The Mayaware's reign must end.
In a world of demonic beings with a hunger for human flesh and thirst for blood, Hesi Renen knows it well. When her siblings are taken to the harvesting farms, she must do everything she can to get them out, even if it...
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Hesi's bare feet stumbled after Mezophis as they tore through hidden corridors around Berheqt. It was so covert that no one could be seen or heard from miles away. Not even servants. Was Kharta aware of this?
"Hey, slow down." She called to the High Prince who was several paces ahead. Their distance grew slightly with each passing second. "I just healed. I don't even know how long I was in bed."
Mezo turned but stopped as she asked. "A week," he revealed when she caught up.
"What?" She huffed and clutched her side which throbbed at her outburst.
"You spent a week in the healing quarters," he repeated, an eyebrow raised more in question than in mockery. "I am sorry about my pace. Have I caused you pain?"
She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand upright. "No big deal," she said. Through the arches lining the walkway, she only saw the unbridled sky and an expanse of overgrown landscape. No wonder no one knew about this. It was an abandoned area. Maybe. "Where are we going?"
The High Prince shrugged. He ditched the soldier's get-up somewhere between the healing quarters and this roofed pathwalk after making her wait by a fountain void of water. Sometimes, she forgot she gallivanted around with a demon—the prince, even—, and tonight was one of those moments. Dressed in a simple shepherd's tunic and cloak with a patterned scarf thrown around his shoulders and bald head, he passed off as a merchant who got lost inside Berheqt's maze-like layout.
Mezo became so devious since they met.
She lost count of how many times she had to pinch her palms to remind herself that Mezo was still a demon and she would kill him eventually. And now that they were alone, she could tackle him from behind and slip the poison into his mouth. She could leave him for dead. No one could trace the offense back to her or Kharta, not when Mezo isolated himself where anything could happen.
No more perfect chance could come. She was in no position to blow it. She exhaled shakily and followed the prince deeper into the corridor. For Pai. For Unsu. The breeding farm wouldn't wait. She had her fun long enough. Reality would come crashing after an eternity in fantasy.
"I was going to say 'you will see'," Mezo answered after a while of walking without a word exchanged between them. "But I can't wait that long."
He whipped towards her after shortening his steps a considerable length. "We are going outside." He put a finger to his lips, flashing a lopsided smile characteristic of teenage human boys. "It's a secret."
She glanced at the empty hallway layered by a fine carpet of dust and sand. "I figured," she said. "Are we stepping out of Berheqt for a moment?"
The demon prince shook his head. His steps had a ridiculous bounce to them as they resumed walking. The moon provided what little light she used to see the road. "You will see," was all he said.
