FOR THE UNKNOWN KINGDOM | BOOK 1

CHAPTER 22

"And there will be a king who color he cannot see, except for the emerald color of her eyes. A king that will let her for once lead the path she wants to lead. And when she saves a kingdom that even the sun cannot reach, when she breaks free of the title she does not wish to hold and the plans she does not want to fulfill, she shall let Lantra know that magic should exist."

I couldn't stop rereading the synopsis of the first book I'd found in Denfer's room during my first weeks here, the one named 'The beginning and end of magic: From Asternal to Lantra.'

The first time I'd let my mind absorb all the knowledge about my country's past, it was like the earth had shaken beneath my feet. Now that the fact that I was Hell's Leader had almost been confirmed by that ancient prophecy—if I'd interpreted it correctly—there was nothing and no one that could change my mind. There was only one thing left to consider.

As for Denfer, he hadn't come to my room, even though he'd said over and over again that he would. And I'd been waiting for him, even though I'd said that I didn't care about his presence here. Whirling around the dark and empty room, I was restless. The exhaustion resulted in my legs tingling while my head still felt heavy, and I decided to just stand still for a moment, to think through what I'd learnt, what had happened, what would happen next.

I didn't want to know how Denfer must be feeling.

A cool wind wafted through the open window.

For a moment I wished for the crickets of Lantra to come and sing their midnight anthems to me until sleep would take their place. I wished for the sun to be the first thing to enter my room the following morning, its bright rays dancing around the castle, warming up that gray town. I wondered if the people would be happier, knowing that the sun would rise again.

I didn't know how many hours had passed since the moment I'd left Denfer down the hall, but a few minutes ago I'd heard someone walking outside my room, coughing so hard that I'd thought he might as well die, and then a familiar voice talking to the sentinel outside my bedroom's door, reassuring him that he was all right.

So instead of waiting for him to come over, I blew out the candle that was placed on my nightstand, tied my hair in a loose knot and walked out of that room.

Closing the wooden door behind me, I surveyed the corridor for any sight of Jersen or Amanda, but only the torches that hung from the walls and a few sentinels appeared in my vision. There was a silent murmuring coming from the living room and I instantly surmised that Jersen was still healing, working, saving lives, closing wounds.

Heading toward Denfer's bedroom wasn't much of an effort, since it was only four doors away from my own. The golden-painted walls only added to the sorrow. Such a shame it was that this splendid and majestic castle was crowded with heartache and death. Someone from Lantra would have argued that the Castle of Sunlight shouldn't even exist, something so beautiful and exquisite when people out there were dying.

Yet it was because of that aristocratic castle and the people who ruled it, that more people wouldn't die tonight.

I reached Denfer's room.

The battered door was closed, as always, the flame of the torch next to it dwindling and as a result an unwanted sensation of darkness dangled around me. For a moment I paused, hesitant to grab the knob and enter the room. Such a thing would violate his alone time and after everything that had happened tonight, he may need it. But I urged my doubts to disperse into nothing, and not letting them overcloud my ability to think straight, I forced myself to knock the door.

The reply never came.

I knocked again but this time with more strength forced upon my fist. I waited for one, two, three seconds.