Chapter 404 - King's Magic

At the crack of dawn, Iona woke up to find that Rolfe wasn't there in the room. Panic cruised through her body and she got up with a jolt? Did he leave her and go? When the blurriness of the night cleared her mind, she heard voices—loud voices of people coming from the courtyard. And she knew that they were gathering for the mission. 

It took her precisely twenty minutes to get dressed and come to the courtyard. The place was packed. Demon and fae soldiers were standing in several neat rows as Rolfe gave instructions on which line would enter the kingdom first. From the corner of her eyes, she found Caleb sitting on a small parapet, watching them all with a leather skin in his hand. He would drink brew from it time to time and wipe his mouth with his sleeve. 

They had said that Elize was in good hands and well protected by Arawn before bringing them here, but the truth, which he incidentally knew, was that they had kidnapped Elize and put her in Arawn's care. For so many months, since the night she had become a vampire and ran away after his accession to Ixoviya throne, he had searched and searched relentlessly for her. And once he found her, she wasn't accepting him. Caleb continued to believe that he would acquire her one day and bring her back to Ixoviya. His people at one point thought that he had gone mad, and that separation from his wife—twice in a row, once from Pia and then from Elize, had taken a toll on his mental well being. But Caleb was determined. He would show them all that he would never give up on her. So, Caleb took another swig and looked at all the soldiers in front of him. He was as eager as them to get things to work and then leave, and be miserable again… or stalk his mate…  His gaze met Iona's and his eyes narrowed. He jumped from the parapet and walked towards her, his eyes still on her. Iona matched the staring game he was playing with her and stood firmly in her place.

"How are you, cousin?" said Caleb in a low cold voice, as soon as he walked to stand near her. 

He was reeking of alcohol and Iona stifled a retch. "I am good," she replied calmly. "Thank you for coming here and helping us." 

A smile crept up on his lips and she knew that it was a warning. "If my Elize isn't released from Arawn's captivity, be ready to be my captive," he said coldly. "You wouldn't like to become my prisoner, given your history." 

A shudder passed through her body, but she didn't let it show. Caleb chuckled, "Your skin paled, cousin, which means that you have understood my threat." 

Iona gulped. She stared right back in his eyes and said, "I don't care as long as you help us with the project, cousin." She emphasized on the word, 'cousin'. "Just don't falter or deliver less!" 

"Smart mouth," replied Caleb. "I wouldn't do that… ever." 

"Caleb!" Rolfe called him and the conversation between them was cut off. 

"You have to lead the first contingent," Rolfe said, jogging to them. "Take into account every part of the geography." 

Caleb nodded and with one last look at Iona, he sauntered to the group who was about to leave. When he left, Iona said, "I think it's a bad idea to go at this time. We should have gone at night." 

Rolfe pursed his lips. "With Caleb with us, I chose to go at this time. No one would suspect activity in the morning if he creates illusions rightly." 

Other than Anastasia and a few other demons and fae soldiers who were left behind to guard her, everyone including Ileus and Kaizan marched to Galahar. 

They reached the borders of the village in the south and crested a hill. Caleb signaled them to all to stop. He noticed that tall logs were erected around the border, which converged into large monoliths that guarded the entrance of the village. Sentries were standing with their poisoned spears, straight as ramrod, their eyes traversing alertly. 

Caleb took his horse as near as possible to the entrance without being noticed by the guards. He scanned the entire area, as magic buzzed around him. A small misstep would mean that King Edyrm would come to know of their presence. 

He felt the king's magic as it rippled lazily around him, trying to sense him, trying to sense who he was. Suddenly the ripples twirled around him faster. He clenched his jaw knowing fully well that the king had sensed the possibility of an intruder. If he even blinked, the magic would perceive his presence. He needed to understand the magic in order to counter it, in order to emulate it or block it. It was like blocking the software of a camera to stop reading the movement and feed it the information that everything was fine. He had previously worked on that project with Daryn in his company and marveled the analogy. 

The thing was that he had to understand the magic not just for one person, he had to do it for a large contingent of demon soldiers who were branded as rebels and also faes, who had massive wings. His head throbbed at the activity he had to deal with. 

The king's magic rippled and there was a slight buzz of electricity against his skin. He had to let the magic feel him and feel him completely. He needed time and he needed to understand the spell. The ripple woke up from its lazy slumber and rose like a wave. Caleb saw it coming in his direction, as if it wanted to crash against a tall cliff with force. It was deadly, had tremendous power and could kill him. His eyes wide, he braced himself. Sweat trickled down his forehead and over his brows. Even though the temperature was low, his skin was heated up. 

As soon as the wave of magic came towards him with serpentine speed, he threw his hands forward. And the wave… it settled and spread like calm waters over the surface of a serene lake. 

Caleb smiled. He had successfully decoded the king's magic. At least for now. He exhaled heavily and wiped the sweat from his face. Then he looked at Rolfe and motioned them to enter the place quietly. The first unit dismounted and walked towards the entrance. Magic that flared around Caleb, encompassed each and every soldier. General Arel led them inside. When Iona walked past Caleb, she felt as if she was walking through a web of silk. Caleb's magic was like a thin layer of silk that clung to her body and acted like a mask. She walked past the sentries without them stirring their eyes. She couldn't help marveling at Caleb's power as a sorcerer. Surely, mimicking the king's magic was not an easy thing. She looked in front of her and was mesmerized to see the beauty of Galahar. 

Expanse of lush green fields extended till the mountain slopes that were dotted with pine.. The unseen wind moved through the crop and ruffled her hair, bringing the scent of wet soil mixed with remnants of mist.