Chapter 76

Valt scowled. Before he could do anything more, however, the door flew open with a bang. “Simila is gone! What are you going to do about it?!” boomed a man in extravagant robes. Rage colored his face. “As I told you, that’s not my responsibility,” Valt replied. The man was about to hurl more abuse at Valt when he caught sight of the woman sitting with her back to him. He circled around the table to get a look at her face. “You… you’re the queen of Tuldarr! Valt, have you been conspiring with her this whole time?!” “Absolutely not. That’s very rude,” Tinasha put in, offended. She shook her left wrist and the attached bracelet at him. Once the furious man took that in, glee came over his face. “Great job, Valt! Now we still have a chance.” He reached for Tinasha, roughly grabbed her arm, and hauled her out of her seat. While she turned her face aside, he pulled her close for a better look. In her ear, he whispered, “You really are a pretty one, looking at you up close. No wonder you snared the king of Farsas.” “Disgusting. Please let me go,” she demanded. “Hmph. Stubborn. Whatever, you’ll make a perfect hostage to threaten Farsas,” the man said as he flashed her a sinister leer and licked his lips. Feeling his breath on her face, Tinasha clicked her tongue in disgust. This man had to be from Cezar. If Valt was to be believed, this was a person who’d decided to sacrifice his own countrymen. She drew back her leg to give him a nice kick in the shin. Valt spoke up before she did, however. “Could you let her go? She’s a very important guest of mine.” “A guest? Isn’t it her fault that Simila’s gone?” the man asked in disbelief. “Even so, her role is over,” replied Valt, lifting a hand. The man seemed to sense the presence of a spell forming, and he yanked Tinasha in front of him as a shield. Tinasha’s lip curled with revulsion at being treated like an object. “Excuse me…” “Let her go. She’s mine,” snarled a wholly unexpected person. All three in the room went still. When Valt turned in his seat to look at the door, all the blood drained from his face. He changed the spell he was preparing and teleported away from there instantly. Now alone, the Cezar man turned around slowly. With Tinasha held firmly in his grip, he locked eyes with the intruder in the doorway. There stood the king of Farsas, with Akashia in hand. On Oscar’s left and right were Mila and Karr, with Doan and Als behind him. Tinasha’s dark eyes grew round and wide. “Oscar!” “Wait just a damn minute,” said the Cezar man who’d walked into a surprising situation. He looked down at the woman he was holding on to. She was now his lifeline, in a different way than he had originally anticipated. Whipping out the dagger belted at his waist, the man pressed it to her neck. “Come any closer and she dies.” “Hmph. So we just have to keep our distance?” remarked one of the spirits disdainfully, and the man’s dagger shattered to pieces. Shocked, he released Tinasha. Without missing a beat, she ducked and slipped out of his range. At the same time, Oscar stepped right up and punched the man in the face, sending him flying like a rag doll. Crouched on the floor, Tinasha craned her head to look back. “Do you really think we should let him live?” “If I killed him here, you’d end up a bloody mess,” Oscar responded, sheathing Akashia and helping Tinasha to her feet. He hugged her tight to him, making sure she was safe. “I really can’t take my eyes off you for one second.” Irrepressible relief tinged his affectionate teasing. Als and Doan searched the mansion but found nothing of note. All they could glean from the rooms and possessions was that a man and a young woman had been living there alone. While they were conducting their search, Oscar settled Tinasha on his lap as he interrogated the Cezar man. It turned out that he was the founder of the cult that worshipped Simila and the mastermind behind the recent skirmish. Oscar eyed him with open scorn. “We’ll be taking you back to Farsas. You can tell us the full story there.” “Take him away, Mila,” said Tinasha. “Got it!” chirped the red-haired spirit, and she disappeared with the cult leader. Tinasha heaved a sigh, then glanced up at Oscar. “Um, I’d like to get down now…” “No.” “…” Whether he was upset with Tinasha or not, he kept his left arm firmly wrapped around her. The abduction must have hit him pretty hard. Tinasha turned her flushed face aside, feeling guilty. She held up her left wrist. “Then please take this off.” “What is it? I thought you were wearing it for a change of pace.” “It’s a sealing ornament that belongs to your country!” she retorted. At Oscar’s dubious look, Tinasha relayed what Valt had told her. The king traced a finger along the bracelet, and it popped right open. He drew it free from the chains and lifted it up to examine it. “Hmm, so this was stolen forty years ago?” “Apparently. Why is security so lax in Farsas?” Tinasha chided. “How about you just organize things after we’re married? Is this thing really that strong?” Oscar responded, and he touched the bracelet to her wrist. It clicked onto it as easily as it had opened. Frowning, Tinasha cried, “Don’t put it on me!” “Oh, this is fun. Wonder how it works?” “It is not fun!” she fumed. Oscar removed the sealing item and stowed it in his jacket pocket. To test her magic, Tinasha cast a spell in her palm and then extinguished it. She glanced at Oscar and asked, “How did you find me?” “I wandered around Cezar using that barrier you put on me to locate you. This house is in a town close to the royal castle,” he explained. “You wandered around? Right after the battle?” “I wouldn’t have found you otherwise. Two of your spirits were with me the whole time. It was fine.” “Oh… thank you,” Tinasha said, feeling ashamed of how easily she had been kidnapped. More than that, however, she was grateful to those around her. For all her strength, there were many things she couldn’t handle alone. Oscar smiled. “I’m just glad we found you.” “Um, how’s Sylvia?” Tinasha inquired. “Good. Her injuries were healed. Two or three days and she’ll be back to normal,” Oscar assurred her, and Tinasha exhaled with relief. She’d been fretting about her friend this whole time. Als and Doan returned to report that they hadn’t found anything of interest. Oscar stood up with Tinasha in his arms. “Let’s head back, then. Everyone waiting back at the fort is probably worried.” Tinasha caught his eye and smiled. Despite the delays, the war with Cezar was over, and it was the start of a new stage in the game.