Chapter 9:The Hidden Price
Back in the Kingdom of Axel, Eric's dark plans for Phina began to solidify. Den, the traitor demon, sniffed the air of the chamber with a sickening grin. "I smell blood in this palace," he hissed. "Blood everywhere. Did you spill innocent blood?"
"No," Eric snapped. "And even if I did, that is not why I summoned you. I want the girl, and I want the head of the Prince of Darkness."
"And I told you the price," Den reminded him. "The head of the Queen."
"I am working on it," Eric muttered.
At that moment, Phina walked in to greet her husband, only to find him standing with a nightmare. Stunned by the swirling shadow, she began to scream, but Eric lunged forward and silenced her just in time.
"What have you done, Eric?" Phina gasped, her eyes wide with terror. "You summoned a demon? Do you have any idea what kind of sacrifice you have to give in return?"
"Shut up, woman," Eric snarled. "You talk too much."
Den leaned closer, his shadowy form flickering. "Eric... is this the Queen?"
"Yes, Den," Eric replied.
The demon let out a low, raspy chuckle. "You cannot sacrifice her."
"Why?" Eric demanded, his face contorting in confusion.
"Her hands are already stained with royal blood," Den revealed.
Eric froze. "What? Whose royal blood?"
Before Den could answer, Phina collapsed to the floor in a dead faint. Her sudden loss of consciousness plunged the room into a chaotic silence, burying the truth before it could be spoken aloud.
Phina lay trembling on the freezing floor of the secret chamber while Eric paced above her like a restless predator. Although Den had vanished, the demon's cold shadow still clung to the air. The moment Eric saw her regain consciousness, he seized her shoulders and forced her to face him, his voice shaking with a mixture of terror and rage.
"Whose blood, Phina?" he demanded. When she remained silent, his grip tightened. "I asked you whose blood! Den required a queen for the sacrifice, but he says I cannot use you because you are stained. Did you hear that? I was going to sacrifice you! Now, tell me—who did you kill?"
Phina gasped, struggling to break free from his iron grip. Realizing she couldn't escape, she narrowed her eyes and turned the situation back on him. "I have supported you throughout your entire journey to this throne, Eric! Who could I have possibly killed? He is a demon—a traitor! You're actually believing a monster over me? Eric, he lied!"
"He hasn't told a single lie since I summoned him," Eric roared. "Why would he lie about you? He sees the things we cannot."
"Fine!" Phina laughed hysterically. "It wasn't your father. I didn't poison the King. But remember that girl you raped? The one you told Marcus to dump on the road? She was still alive when I found her. She told me what you did, so I killed her to protect you, Eric! I did it for you!"
Relieved that his father wasn't her victim, Eric's rage cooled. "Thank you," he muttered.
Phina pulled away, her voice dripping with venom. "So you wanted me dead? You actually agreed to sacrifice me without a second thought?"
"Well, you're already 'stained' now," Eric said pragmatically, ignoring her hurt. "So what can we do to keep this throne?"
"Summon him again," Phina commanded. "Ask him what else can be done."
Eric performed the ritual, and Den materialized once more. "Why have you called me, little Prince?" the demon hissed.
"I am not little! I am your master!" Eric snapped.
Den's laughter filled the room—a hollow, mocking sound. "Master? You are no master of mine."
Phina stepped between them, cutting off the argument. "Is there another way?" she asked. "Since I am 'unclean,' how do we pay the price?"
"Find the human protector of the riverbank girl," Den replied, his voice echoing. "Bring me his blood."
"Who is this protector?" Phina asked.
"The one who knows the true King," Eric realized aloud. "Elder James."
"Yes," Den hissed. "The one who knows the secrets of the Keepers and their offspring."
What Den kept to himself, however, was his true motive: he needed the pure blood of a Keeper's protector to regain his physical human form. Once he became flesh and blood again, not even Eric would be able to control him. It was a dark secret that only Den and Lucas truly understood.
Eric summoned Marcus, his most loyal confidant—a man who, despite knowing right from wrong, would kill without hesitation for the Prince he viewed as a brother. "Go to the riverbank and bring me Elder James," Eric commanded. "He must be alive. Den requires his fresh blood, and I require the secrets he keeps regarding demons and the human realm."
Marcus hesitated, noting that the Elder was beloved across Axel. "Taking him in broad daylight would spark a massive uprising," he warned.
"Then take him at midnight," Eric sneered. "Leave no witnesses. If anyone sees you, kill them."
However, Phina, realizing Eric's loyalty extended only to himself, decided to play a double game. Seeking to secure her own future and gain an ally, she secretly sent a warning to Elder James about Eric's plan and the presence of the traitor demon, Den. Grateful for the warning, the Elder fled the kingdom immediately. When Eric and Marcus arrived at the riverbank under the cover of darkness, they found only an empty house. "Damn it! Where is he?" Eric roared, his rage boiling over as his prize slipped through his fingers.
Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Valor, Lucas caught a change in the wind. His voice rose in a rare moment of alarm. "No... it can't be. He can't be back!"
Victoria rushed to his side, startled. "Lucas, what's wrong?"
"We have to leave, Victoria. Now," he insisted. "The traitor has been awakened. Den is back."
"The one who betrayed Zancus?" Victoria asked, chilled. "How? Who freed him?"
"Eric," Lucas spat. "He is playing with a fire that will consume everything. Den is seeking a physical human form, and he will stop at nothing to get it. He'll go after Elder James—not just for his pure blood, but because the Elder is the Keeper's secret-bearer. He knows the only way to truly destroy Den."
Victoria's heart sank. "We can't let him die. He's the only family I have left, and the only one who knows the truth about my father."
Lucas nearly let the truth slip—*I know who your father was*—but he bit back the words. Instead, they fled Valor under the cover of night, racing back toward Axel to save the Elder, unaware that James had already vanished into the unknown.