It belonged to a person who was not unfamiliar to them. Seren could not believe her eyes when she saw the middle-aged woman walking towards her.

Under the flickering light coming from the fire torches, Seren could clearly see the smiling face of her nanny, Martha, the woman who was so sick a few days back she could barely stay standing upright.

“Martha!”

The young queen seemingly forgot everything else as she hurried towards the woman like a little girl running towards her mother.

“Martha, what are you doing here?” Seren reached out to her and held her hand, squeezing it tightly as if to check whether this is real or not. “Have you recovered well? Is it right for you to be here? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I am fine now, Your Majesty,” the middle-aged woman replied.

Seren studied her face and body and realized Martha’s complexion did improve. “You do look fine, but are you sure you shouldn’t be resting?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Martha replied and looked at others as she bowed, “Greetings, Your Majesties. I hope the trip was not difficult for everyone.”

King Armen gestured for her to rise and asked, “Are you alone? Where are the rest?”

“Others will be here soon,” Martha informed him, keeping a silent sigh to herself upon seeing the vague expectations in the man’s normally calm gaze.

King Armen merely nodded, and no longer inquired. Though he appeared unflustered on the surface, in fact, he might be the most nervous amongst all the people on the boat.

Among the ‘others’, there was someone who he had not seen since the day she left the newborn Seren with him.

Sierra, his dearest Sierra.

Though her appearance was changed, still she was the woman he deeply loved. Though King Armen was a man who knew his responsibilities, who cared more for the bigger picture than his own desires, in the end, he was but a mere man, a person with his own selfishness.

Coming here was not only for Seren’s sake, but also for himself—he wished to see Sierra,  to talk to her, even though he knew that as a mere human many of his questions would remain unanswered.

“Till then please follow me. You all must be tired with the overnight journey,” Martha said before leading the way for them. As they entered that large cave, the newcomers realized that countless strange runes were etched on the walls and the surface of rocks inside, and there were a number of entrances and smaller tunnels connected to that huge cave.

Drayce and Seren walked side by side, holding each other’s hands, and soon, Martha made them enter one of the tunnels where a man-made chamber could be found on the end. Inside, there was a bed-like stone platform which had a thin mattress spread on it, and on the side, there was a stone table with fresh water and fruits prepared to welcome the tired travelers.

Drayce made Seren sit on the mattress as he offered her water. After drinking, she asked, “How long do we have to stay here? I don’t know why, but I am feeling anxious.”

“It should not be long, perhaps a day or two at most. Once your day of birth passes and we learn what changes will occur after that, I believe we can return back to the palace,” Drayce replied as he sat next to her.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. “You didn’t sleep for the entire night. You must be tired. Why don’t you rest while we wait?”

“I am fine. Instead, you should sleep some more. You only slept for a couple of hours.” He made her lie on that mattress but Seren could not close her eyes.

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“We will know once they arrive. While they’re yet to come, get as much rest as you can, and I will wake you up when it’s needed.”

Seren nodded and closed her eyes.

—-

For the next few hours, the cave was quiet as everyone went their individual ways to rest.

Drayce, who was resting by Seren’s side, woke up the moment his sharp ears caught certain sounds outside of their stone chamber. He realized it had been only more than an hour since he fell asleep, yet despite that, he felt more awake than ever.

Footsteps and voices…

They belong to King Armen and Martha. It sounded like the woman was leading him somewhere.please visit panda(-)N0ve1.co)m

After some time, he realized he could no longer sense their presence. He tried to extend the range of his senses through his powers, yet he still could not hear any sound, not even their footsteps, as if something was stopping his senses from capturing their existence.

His red eyes narrowed at a certain realization.

‘Did the ‘others’ arrive?’

The tips of his fingers trembled, and he let out a shaky breath as he pressed his arm over his eyes.

‘Is she really one of them? To know how to block my powers like that without me sensing the energy core of the other party, there can only be one person capable of doing that who is also familiar with me.

‘Only she can do it, my mother.’

Drayce had a strong urge to go out and check the powerful being who blocked his senses, but he clenched his fists and stopped himself.

‘What if it’s not her?

‘What if I am mistaken?

He let out another shaky breath.

‘I have to be patient. I am sure if my mother is truly here, then we will meet even if I don’t seek her. For now, I must focus on my wife.’

—

In one of the stone chambers, a handsome middle-aged man with shoulder-length brown hair could be seen pacing, and none of his usual calmness could be seen on his deep blue eyes.

It was King Armen who was unable to rest the more he thought of the woman he was impatient to meet.

When Martha came to see him, the man instantly regained his composure, as if the agitation he was feeling was nothing but a ruse.

She bowed to him wordlessly and King Armen understood. He also followed Martha wordlessly as she guided his way through the seemingly endless tunnels.

As the two of them walked, King Armen noticed that the more they walked, the less torches there were on their path, yet despite that, the cave was bright. Only then did he notice that the ceiling of this part of the cave had few random holes that allowed the morning sunlight to enter.

Martha led his way towards another tunnel, and when they entered, he realized the end was not a chamber like the ones allotted to them.

Instead, it led to a forked tunnel with three routes, and Martha led him to the third one without stopping. The path inside was dark as there was no sunlight coming inside, and the woman had to take one of the torches attached to the forked entrance to light up the way.

King Armen didn’t know how long they had been walking, and he was too nervous and excited to care. When they finally reached the end of that pathway,Martha stopped in front of the door and stepped aside, as if to say King Armen must proceed without her.

The man nodded as thanks, his appearance calm and dignified, but inside he was not. Only he himself knew how worked up he was, as if his stomach was in knots.

With a deep breath, he reached out to open the door, only to find two women wearing white robes waiting for him. They were both sitting on a stone platform, one a young lady with honey blond hair and the other a woman with her appearance hidden behind a lowered hood.

King Armen recognized both of them. One was the previous Queen of Megaris, and the other one whose scaly skin was visible through her robe was none other than the mother of his third daughter.

King Armen first greeted the woman with honey blond hair. “It has been a long time, Queen Esther…”

“Call me Evanthe, King Armen,” she interrupted him.

King Armen nodded. “…then, Lady Evanthe.”

His blue eyes flickered as he stared at the other woman.

“How have you been, Sierra?”

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