The Devil's Warrior Queen
Chapter 365: A Deadly Infatuation

Chapter 365: A Deadly Infatuation

"And what about Aldric?" As soon as she heard his voice, her heart leaped to her throat and her eager eyes remained fixated on the opening iron door.

That voice she had grown wanting to hear every single day she had been locked up, had finally whisked into her ear. Finally, her freedom had arrived and perhaps, deep down, she wanted to take one last glance at her white knight before she left.

She heard the loud clinking of his leather boots against the stone floor as he moved closer, she could see his shadows floating across the walls as the torchlight illuminated on his figure.

She swallowed anxiously as his figure finally came into her view as he stood behind the bars peering down at her from his towering height.

Despite the bars acting as a barrier between them, they were standing so close, she could smell the minty scent mixed with steel wafting from his body, typical smell of a warrior but it was indeed different coming from him.

"And what about Aldric?" He asked again, repeating his questions clearly.

As he spoke, she felt his warm breath brush past her cheeks, but then as she realized how disheveled and dirty she was probably looking in front of him, she turned away with a subtle grim and a slightly embarrassed countenance.

Turning around to face him with a deeply etched frown, she said "I said, Aldric is such an asshole for locking me up. "

"You were given food befitting a noble, at least be grateful that I didn’t entirely treat you as a prisoner." Aldric pointed out and he saw her eyes dilate as a look of stupefaction masked her face.

"I haven’t had a bath in three days, I’ve been sleeping in this very uncomfortable cold, and foul smelling prison yet you claim I wasn’t treated like a prisoner for serving me food that I couldn’t even eat in this ridiculous dungeon." She snapped angrily.

"Don’t forget you breached the barrier, thereby indicating yourself as a threat, what did you think would happen? " He remarked in a flat tone and she suddenly kept quiet, knowing he was right.

Giving him a subtle glare, she spouted out "Why are you here? Is it finally time for my trial? Can I see the council of elders now?"

His brows furrowed and his blue eyes squinted at her as he spoke "Is that why you’re here, to see the council of elders?"

"I don’t owe you an explanation, if it’s time for my trial, let me out now." She demanded.

"If you explained to me why you are here, I could help you." His hard voice suddenly turned soft, as if coaxing her to spill.

"And why would you want to help me?" She asked as she shot him a skeptical look.

He sighed out softly before speaking "I know you’re not here to cause harm, but the council of elders won’t think the same way, they could pass a final judgment for your execution."

Her eyes shone in bewilderment as she shrieked out "Execution??!"

"They would go to extreme lengths to protect the kingdom and executing an intruder to them is merely but a minor inconvenience, but I could help you change their mind, that is if you tell me the truth of what brings you here." Aldric stated firmly.

Zoya swallowed nervously as she glanced at him, there was no harm in taking her chances, perhaps he could save her and deflect her presumed execution, that is, if the trial went awry and the council of elders was hard to persuade.

"Fine, I’ll tell you the truth." She spoke out in a small voice while Aldric listened attentively.

"I work as a royal diviner in the castle of Voltaire Empire, specifically, I work for the queen and she sent me on an errand." She paused as she stole a glance at his straight face, his blue eyes piercing into her face intently as if trying to scrutinize whether she was lying or not, but rather it made her heart flutter and her composure slightly shaken.

Swallowing firmly, she continued "It’s a long story, but she needs a powerful relic for her friend whose body is possessed by an entity, she needs an enchantment or relic powerful enough to expel it out of her without causing harm in the process."

"So you work for the vampire king and you’re here for a powerful source to expel the entity." Aldric mentioned and she nodded.

"You should have sent an invitation first rather than just recklessly bursting through." Aldric scolded and she pouted.

"We didn’t have the luxury of time by our side, she could die anytime soon, I had no choice." Zoya explained.

"Even still, the council wouldn’t buy your story without a seal of the Voltaire Empire with you, or do you have it now?" He asked, his voice hard and serious.

She meekly shook her head as she muttered out "No."

Immediately she answered, she heard him groan in dissatisfaction.

"You’re right, I was being reckless, but I can’t leave East Ravka without getting what I came here for." She said with a fierce determination.

"Or maybe, you might not leave at all." He suddenly said, in a rather serious tone. It was obvious in his grim expression, that her fate was in the hands of the council of elders and it was indeed uncanny.

"Are you worried about me? Why?" Zoya suddenly asked with a sarcastic smirk.

"You should be worried about yourself, now stop talking rubbish, your trial holds at midnight." Aldric said with a firm tone as he unlocked the cell, opening the iron bars for her to come out.

Finally, freedom! She thought inwardly as she scurried out of the cell that she certainly wasn’t going to miss for a second.

But as soon as she walked out of the cell, he grabbed her wrists and immediately bound her hands in the enchanted silver shackles.

She looked up at him with a subtle frown, displeased by the shackles but she didn’t refrain.

"It’s for safety." He said and she simply nodded.

"Why does the trial hold at midnight?" She queried as soon as she walked out of the cell.

"That’s also when most executions hold, pray it’s the before and not the latter." Aldric said in non a humourousous tone, which meant he was serious.

"I’m not going to die, at least not tonight." She stated confidently, while he gave her a confused look.

She saw him contemplating on whether to ask or not, it seemed as if the more he spoke to her, the more irresistible it became to completely ignore her. Despite the dirt on her face and her disheveled state, he found himself stealing quick, undetectable glances that she didn’t notice.

"And what makes you think so?" He finally asked, ignoring the warning ringing at the back of his head.

This woman, witch, was getting into his head, in those three days, he had managed to ignore the urge to see her in her cell, but now that he was there, would he ever want to leave her side? She seemed...Addictive, different. He knew what this feeling was, because he had never felt that way before, it was a feeling foreign to him, forbidden to his world.

Letting someone in was always detrimental, it was risky and it left you vulnerable to your enemies, but now, he saw himself letting the strange witch he had only heard tales of, in. Into his heart, into his mind or perhaps both? Perhaps it could be a fleeting infatuation, or a deadly infatuation.

"I’ve seen my future, I was born to do great things." She said with a smile that made her grey eyes twinkle like starts reflecting in a pool.

He found himself swallowing as she flashed him her beautiful smile and now, he could feel a strange sensation, one he didn’t want to feel, one that he had closed his heart to a long time ago.

Squaring his shoulders and gaining complete composurr of himself, he walked past her withiut a word as he moved through the dungeon doors while she trailed behind.

"Wait up!" She hollered behind him as they arrived at the stairs leading up, away from the underground dungeon.

Despite calling behind him, he ignored as he climbed up the stairs. It was best to ignore her, block her away from his thoughts, refrain from succumbing to the weakness of the mind. He was a warrior with duties and obligations to carry out, not a simple man who could relish in the simple, unimportant things in life, like love or family.

He could hear her panting heavily behind him as she climbed the stairs "You know, I’m a witch, not a warrior who’s used to physiclaborour. Perhaps, a helping hand would be nice." She said hoarsely as she continued climbing with shallow breaths, but he gave her silence.

It was seemingly harder to climb up rather than climb down, especially since the staiwerewas inevitably long aspiral-shapedped, she wondered if they would ever reach the end.

"Why are you keeping me silent now?" She asked, but still, silence engulfed them.

She scoffed angrily as she stomped the stairs.

"Where are you taking me to if the trial will be held at midnight?" She queried and then, he finally answered.

"The detainment chamber, until you’re called." He answered stiffly.