Kobal swiped the sweat from his eyes, his breath low and harsh. "I'm surprised that our own kind have betrayed us and joined ranks with the enemy. This rebellion is certainly beyond my wildest expectations."
Balan grunted, parrying a sword attack before pushing back. "There is more to this story than meets the eye."
"Commander Balan!" One of their warriors rode up beside him. "We've received word that His Majesty has returned and is headed our way."
"Music to my ears!" Kobal declared as he charged to attack.
Balan resonated the sentiment, his spirit renewed. "Great work, Arran. We'll hold down the fort until His Majesty arrives. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for his arrival. You're dismissed."
"Yes, sir!" Arran saluted, galloping off to a safe zone.
"Until he arrives, eh?" Kobal chuckled, seizing a human by the neck before ripping into his throat and breaking his spine. "I think I can hold off long enough."
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"You'll wear a hole into the carpet if you don't stop pacing, Akila," Castelis commented without heat, pouring himself a cup of steaming tea. The sun had long set, and it was a slow torment as time crept by without a word from the warriors on the front line.
"It's just...I feel an ache here..." She rubbed the tightening vise in her chest. "It's the same pain I experienced before when my father or brother rode off to war. It's hard to explain because most of the time, I don't even understand it myself."
Castelis wasn't bewildered by her admission, studying her over the rim of his teacup. "That's just your Sentient ability making itself known. Your mother also experienced the same twinges over the years when Cronoa was at the end of the Great War. It's your body's natural receptor to help you decide whether or not your powers are needed to bring back the peace and balance."
She absorbed this new information with an open mind. "How peculiar..."
"Indeed, so it's up to you what you decide to do with it."
Akila fell silent, her mind turning restlessly.
Just then, the doors to the main hall burst wide open, breaking her concentration. A smiling Bennu scurried in, her excitement palpable. "I've brought good news! His Majesty has returned, and they succeeded to safeguard the North-West border!"
Relief flooded her immediately, until she caught the demoness hesitating. Her spine straightened. "What is it, Bennu? What else has happened? Is someone hurt?" Akila demanded impatiently.
"I'm wounded that you have such a low opinion of us, Princess." Kobal's voice drifted from the door as he limped in with a pinched face, awkwardly dropping onto the vacant seat beside Castelis. "We're all unharmed, thank you for asking."
Bennu gasped in alarm at the sight of a dark-faced Zagan who strode in with Balan, both appearing worn out and dishevelled with blood, grime and sweat coating their skin and staining their clothes.
Akila was across the hall at once, her eyes checking him for wounds. "Good. You're not injured."
Zagan pinned her with a rigid stare that would have intimidated her before. "If you were anyone else, I would take your words as an insult. I barely unleashed my full strength upon them, and it didn't take long to destroy their paltry army."
"That's because there wasn't much left when you arrived," Kobal stated sorely.
Zagan ignored him, focusing on Akila's burning golden gaze. "Ask whatever is on the tip of your tongue, little lamb. I can see it in your eyes."
"How many were there?" she asked lightly, even as her heart raced.
His eyes narrowed into slits. "Why do you ask? This battle is none of your concern."
Keeping her voice low despite the flare of angry heat in her chest, she demanded archly. "Because I'm a woman? Or because I'm your supposed enemy?" His dismissive behaviour had her fists clenched painfully. "I have the right to know because Cronoa is still my brother's birth right and mine." She noticed the irritated set of his jaw and continued before he could stop her. "And I have reason to believe that whoever is behind this...is someone we already know."
"Explain yourself." His tone wintry soft.
Akila paused, wondering if she should voice out her thoughts about this attack. Despite their newfound feelings, she wasn't foolish to believe Zagan would not hesitate to kill her or Garrin if he deemed them a threat to his throne.
"Akila..." A warning growl.
"I believe this orchestrated attack was a ploy to test your strength and if I'm right, then the fact that you have won may just be a coincidence."
Balan's nostrils flared angrily as he took a step forward. "You dare to call His Majesty weak!"
"Hear me out. Please." She forced herself to stand tall in the faces of three incensed demons. Perhaps it was foolish to be blunt but, there was no stopping now. Demons were proud creatures but, she also hoped they were willing to be objective. "I received an anonymous message last evening warning me of your assassination attempt. If the sender is who I suspect it is, then I am well aware of how this person operates."
Zagan noticed how she refused to meet his eyes, and he knew instinctively who she meant. "Not naming this individual won't stop me from finding and killing him but, I'll play along. For now. The enemy's motive is insignificant because we have secured the remaining borders and I'll seize back the land they have taken from us. If the enemy was assessing us, then let them believe we are weak so that they may let down their guard and we shall find the perfect opportunity to strike." Dark, guarded eyes locked onto Akila's. "Unless someone here betrays us, the enemy won't be privy to our knowledge."
It was an obvious reprimand for Akila to decide where her loyalty stood, and her stomach nose-dived at his unsolicited dig, though she wore a brave face of undiluted displeasure.
Knowing that he had made his point, Zagan acknowledged her cause for concern. "That being said, I concede there was something strange about the attack. It was lax and haphazard." He trained his sharp gaze on the other two demons. "I hope you have an explanation for how the enemy managed to overwhelm you — my ageless warriors. You could have dealt with them easily in your shifted states."
Kobal shrugged, stretching his sore muscles. "It's too troublesome, and those small fries weren't worth the effort. If we relied on our beast everytime, then it means we're weak."
"I agree," Balan uttered smoothly. "And it was fortunate that we didn't, given how the enemy was measuring our strength."
Consenting silence descended over the hall.
"Is your shoulder still troubling you?" Zagan asked, noticing how Balan favoured his shoulder.
"Only a little," Balan answered with evident shame, unwilling to voice out that his injured shoulder had been the reason why he held back in the fight. He knew better than to hide it from Zagan's discerning gaze.
"It hasn't healed then," Zagan murmured to himself, feeling a twinge of guilt for allowing his anger to injure his old friend. "You must shift in order to let the healing take place. I want you at full strength at all times. This is non-negotiable."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Akila was clueless to their conversation. Why were they talking about shifting? "How are you all so calm after a battle?"
"What sort of question is that?" Kobal asked, thoroughly amused.
"I mean...moments ago you were surrounded by death..."
"Death is part of life," Zagan responded firmly. "We are surrounded by it everyday, only sometimes we don't see it right in front of our eyes. It is a specter that awaits to claim every living soul, at every waking hour.
The way he said it, almost unfeelingly, made her wonder how much killing and devastation he they had seen and experienced to achieve this level of coldness.
"What worries me most is the fact that demons have joined the enemy's rank," Balan voiced out his solemn concern, changing the subject. "The rebellion is fast becoming a threat. It's not just about a group of humans dissatisfied with a Zagan as their new Emperor."
"That is true," Zagan concurred unhappily. "We'll have to be one step ahead and reinforce our defense. I want all borders guarded round the clock and double the shifts on the guards. Assemble any willing demon from the underground and assign them a post. If any of them prove to be useless, then dispose of them."
"I'll handle it, Your Majesty," Balan remarked eagerly.
"Good. Then I believe it's time I pay the King of Ephalon a visit. He will have ears where I don't."
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That evening while she was preparing to retire for the night, a firm knock sounded on her door. Setting her hairbrush aside, Akila called out, "Come in."
The door opened with a muted click. Zagan padded in, dressed in his fine brocade robe and his hair slicked back from the dampness of his bath. His familiar light, clean scent tickled her nose.
She rose to her feet. "I wasn't expecting you. Is there something you need?"
"It's good that you're still awake." His long legs ate up the distance between them, his fingers brushing aside the strands of her loose hair. "You will accompany me to Ephalon in the morning."
She blinked, unknowingly distracted by his touch. It was startling, the effect he was beginning to have on her. "Whatever for?" Her puzzlement apparent. "You don't need me for anymore introductions with the royal families, and Mara will be more than happy to take my place."
His tone hardened. "Because you're my concubine and you go wherever I go."
She met his dark eyes with equal displeasure and stubbornness. Strangely enough, part of him delighted in the fact that she didn't cower in his presence but stood courageously toe to toe with him. What he didn't like was the burgeoning queasiness in his chest, feeling like he owed her a better explanation. Tilting her chin upwards, he reminded her. "I hope you haven't forgotten about our unfinished conversation back in Bocelus." Reeling her closer, he kept a firm hand around her waist. "Tell me, why did you do it?"
"D-do what?" Her eyes landed on the smooth, bronze patch of skin peeking out from the V of his robe. It set her heart racing.
"You knew who sent that assassin, didn't you?" he probed, his piercing eyes drilling into hers.
She dropped her head. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Tell me," he insisted non-too gently. "I need to hear it from your lips."
"What will you do if you know the truth?"
"I won't show mercy."
"You're asking too much of me."
He gripped her neck, forcing her to look at him. "Your loyalty is to me! I will not turn a blind eye to anyone who threatens what is mine!"
"I am not yours!" She bit out in frustration, reading the anger in his mercurial depths. "Being your concubine in body doesn't make me yours. I told you before that you don't own my soul." Her eyes tracked the ticking muscle in his jaw. "Are you going to fuck me into submission again? Well, do it, because I'm not afraid to admit that I like it when you touch me, Zagan. Apparently, all we are good at is fucking."
Her bold words took the anger right out of him.
"Yes," she continued goading. "I'm starting to understand how your mind works, Zagan. Whenever you get angry, you try to intimidate me with sex but, it won't work anymore." Akila released the tie on her nightdress, pushing it off her shoulders. "Why don't we get started? Maybe after a round you'll be mellowed for a proper conversation."
The Demon King blinked at the turn in tide, his heart beating in tandem with his rushed breathing. His little lamb smoothed her hands up over his chest, wrapping around his neck and rose on tip-toes, her tongue flicking out to taste his neck before sinking her teeth softly into his flesh.
He jerked, his length hardening at once.
"Don't you want me, Zagan?" she whispered seductively, rubbing herself against him. "I know I do."
He pulled away, putting some distance between them. "What are you doing, Akila? This is not you." He raked a hand through his hair. "What do you want from me?"
Standing in her naked glory, she balled her fists. "What I want from you is affection and understanding. I don't even know what we have between us. Are we still master and slave? What role am I supposed to play? After what happened last evening...I don't understand..." Her shoulders sagged and she palmed her face to hide her anguish. "All of this is just so confusing. I wish everything would just go back to the way it was."
Zagan took a hesitant step forward, his hand reaching out to touch her – to soothe. Akila must have sensed him for she backtracked rapidly, moving away. "I saved your life because you're starting to mean something to me. Does that answer your question? I know that you're not good, some would even call you evil or heartless but, not once have you truly hurt me. Am I naïve to think that I'm special? Or will you toss me aside once I've outlived my usefulness?" She grabbed her discarded dress and covered herself — her vulnerability. "You want me to choose between you and my family? I can't...it's just impossible...please...don't ask this of me."
In that moment, she appeared as fragile as a china doll. A gust of wind would have shattered her where she stood.
The organ he called a heart, started to ache with an intensity as painful as the first cut of a blade. "Little lamb, come here," he commanded gently, as if he were talking to a child. It was something he had never done before.
Obstinately, she stood where she was, a sniffle escaping her. "What do you want from me, Zagan? Just tell me so that I can be sure, and I'll not get in your way ever again."
Frustration and pain gnawed on his virgin heart, his body moving before his mind processed what he intended to do. Embracing her from behind, his cheek touched hers, his arms swallowed her whole. "Forgive me, little lamb. I didn't mean to upset you. This is new to me. There are things I cannot overlook, and I've never had to be gentle or considerate with anyone...it's a foreign concept to me. But I cannot risk your safety, not even for the ones you love."
His confession failed to mollify her. Her voice was a level beneath self-mockery. "That you're asking me for forgiveness..."
His arms tightened. "You're still my concubine. That won't change even if we both know that something is different between us. What you're asking of me...is near impossible. Demons cannot maintain a healthy relationship, especially not with a human."
"You're wrong," she denied vehemently, attempting to squirm free. "You are capable of love; I know you are! You just don't want to admit it. How can you know that our ties won't last if you won't try?"
"It's the truth, little lamb. I have lived longer than an average human to tell you confidently that demons are purely physical creatures. We never stay long with a partner. I have Mara because I find it tedious to hunt for food on a daily basis. Sex is merely an incentive that comes with feeding — like dessert."
Akila squeezed her eyes shut. "What if I told you —"
"Don't!" He cut her off brusquely. "Don't say another word."
She fell silent, a tear splashing onto the arm holding on. With quiet resolve, she broke free and dashed her sorrow away. "Then we are at an impasse, Your Majesty. If you don't mind, I'd like to retire now. I will see you in the morning. Please leave."
"Akila — "
"Please! If I can respect your wishes, then you can at least leave me alone this night." Her voice trembled, though she didn't turn around to meet him. "Just go."
With a heavy heart, Zagan complied with a resounding click of the door. Akila stared out the window, watching her own reflection as she wept tears she had vowed never to cry again...yet it seemed where the Demon King was concerned, she would forever be breaking that oath.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein