Sovereign of Wrath Chapter 27: Better Than Never

From the outside, Third Prince Malich’s estate didn’t match his personality. I expected gaudy, overwrought design full of clashing elents. What I got instead was white on red with gold accents. Ostentatious, but I he was a Navanaean prince. To his credit, I doubted anything short of a thick coating of rotten sli would be able to properly reflect the shallows of his personality.

I concluded he must have inherited the estate from soone far more reasonable. At least in terms of aesthetic sense.

Unfortunately, insulting the man in my mind did not, in fact, grant bravery. Regardless of how, the fact was that Malich had at least one greater demon bound to him. He’d be dead if he lacked counterasures against my kind. I was oddly torn between imagining the entire place on fire and turning tail.

Speaking of tails, I finally had mine back. No point in disguises anymore, so we’d taken a few minutes in an alley to remove them. Hopefully a giant red demon and her binder with an unusual complexion (for the region) would be rembered enough that Aretan could find out where we went.

I’d slipped Nelys’ coral pendant carefully between my breasts. Seyari had shown the trick to sneak small items way back on the Lady of Liseu. I didn’t intend to undress and no one would search there. At least no one who wanted to remain in possession of all their limbs.

Beside , Seyari’s eyes were as cold as the dull steel they resembled. By all accounts, Malich should know little of what I could do. Still, his information network was not to be underestimated. He’d arrived at our destination before us after all. Although only because of my injury, the fact that it was the capital didn’t absolve the bastard from suspicion.

We reached the gate without interruption, though it was painfully clear we were watched from the mont we ca in view of the estate. The property sat at the hilly edge of Baetnal. Close enough to where the new wall ford a boundary at the rear of the estate. The property sat elevated like much of the surrounding nobles’ district such that, from the inside, the outer wall looked about waist high.

A rather practical tal fence surrounded the rest of the estate which looked to have extensive gardens. I expected Malich’s initials to be in the wrought iron gate, but to my disappointnt, there was instead a symbol that probably belonged to the royal family of Navanaea.

I had plenty of ti to admire the scenery since Seyari did nothing but glare at the gate guards. Like so others we could see about the grounds, they wore well-polished armor and carried polearms.

The tension was rising, but my station absolved of responsibility to do anything about it, which gave so amount of comfort. That I also enjoyed watching two potentially innocent people squirm was not lost on .

Seyari let the silence stretch on, daring them to do sothing. Eventually one of them spoke up in stuttering Navvish.

“Yes,” Seyari responded with one of the few Navvish words I could understand.

She didn’t elaborate. After a minute or so of awkward silence, soone who looked of higher station reached the gate. The man wore full armor like the others, but with a distinct-looking tabard. Terse words were exchanged with the gate guards, who looked more than a little whipped.

Following the exchange, the gates opened and we were let inside. The sound of tal closing behind dropped an anchor into my stomach.

We were relieved of our bags and weapons by surprisingly polite guards who inford Seyari she would get them back before her departure. Our stuff was stashed in a guard house off to the side of the gate. I worried for my dress in its battered suitcase more than I worried about my weapons. Seyari, on the other hand, seed to care a lot more. Her posture lost most of its surety and recovered very slowly as we walked toward the mansion in the center of the estate.

Without really thinking, I reached out to take Seyari’s hand. She let and I gave her a reassuring squeeze. Before I really registered the action, Seyari squeezed back. We’d get Nelys back safely and we’d get through this, together.

***

The well-maintained grounds led to an interior that I really should have expected. Malich had done his best to erase any semblance of taste from the décor. From the taxidermy and rugs alone, I could doubtless learn much of large Navanaean fauna. I even recognized so of the displays from Edath and Ordia.

No one had told the man gold didn’t go with silver. Combining that with a riotous disregard for color pairing, the massive foyer alone hurt my eyes. About the only pleasant view was the large mural on the ceiling which depicted a beautiful starry night, lit by a chandelier that thankfully seed original to the estate.

Twin staircases swept around the sides of a large set of double doors I assud led to a ballroom of sorts. Down one of these oozed the leering Third Prince Malich flanked by three humanoid demons. His suit this ti was a rather vibrant shade of green I’d dare say matched well with his dark features. Malich’s outfit made him look like a bright painter’s error set against the deep orangish-red of the wall behind him.

I recognized the gray demon from earlier to his left. To his right was a crimson-skinned woman whose outfit could conservatively be called indecent. From the way she carried herself, it wasn’t hard to guess she fell into a rather common demonic stereotype. She looked at as if appraising a piece of at and flicked her whiplike tail. I returned her look with a glare and she rely quirked her lips up in response.

The last demon behind was the least humanoid looking of the bunch. Spikes grew from his shoulders, his massive horns pointed forward aggressively, and though I could not see them clearly, his arms looked disproportionately large.

To my surprise, the cocky glare he gave turned into a look of shock. Quickly, his expression shifted into a diocre attempt at impassiveness. I hoped I didn’t let my surprise show.

“You’re late.” Malich’s words dripped venom.

“You have soone of ours,” Seyari stated coolly.

“And you have sothing of mine.” The smile the Third Prince directed at was anything but friendly.

A shiver ran up my spine. Gray looked at with unnerving stillness. Succubus licked her lips, and Spikes visibly struggled to keep a neutral face.

Malich filled the silence before it could grow. “Despite your lack of both manners and sense, I am nothing if not magnanimous. I am certain we can co to an agreent.” He smiled for effect. “A trade, perhaps?”

Seyari looked over the assembled demons. My eyes followed her gaze and only now did I notice the sheer number of ard guards in the room. There had to be at least a dozen on top of three mostly unknown demons. How on Varra were we going to get out of this?

Seyari clenched her jaw. “You know what we want.”

“We?” The prince laughed harshly. “You have such interesting opinions about your pets.”

I wanted so very badly to wipe the smile off his face, but I held my gaze level at him, though the animosity in it was obvious. I felt Seyari’s anger blaze to life next to . I doubted it would dim while we were here.

“Get. On. With. It.” Seyari’s patience was diving negative.

“Hmm? No friendly discussion? Such a rude house guest, you are.” Malich waved his hand dismissively. “Fine. We can negotiate over dinner. You must be famished.”

Seyari and I shared a glance. With the firepower in the room, now wasn’t the ti to take our chances.

“Co. Gods know you’ve kept waiting long enough.” The Third Prince gestured to a large door at one side.

Surrounded by an abundance of guards, we reluctantly followed and were corralled down a wide, garish hall and into an equally garish dining room.

Malich, flanked still by his three bound demons, took a seat at the head of the table. Before him was a lavish looking al.

Our seats, far down at the foot of the table, had the sad remains of lavish als. Everything was cold and solidified. The vegetables and fruit were limp and slled notably off.

“I apologize, but your als may have gotten slightly cold while I was waiting,” Malich grinned viciously.

“What about yours?” I couldn’t help but fire back.

“Seyari! Keep your pet on a tighter leash.” The Third Prince deftly dug into his al. “Then again, I’ll soon teach it proper discipline.”

“How do you know my na?” Seyari’s tone was, sohow, even.

From my position across from her, I could see her hand shaking slightly.

“You give my connections too little credit.” Despite the quick reply, Malich’s tone wavered. “And to answer your pet’s rude question, I ate my al the night of, of course.”

Silence filled the air until Malich decided to replace it with the grating sound of his own voice.

“Your friend is very far from the ocean, you know.”

Seyari and I shared a look of confusion for a mont before we could hide it.

“Oh, you didn’t know? How very interesting. I wonder how close you—"

“Cut the bullshit Malich. Where’s Nelys?” Seyari, like , refused to touch the rancid al.

“Watch your tone, wretch!” Malich’s face contorted. “You do exactly what I say or your friend dies.”

I felt a spike in his anger.

“What do you say, then?” Seyari choked out.

“Simple.” The prince paused and made a brief show of enjoying his al. “You give what I need to transfer Zarenna’s contract. Once she’s mine, you can take your friend Nelys and leave.”

I don’t think either of us believed that for a minute. Still, we needed him to give us an opening. We still didn’t know where Nelys was held. Right now, I wanted nothing more than to kill the bastard, but we all knew damn well that killing him would bring the whole of Navanaea down on us. Fucker was still the Third Prince after all.

“Fine. I agree,” Seyari replied eventually.

“Wonderful! I have important business after dinner, but I’m quite certain you won’t mind waiting until later this evening.”

“Of course, Third Prince.” Seyari said, bowing her head.

Only I could see the middle finger she made at him out of his view. Her anger roiled away in a tight knot. Malich’s anger still simred. I wondered if I could push him into a rash decision, but I worried it wouldn’t get past Gray.

Seyari’s acquiescence couldn’t have sounded any more fake, but Malich seed to buy it completely.

Malich tapped the base of his goatee. “Oh, and do give an order to your pet so I can be sure of your sincerity.”

Seyari made a show of frustration before turning to . “Zarenna. I order you to comply with orders given by Malich and his bound demons as though they were my own. Their orders supersede my own.”

“Understood,” I replied simply.

Of course, I had no intention of following any order I didn’t want to.

Malich clapped his hands. “I’m so glad we could co to an agreent. Zarenna is truly a magnificent specin. She’ll be much better off in more capable hands, don’t you think?” Malich let the silence hang.

Seyari made a show of eating her rancid al rather than respond. Malich frowned briefly before, I imagine, determining that he was still winning the exchange and resuming his al.

The Third Prince ate in silence while Seyari and I did our best to figure a way out in our own heads. At so point, she managed to mouth “Don’t worry about ” without getting seen. For my part, hungry as I was, I ate the curry that still seed edible and a good portion of the stale rice.

Malich was exactly petty enough to not offer food again.

What I didn’t understand was why he even offered to let Seyari go. On top of that, with how excited he seed to have effectively his slave, he made a show of delaying when he’d get the chance. Malich didn’t strike as the type to put any sort of business before ‘pleasure’. Sothing else was going on, and I hoped Seyari realized it as well.

With the acoustics of the room and all the people in it, there was no way for us to whisper anything while being so closely watched.

After what felt like an eternity, ‘dinner’ ended and we were shuffled along and down into an extensive basent. Of course, a creep like him would have an extensive basent. Never mind that it probably dated to the estate’s construction and served a purpose. I seriously doubted the torture devices and multiple cells we passed along between the many closed doors were leftovers of a previous occupant.

At an intersection, Seyari and I were separated. Panic set in until Seyari managed to sneak a thumbs-up at before she left my sight. I should have, but I didn’t expect us to be separated. At this point, my guards were Spikes and Gray with a few humans who kept well back. The Third Prince, half the human guard entourage, and Succubus went with Seyari.

Spikes looked dearly like he wanted to say sothing, but either his contract or Gray’s presence stopped him from speaking. I looked over occasionally, but the spiked demon didn’t et my gaze. I did get a chance to look at him more and damn, did his arms and hands look like they could crush boulders. With a bit of a start, I realized they very well could do just that.

My claws sotis got in the way, but at least I could use my hands much the sa way I always had. I also took so pride in the height advantage I had. My horns were only a few centiters from the ceiling and I had to duck deeply under the doors. After a mont, I wondered why I’d felt such a need to compare Spikes to myself.

Sothing was going on, but I hadn’t the faintest idea what. I did feel like I could probably take him though, and the thought reassured .

While we followed the Third Prince, I’d kept an eye out for closed off rooms that might contain Nelys. I also morized the path we took down here. The place was truly a maze, however, and I wasn’t completely sure about all the turns by the ti we arrived at a dark room in the depths of the underground labyrinth.

We’d descended another flight of stairs at so point, and the walls were now carved into the rock. At the end of a hall was a large, reinforced door.

Gray had the hand-sized key. I started to think they was probably at the top of the hierarchy for Malich’s bound demons.

Spike pushed inside, though I didn’t fight it. An idea had started to form in my head.

Malich could bind with any contract he wanted, but I was confident I could ignore his binding. There was absolutely no way he was aware of this. Only Seyari and myself knew, and I was confident she wouldn’t let that critical detail spill.

All I had to do was wait for an opportunity and I could get us all out of here. Maybe. Hopefully.

The room I was led to was completely dark. I could see regardless, though as per usual with my darkvision, colors were washed out. Heavy chains and several sets of manacles ran from the floor and ceiling and were the only things in this circular room.

I wasn’t surprised when Gray moved to manacle . I thought briefly about my chances of taking them out and making a run for it. The problem I had was that I knew so little about Gray and what he could do. Plus, I doubted Malich would want to keep chained. Right? I thought back to his earlier odd behavior.

There was no way his selfishness would lose out to whatever else was going on. Confident enough, I let myself be manacled. My four arms presented a bit of a challenge, resulting in my body being almost strung up between two sets that were set apart. My two left wrists were shackled by one set and my right to the other. I expected cold, but the tal burned my wrists and ankles.

“Holy magic.” Gray’s voice was unnaturally void of emotion.

I paled. Not only could I probably not break the manacles off, the holy magic burned deep into my ankles and wrists. Of course, the burns inflicted by holy magic negated my regeneration, leaving with a constant useless drain on my mana due to constant exposure.

The unnerving demon smiled far, far too wide. They turned to leave and Spikes followed, though not without one last glance my way.

I thought about trying to lt the manacles, but even if I failed, the results would be obvious. As much as it pained to do so, for Nelys sake, I need to keep my rage in check.

As the darkness stretched on, however, I started to lose the battle with my own anger. Who dared to shackle ?

Before my thoughts could turn to visions of fire and death, my sigil glowed green and cast its faint glow around the small room. The color reminded of Abby’s eyes.

Deep breaths.

Slowly, I cald myself down. I had to be patient for everyone’s sake. Malich’s ego would give us an opening.

The minutes dragged into hours. I kept my breathing even and my thoughts as clear as I could. To my surprise, I almost grew used to the burning from my manacles. The drain on my mana was only slight, though fatiguing all the sa.

I was musing about demonic pain tolerance versus what this experience would have been like when I was human when I finally heard the sound of a key in the lock.

With Gray and Spikes flanking him, Malich strode into the room with a wicked smile on his face. Gray carried ritual implents I couldn’t identify, while Spike glanced up at before looking down.

I glared down at Malich with anger and fear in my eyes. For as confident as I was in my ability to nullify bindings, the idea of being wrong scared to my core.