Chapter 25
Greatest [NEFFEX]
In a controlled interrogation room, I question the man with orange hair and eyes, as well as two unawakened women. The women lean into each other, and I recall they are marked…tethered—trained to love one another and no one else because that’s where we are in life.
A curse among many.
If I were to tether to someone, I’d take their life, even if it meant the failure of mine. It’s the reason I roam around Eraminia without covering my eyes. I already have an obsolete resolution, and nothing will change my mind.
I shrug away the bitter thoughts and move closer to the elemny of colour and her girlfriend.
The woman with shorter hair shifts until her arm moves across her girlfriend’s shoulders.
She musters a courageous stare while their male friend keeps his head down and clutches the phone.
I told Astin not to take it away. It interests me to know if they would send Pandora Averis a message to warn her of their circumstances and what would likely happen to her when we find her.
“I believe Astin briefed you before I entered the room,” I say as I scrape the chair from the other side of the table and slouch in the seat with my elbows resting against the back of it.
“Therefore, we don’t have to go around in circles, jerking each other off into oblivion.
We can move forward in the fast lane, shall we? ”
“We don’t know where she is,” the woman—Kylie—says in a firm, irritated voice. “Pandora was supposed to meet us for Xavier’s awakening, but she has yet to return from shopping.”
“You have her already, don’t you?” the guy says.
The male is named Xavier. The idiot boyfriend who brags about “fucking Pandora’s virgin pussy” to his male friends whenever he gets the chance.
He even spoke about the warmth he felt inside her before their trip to the Kingdom of Flesh.
His text logs are nothing less than what I would expect from a hormonal elemny that recently dipped his dick into anything aside from the peanut butter jar hidden in the back of his fucking pantry.
I’m sure Emmerton would get along with Xavier and bring him under his wing if they ever met. They both seem to think more with their dicks and the feeling of the warmth inside of a woman instead of their actual brains.
“I wouldn’t be here if I did,” I say. “You see, I’ve been watching Pandora since I met her at the Ebon Hall entrance.
The way she acted seemed fake, and I confirmed it the more I watched her from a distance.
She’s a fascinating, unawakened brat, and if she were within reach—as you claim—my hands wrapping around her throat would feel like a dream.
But she’s not. So, where the fuck is she? ”
“She…” The elemny of colour darts a look at Xavier before turning her attention to me and saying, “She told us she was going to buy some sex toys before meeting us at the Amphitheatre.”
“I’m aware of the story you told Astin, but we have been to every sex shop available in the Kingdom of Flesh. No one saw her. However, we saw her dressed as a water elemny in the castle. And when she left, she was dressed as an earth elemny.”
Xavier raises his hands, gesturing to nothing, and says, “But why would she go there?”
“To kill the king,” I say as I eye him. There doesn’t seem to be a hint of understanding or secrecy this far into the interrogation, so I can push further without them tipping over the edge.
“How well do you know your girlfriend? Where did you meet her? How did the two of you become romantically involved? Did she offer herself up on a platter, and your cock couldn’t withstand it? ”
Kylie makes a face of disgust.
“I met her at the academy. She transferred from the Kingdom of Storm.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean?” Xavier says.
“Why did she go to Oceanview Harbour? Did she tell you her story?”
“She had strict parents and wanted an escape,” Kylie answers. Her eyes glisten, and she chews her bottom lip.
I keep my focus firmly on her for a few more seconds. The way her hands squeeze and tighten together, along with the uncomfortable shift in her seat, causes me to narrow my eyes with a hint of suspicion.
Her girlfriend places her hand over Kylie’s and rubs the back of her hand reassuringly, which eases Kylie and lets her rest comfortably against the chair she sits on.
I look away when I deem that the way she presents herself is more influenced by her experiences and has nothing to do with Pandora Averis.
“She was an orphan,” I say. “Pandora came from the Sweethearts Orphanage, and then she went missing for a year before ending up at Oceanview Harbour. Between the ages of eighteen and nineteen, there’s a gap in our system regarding Pandora Averis, and no one seems to know where the hell she went.
Then she appeared at Oceanview Harbour. A few months later, she clings to the most gullible, walking fucking erection at the academy.
Not only that, but he was an unawakened fire elemny wanting to awaken at the amphitheatre at the Kingdom of Flesh on his birthday. ”
Xavier shakes his head and says, “I don’t believe you. That’s not my Pandora!”
“Your Pandora?” I chuckle at the sentiment. The possessiveness of someone who knows nothing about the woman he’s fucking. “She’s not yours anymore, kid. After King Walkyer interrogates her, she’s mine, and I will deal with her as I see fit.”
“You will kill her!” Sara says, then slaps her hands over her mouth and widens her eyes. “I know…I mean…everyone knows you for that.”
“I am, and I will. What I want from you is to understand the mask you knew over two years of her life at Oceanview Harbour. I want to know the key moments about her that made you question her. And if you don’t, King Walkyer said I could kill anyone who isn’t innocent.
You wouldn’t be innocent anymore if you withheld information from me, would you? ”
They go rigid.
Sara’s eyes waver, and her nostrils flare as she struggles with all her might to withhold the brimming tears.
She is likely imagining all the things I could do to her and how fucking easy it would be for me to do them without repercussions.
The way her skin would melt in my hands if she were to hide things from an elemny trained to see through someone’s bullshit.
“She’s weak,” Kylie says, and I turn my attention away from Sara and glare at her instead. “Whenever we had our elemny classes, she couldn’t do anything. Pandora couldn’t even make the water move in the water bottle. Please don’t hurt her. She’s harmless, weak and a very weary elemny!”
My eyes go wild. “Harmless? She put a bullet in King Ragan’s head.”
“I still don’t believe it,” Xavier says.
“Then don’t,” I huff a laugh. “I don’t need to convince you. What needs to happen is for you to convince me. And you aren’t doing an outstanding job.”
Weak? And a water elemny. Alad sent me her incomplete file, which had her elemental ability class. If Kylie is telling the truth, how do they know Pandora’s elemental ability if she can’t show it?
We learn of it by feeling it at a young age, but it’s not until we show signs of it in nature.
Mother told me that heat would ripple across my skin since birth, and she took me to the hospital, fearing I had a fever.
Then, to confirm the fire burning within me, I remember the day I was ripped away from my home.
The flames licked across the walls, engulfing the home I adored until ash fell like snow onto my shoulders.
Now, I know elemny abilities come differently than mine, for mine came from wrath, and Mother told me it strengthens our power more than anything. But there should be some signs.
“Anything?” I say. “Do plants move toward her? Does she enjoy the heat? How much water does she drink a day?”
Kylie furrows her brow. “Not from memory.”
“She likes icy water,” Sara says. “I tried drinking from her bottle once, but it was too cold.”
Kylie bobs her head in agreement.
I tap my finger on the table and grimace. “How did her skin feel when you touched her, Xavier? Soft, warm, rough or sticky?”
“Cool. Sometimes a little uncomfortable,” he says with a hint of blush tickling his cheeks.
I rise from my seat and say, “I’m finished. Astin will escort you to the designated cells. They will confiscate everything from you.”
“We can’t leave?!”
“No,” I reply flatly. “I don’t want any of you contacting her.”
“You aren’t going to…” Sara trails off and places her hand over her mouth to prevent the bile from rising.
“Not yet,” I answer before leaving.
“Sir?” Astin says as he rises from the cellar doors across from the interrogation room. “Is everything okay?”
“She’s not a water elemny,” I announce. “We are dealing with a vengeful, pissed-off fucking ice elemny.”
Astin furrows his brow. “You seem excited.”
“My best hunts came from there. To think I can relive it again…” I shake my head at the memory of them begging to survive through the flames, but they were in my way and started the fight first without knowing who they were fucking with.
But now…I can entertain this hunt. I can taste it on the tip of my tongue.
It makes sense now. Nancy smuggled her out of there with a few others, but they couldn’t hide for long without King Ragan sniffing them out with his bloodlust. This means this unawakened brat has some knowledge and understanding of keeping herself hidden without being noticed.
Someone trained her well enough for her to know how to defend herself.
But who would teach an unawakened elemny unless she had some importance? A status. The daughter of a respected guard? Even then, King Ragan trained me because he took an interest in me and my powers. It was a unique case, so she might also be special.
“Pandora, Pandora, Pandora,” I mutter under my breath. “It wouldn’t be fake, but still…”
“Sir?”
“We’re leaving,” I declare. “Get the ship ready. It will only be the two of us. Let Ri and Alek protect Walkyer, and Ziri can stay with Emmerton to keep him out of Walkyer’s hair.”
“What about Alad?”
I grimace. “Walkyer would want him, but I need him. He holds valuable information.”
“He can send it to us.”
“Would he?” I question. “Alad’s the best in the trade, yet he could only reveal two pages of information on Pandora. Either he couldn’t care less about who killed King Ragan, or he is withholding information. Bring him along. I want to keep an eye on him without raising suspicion.”
Astin eyes me. “You believe he knows who she is?”
“Yes,” I say. “Alad knows exactly who she is but wants to keep it to himself.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Astin, I may have to revoke your title as a Knight of Eraminia if you ask another ignorantly stupid question. The answer will come to you with a moment’s thought.”
“You would have to find someone better than me first,” Astin says, but, like always, he lacks any form of emotion.
I grunt my response.
Astin furrows his brows, and I wait until he finally uses his brain and says, “He’s a smuggler.”
I roll my eyes to the back of my head. “King Ragan would have killed him by now if he were. Perhaps I should bring Ri along on this journey instead. I thought air elemny were smart and calculating.”
“You’re rubbing off on me.”
“Or you’re trying to protect him,” I say as I eye Astin. He doesn’t respond. “It means Alad was affiliated with the Kingdom of Crystal and met Pandora at least once, and wants to protect her.”
“Are you going to hurt Alad?”
“Not unless I can find someone better than him,” I say.
“I’ll ensure it doesn’t happen. Alad is my mentor. I will not let him die by your hands, Prince Reen.”
I force the doors open and step into the Knights of Eraminia’s quarters. “Of course you won’t.”