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Oh, the height of the insult, after everything she had been through to win the King’s affection. She had consoled herself that Neera was human and would die within the short lifespan humans possessed, only for that nonsense suggestion to come up.

Zavian had almost caught her that day. The stupid shoe she had worn had tangled with her dress and caused her to fall against the wall, and the thud had sounded loud enough for him to hear. Jasmine had lifted her dress high and run for her life before Zavian was so close to catching her that day.

But Jasmine knew she needed to act fast, and she gave Neera several other options to get out of the castle, but the stupid human wouldn’t take them.

She had suggested she go to her parents. Surely, they must miss her. Alas, Neera refused. Then when the Duke and Duchess of Selesee arrived, Jasmine basked in the way they had thrown subtle yet sharp insults at the concubine, and the Queen was hoping that would break her enough to cut ties with Zavian, again, that didn’t work out.

Jasmine had tried her luck at the party, pointing out every fine demon Selesee had to offer for Neera to make her pick, yet the concubine had the audacity to look shocked at her action. Jasmine had even made her drunk, hoping to loosen her enough for her to bed another demon, but the drunken fool had gone on to Zavian and even blurted out a confession of love.

I love you, Zavian, Neera had said along with some other nonsense, and Jasmine hadn’t felt any other pain more terrible than the scene of the two of them holding each other, and at her own party!

The Queen didn’t turn around when the footsteps amplified behind her. All her ears wanted to receive was good news.

“It is done, your Majesty,” Zoe said.

.....

“Are you sure?” Jasmine asked.

“Yes, your… your… Majesty”, Rue stuttered in confirmation. Poor girl, she was probably traumatized.

Jasmine closed her eyes, and for the first time since she became Queen, the relief washed through her, heavier than any rain that had fallen all year long. Finally, she had Zavian to herself and herself alone. She would be with him when he grieved, and she would offer him comfort of her body, night after night. He would get over it, just as he had done with Lilah.

Patience was her strongest virtue, after all.

“I will have the gold delivered to your families”, Jasmine said. She looked at them then, and both maids bowed their heads in respect.

“I wanted you to know that,” Zoe started. “Even if you didn’t pay us in gold, I would have done it willingly. I was never okay with her taking over the Kingdom from you like that. Only you deserve the King, my Queen.”

Jealousy, Jasmine could smell the reeks of it on the maid. Neera had what the maid wanted, and this was a way to rid of her. Her jealousy worked to Jasmine’s advantage, but Jasmine was no fool. Even jealousy would require a price to go as far as she did.

“Do you still wish we leave the body there?” Rue asked, her face pallid.

“Did you mangle her ankle as I asked you to?” Jasmine asked in return.

Zoe was the one who nodded enthusiastically. “We did it all as you instructed, your Majesty.”

“Before or after?” She still didn’t want her going through pain for the sake of the short-lived friendship they had.

“After, your Majesty.”

“Good,” Jasmine looked out the window. “Then leave it as it is. She got hurt, fell into the water, couldn’t save herself, and drowned. Now we wait.”

….

“Freya”, Zavian was losing his patience by the second. “We haven’t got all day.”

“Stop rushing me”, Freya hissed, shooing him away with one hand. “I know. I saw it somewhere.”

She balanced the spear in her other hand, her razor focus on the stream. Zavian looked to where some of his men were searching, not far off, some of them waddling their way through the stream with their trousers rolled high up.

There had been no recent discovery so far, and he doubted there would be. Whatever game anyone behind it was playing, they were playing it well. For even Freya not to have a clue of what was going on, even though she had incessantly claimed she had out of pride, and that it will take time, it was much bigger than any of them.

Still, he hated to lose. In that regard, he and Freya shared the same trait.

A loud splash sounded. Freya had aimed her spear at the giant fish. The fish wiggled as its blood tainted the clear water, but it was futile. Life seeped out of it, and Freya threw a triumphant fist into the air.

“My aim is still impeccable,” she said as she trudged to her brother. “Fifty fishes killed, each at one try, and that monster is the prize that tops it all.”

“Aren’t you going to haul that back to the castle?”

Freya looked back at the dead fish. “No, your men can have it, though. I just needed to practice.”

Aloysius’s bloodthirsty darkness, Zavian sensed centuries ago that his sister possessed it too. Freya’s nonchalance to the lives of others was as much a blessing as it was a curse, and it served him well in the wars where she had put all that energy into killing hundreds without remorse.

Zavian looked to the sky, the sun dipping into the pink, grey, and orange wisps of clouds, and a chilling wind blew. It would soon be time, he noted. And Neera needed him back, especially since she was all wrecked with nervousness from anticipation. He needed to be by her side, assuring her, and comforting her as the time drew closer.