Zeres' gaze sharpened for a moment, and his jaw had contracted. He stood entirely still, saying nothing, as he continued staring back at her.
But Alicia persisted and refused to give in. She waited for his response with her earnest and fierce eyes. Eyes that were screaming her refusal to accept his silence as an answer to her question.
Realizing that Alicia was more than determined to hear his answer, Zeres's gaze eventually softened. To him, this witch queen was really hard to deal with, and her intensity was actually troubling him. He could not resist her probing and stubborn gazes.
"Sigh… listen to me, queen." Zeres finally started. "I believe it's better if you won't be involved with this. I don't want you to –"
"Oh please," Alicia cut him off once again as the corner of her lips curved up. "I am already involved with all these matters about you immortals, much more than you think, Zeres." She pressed, narrowing her eyes. "And I don't get it. Why do you sound like you know nothing about all the things that are happening all this time?"
Silence reigned between them again.
"Did you even know that the previous queen died because of that Dinah?" As these words slipped from Alicia's mouth, Zeres looked at her with surprise, causing Alicia to shake her head. Was this guy serious? He really knew nothing? What was he doing all this time? Was he really just staying in this castle like some caged bird?
Alicia let out a deep sigh. She refused to believe that he really knew nothing but she just felt that he wasn't acting at all. The emotions in his eyes right then were just too real to be fake.
"I will not tell you the whereabouts of your so-called wife." She suddenly told him with a decisive expression.
Her words made the man looked alarmed. He walked closer to her, but Alicia turned her back from him. "I am leaving," she said, but Zeres caught her wrist.
"Wait. Don't leave." He blocked her, looking a little anxious. He closed his eyes and sighed with surrender in his eyes. "Fine. I will tell you why. That's all you wanted to know, right? But you have to promise me first that you will help me locate my wife."
Alicia stared at him. "No, I don't want you to tell me." She told him, causing Zeres to frown hard at her. "Let me see everything myself."
The first thing Zeres did upon hearing her last statement was to shake his head in disbelief. "You really are one hell of a queen," he mumbled under his breath. He knew what she was talking about. She wanted to look at his memories directly rather than hearing his explanation.
"Don't get me wrong, Zeres. Don't expect me to trust you. How could I trust someone who's friends with the person who killed my queen? If you wanted me to speak, then allow me to see everything for myself."
Zeres' gaze flew towards the opened window. There were little birds ing in and out, chirping as if they were enjoying their freedom to fly as they want. A far off look glimmered in his eyes as he silently watched the flying birds.
And then, a small smile curved on his angel face. "Fine," he said softly before he met her gaze again. "But I won't let you do that right now. Please don't get me wrong, queen. I am just a little wary because I think you're too mischievous for me to trust fully."
"So you're telling me to bring you to her first before you let me see your memories?" she smirked. "Didn't I already tell you I don't trust you?"
"I knew you would say that," Zeres scratch the back of his neck. He let go of her wrist and smiled at her.
The next second, he suddenly chanted a curse towards himself.
Surprise immediately painted Alicia's face. Zeres had just cast a spell on himself. Judging from the chant, Alicia could tell that he cursed himself to bee immobile for a day if he breaks his promise. This spell was definitely not a joke, and it was one of the most powerful witch's spells that no one could break, especially when the caster was the cursed one himself!
Before Alicia could react, he already successfully cast the spell to himself.
"Happy now, queen? With this, you can freely do what you wanted with me while I'm immobile," he said with a smile, and Alicia was so dumbfounded that she could only press her temples. She really couldn't fathom this man as well!
Knowing that there was no more turning back, Alicia glanced at the muted man in the black cloak. She really wanted to talk to him. Even though Alicia knew that this vampire prince would never say anything about his plans, she at least wanted to receive any signal from him if this was the right thing to do. Was letting Zeres and Abi meet really the best move?
Alicia thought that maybe letting Zeres and Abi meet was the right thing she could do at this moment. Now that she felt like Zeres could actually be innocent, she thought that maybe they could still get him to their side. That was not an impossibility if Abi will manage to bring Zeres' memories back. If Zeres will find out that Dinah manipulated him, he would surely turn his back from her and bee Abi and Alexander's ally once again.
That may seem a little too good to happen, but what if it would really work?
Alicia tried to gauge any reaction from the man in the black cloak, but he remained still like a lifeless statue.
"Now, shall we go? We can't waste any more time. I already told Dinah that I'd be there for her tomorrow." Zeres words pulled Alicia's attention back to him.
After a moment of hesitation, Alicia glanced at the cloaked man for the last time. When he still didn't give her any sign of disagreement, Alicia finally nodded at Zeres thinking that the meaning behind Ezekiel's silence was that he supported her decision.
Thus, with no farther ado, they finally left Zeres' lair and headed to the Hidden Kingdom.
.
[Thank you for waiting. From today, I will try to write two chaps daily again.
Also, I just want to announce that this is the last arc.]
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