The Crown's Entrapment

As the parade dragged on, the whole event seemed to be going so well that some of the Cordonians courageously asked the Princess to show her wings. Of course, Xenia was delighted enough that she let them have a glimpse of them, exposing her beautiful wings as she stepped forward on the open huge carriage.

[Your wings look so magnificent, my love,] Darius telepathically complimented her. [Thank goodness I knew this could happen. It's why I made sure to commission the biggest open carriage we could have in the castle for this parade...]

Xenia couldn't help but smile as she felt how proud he was of her through their Mate Bond. Her cheeks reddened as she smiled and waved at the denizens of Cordon before her. She was glowing, but her smile faltered the moment she got Darius's message.

[Try not to make it obvious. Jayra sensed some dark magic lurking around, and Bartos and Gideon have just started searching for the source discreetly along with the rest,] Darius informed her. [I already instructed Gilas to handle wrapping up this parade. We're going back to the-]

Darius suddenly halted. Worried, Xenia inquired, [What is it? Tell me!]

She could tell something bad was happening just from their Mate Bond alone.

[Jayra's out of sight...] Darius replied.

[No...] Xenia gasped.

Alarmed, she immediately collected herself, posing herself to fly to search for her friend. She honestly didn't know how she did it, but she spread her wings and flew up into the air. Below, she could still hear the cheers of her people, but none of them actually knew what was happening as she trained her sights on where her friend could be.

They thought that their Queen had just let them have this privilege to witness her marvelous wings in flight, but in reality, Xenia did it all just to look for her dearest friend, Jayra. She would never let anything happen to Jayra, and she would make sure that her friend was safe while she was around.

Flying up and around the sky, she looked down in search of her friend. She had manifested her superb abilities while flying, heightening her senses in an effort to aid her search.

Xenia didn't let up in her efforts to try and find Jayra, and she was just about to go even higher when the familiar figure of her friend caught her attention.

[I saw her! By the alley near the market, three blocks south of the main marketplace!] Xenia telepathically relayed to Darius.

[Xen, if it's dangerous, please be careful and wait for us....] Darius reminded her.

[No, she's in danger, Darius, and I'll do everything to protect her,] Xenia firmly declared. [I won't wait and sit back when I can save her.]

Without even a second thought, Xenia rushed to where Jayra was last seen, landing swiftly behind the man who was in front of her friend.

"My Queen..." Jayra murmured with a smile before she closed her eyes, her body falling to the ground with a limp.

"Jayra!" Xenia called out as she attacked the man using one of her spells. However, he didn't even flinch as he maniacally laughed at her attack.

"We meet again, Princess... Or should I address you now as Queen, seeing as you're wearing the crown of Cordon," the man scoffed. "I'm honestly quite offended that you didn't take my offer back then to sacrifice yourself..."

Xenia's eyes narrowed at the man before her. He was the Demon King, currently possessing another body that was consumed with evil deeds like what he had done back in the Ebodia Encampment.

With a disgusted look, Xenia sneered, "I don't settle for trash."

The man simply grinned at her as if he was amused by watching her.

Xenia gnashed her teeth as her eyes darted back to Jayra, quickly assessing her friend's physical state before she snarled at the man that did this.

"What did you do to my friend!"

Xenia scowled as she crouched down into her fighting stance. She was late... Too late... She could see Jayra's lips turning blacker by the second.

'Oh heavens, please Jayra fight it...' she inwardly prayed as she hoped for Bartos to quickly arrive at their aid as she prepared herself for another attack.

"You think you've all succeeded?! Hahahaha! I'm just warming up, woman!" the Demon King cackled. "I'll make sure to conquer Ebodia and this kingdom soon, so we'll definitely meet each other ag-"

The man's words had been cut off. Before Xenia knew it, the last thing she saw was the man's blood gushing out onto the ground. Darius had decapitated him, and his head rolled down towards her feet with a mad grin still on its face.

Despite the gruesome sight, however, Xenia was more focused on Jayra as she quickly ran towards her friend.

"She's been poisoned... We must bring her back to the castle this instant," Xenia demanded. "Mother & Wizard Lurio should see her."

It was then that Bartos arrived and he immediately picked Jayra up. The husband and wife then got into Gideon's wolf form while Xenia dismissed her wings and quickly grabbed onto Darius's hand. The Queen then climbed onto Pluto, seating herself right behind Darius.

Xenia was crying hard as Darius directed Pluto to run as fast as it could. She was hugging her husband tightly from behind as she whispered a serene prayer for her friend Jayra. Her heart was thumping hard as Jayra's paling and blackening face constantly replayed itself inside her head.

[I can't lose her,] she sobbed.

[You won't. I'm sure she'll be fine, Xen,] Darius reassured her. [You found her...]

[But what if I was too late? What if...]

She couldn't bear to continue her words. Jayra was a strong woman! Even stronger than her in all aspects. Xenia tried her best to calm down and think straight, inwardly consoling herself that Jayra would surely make it.

As soon as they arrived at their destination, they both rushed into the castle. Thankfully, Xenia and her mother met each other halfway.

"Mother, please do something!" Xenia burst out right in the middle of the hallway. The Ebodian Royal Family were also there with them, along with Wizard Lurio and Seer Tarah.

"A dark energy has been inserted into her," Queen Dana grimly remarked as soon as she had inspected Jayra's body. "I need to remove it this instant. We need privacy."

Quickly, Bartos carried Jayra to the nearest empty chamber they found. Gently putting his wife on the bed, he let out a worried sigh before he turned to the Queen.

"Please save her," Bartos begged, going down on his knees as he held Jayra's hand. Like Xenia, he was also crying hard at Jayra's current state.

Seeing the commotion, Darius took the initiative to clear out the room while letting Bartos stay with them along with Queen Mineah, Wizard Lurio, Seer Tarah, and Queen Dana. The rest, however, remained outside of the chamber waiting for good news.

With the room relatively clear, Wizard Lurio began extracting the dark energy within Jayra. However, he was struggling.

"It's a Bloodthread," Tarah suddenly whispered. "The Demon King had inserted a Bloodthread into her blood."