Yasmine was forcibly sent down to the basement jail—a place I learned existed only just now, having never had reason to know of it before. She went there cursing continuously all the way down the stone steps, screaming in a language that I had never even heard before in all my linguistic studies. Her hatred was raw and animalistic—primal, never forgiving, absolutely unrelenting. For a fleeting second, I found myself thinking that perhaps Arvid had been wrong for killing her people, for whatever he had done to the Dergu. But that uncomfortable thought disappeared almost immediately as Aiona's voice chimed sharply in my head: "Well, those Dergu bastards had it coming to them."
What do you mean by that?
I asked herinternally, curiosity flapping its insistent wings within me.
Did Aiona actually know about this particular tribe and their history?
You doubt your mate so easily? You should ask him yourself what they did to deserve their fate, and why he did what he did,
was the cryptic answer she gave me, clearly displeased.
So I waited patiently for Arvid that entire day, expecting him to return to our chambers. But he never showed up, not even as evening fell. Katherine, at my increasingly anxious request, went to find out where he was. She returned with the news that he was still occupied with investigating the criminal. The imperial soldiers were desperately trying to extract information about the Dergu stronghold's location. But Yasmine, it seemed, was stubbornly ready to die rather than ever giving out that crucial information.
I had a pronounced frown on my face after hearing that report. Was he torturing her personally down there? I didn't particularly like that image—though if it was answers that he desperately needed, we could potentially provide those answers to him, couldn't we? Aiona agreed readily with my thinking.
No one is going to steal our mate's attention, not even a criminal,
she declared possessively.
So I got up with determination, and even though Katherine protested vigorously, I made my way down to the underground prison.
As I walked carefully down the dimly lit stone stairs leading to the prison, it was the overwhelmingly muddy, musty smell that first assaulted my nose, making me wrinkle it in distaste. There was a constant, echoing sound of water dripping somewhere in the darkness—and agonized screams that made my skin crawl. Most of the jail cells lining the corridor were empty, though there were occasional occupied ones with prisoners huddled in corners. This suggested that Gorei's people weren't particularly crime-ridden, which was genuinely a good thing. I kept walking steadily toward where I heard the screams originating—because if I was correct in my assumption, that's where Yasmine was being held. And where my mate was conducting his interrogation.
To reach them, I had to descend much deeper into the earth than I had initially thought, the air growing colder and damper. At the end of a long, narrow corridor stood Arvid, looking at the person inside the cell with an expression so cold it could freeze water. I had never seen that particular expression on his face before, never witnessed this side of him. He had never looked at me that way—with such ice and controlled rage. But the person on the receiving end of that absolutely chilling look must have done something truly terrible to deserve it, was the only charitable thing I could conclude.
Yasmine inside the barred cell screamed piercingly as a soldier methodically cut off one of her fingers with a blade. Yet despite the horrific pain, she stubbornly didn't answer the question that had been directed toward her.
"Where is the Dergu stronghold located?" the interrogating soldier in front of her asked again, his voice flat.
But the girl just screamed desperately, "Kill me! I won't tell you anything!" over and over again, her voice becoming hoarse. It wasn't a sight I wanted to see or had prepared myself for.
At the sound of my approaching footsteps echoing, Arvid looked over sharply, his gaze immediately sharpening with alertness. Yet as soon as his eyes actually met mine and recognized me, his expression softened noticeably. But a distinct flicker of worry wrote itself clearly over his features. He quickly approached me, leaving his position.
"This isn't a place for you to be, Rhia," he said firmly, physically positioning himself to block my view of the monstrosity ongoing in the cell. "You shouldn't be down here."
"I missed you," I told him honestly, ignoring his concern. "I've waited for you all day—but you never came to see me." My eyes desperately tried to capture and hold his gaze so he couldn't look away or escape.
He was left speechless for a moment, clearly torn.
"I'm trying to extract crucial information from her, but she absolutely isn't cooperating no matter what we do," he explained honestly, his frustration evident.
"Do you want the information she possesses?" I asked him directly, reaching up to hold his face gently in both my hands.
"Yes, desperately," he replied simply.
That single affirmation was all I needed to hear. Aiona had thoughtfully instructed me earlier on how to make a truth serum—a potion to make the mind speak freely. The recipe was surprisingly simple: milk mixed with a single diluted drop of dragon blood and a spoonful of honey for taste. I had prepared it earlier with Katherine's confused assistance. And the magic activation words that needed to be spoken before administering it to the subject were:
Fres tia thrul.
After carefully saying those ancient words of power over the prepared vial, I handed the mixture over to the waiting soldier.
"Make absolutely sure this entire contents goes down her throat," I instructed him firmly.
He did exactly that, though it wasn't an easy feat by any means—Yasmine resisted violently throughout the entire process, thrashing and trying to spit it out. But eventually, the liquid had gone down her throat and been swallowed.
"Where is the Dergu stronghold located?" the soldier asked again, the same question as before.
This time, remarkably, Yasmine didn't yell out creative curses or beg them to kill her. Instead, she looked oddly dazed, her eyes unfocused. Then she opened her mouth compulsively.
"At the Great Sand Desert, near to the Malwa Dunes, there's a hidden oasis that hasn't been discovered by any outsiders yet," she replied in a monotone. "Most of the surviving Dergu people live there in secret."
"So the bandits plaguing travelers in the desert were actually Dergu?" Arvid asked, leaning forward with interest.
"Yes, they are all Dergu," she confirmed without hesitation.
Arvid mumbled a low, satisfied "I knew it" under his breath.
"What does this coded message mean?" The soldier held up a crumpled paper in front of her glazed face.
"It says our mission is to kidnap the Draga queen successfully, as she has been identified as the primary weakness of the mixed-blooded monster," she replied in that same emotionless, dazed tone.
Everyone present went completely silent at that revelation.
---
After that disturbing confession, Arvid had personally escorted me out of the prison immediately, his hand firm on my arm. He handed me over directly to an anxious Katherine who had been waiting at the entrance, pacing.
"Keep her confined to the chambers at all times," he had instructed Katherine directly, his tone brooking no argument. My words of protest and objections were completely ignored. Katherine, following orders, practically dragged me back to my chambers despite my resistance. She locked us securely inside.
Damn it. I desperately needed to listen to the rest of Yasmine's confession, to hear everything. Hearing that I was apparently the next target of the Dergu tribe didn't particularly scare me as much as it probably should have. All I could think about was that if my life was genuinely in danger, I could always use the temporary merge with Aiona. That incredible power felt sweet on the tip of my tongue like honey—something you simply couldn't get enough of once tasted. Something dangerously addictive.
But the rational side of me wanted desperately to know the whole story—how had this blood feud come to be? What was the complete history behind the Dergu tribe? Why had Arvid ordered them killed? Was he simply a senseless killer who had casually committed genocide? Or was there actually a justifiable reason for his actions?
I desperately, almost pathetically wanted there to be a valid reason. Call me shallow or utterly without morals if you want. I honestly didn't care about judgment. I had never personally taken a life with my own hands, and I fervently never wanted to cross that line. This was precisely why I needed to understand the dark version of Arvid too—the shadowed side. The version that took lives without apparent hesitation or visible remorse.
But right now, all I could do was sit here and keep waiting for him to return and explain.
Aiona had gone completely silent now, clearly displeased with me. She had returned to her realm, deliberately shutting me off because I hadn't shown blind faith in our mate. I sighed heavily.
I just had to keep waiting for him and trust he would come.