Chapter 64: A Potential Thief To Be Caught And Back in the Demon King’s Room
Chapter 64: A Potential Thief To Be Caught And Back in the Demon King’s Room
Elyn’s POV
"Good. You’re both here. I need your help on something and possibly better answers than the others have been giving me," I told them.
They straightened. Versha’s expression was composed and elegant, while Marrok looked like a gargoyle ready to file paperwork about my breathing pattern if necessary.
"Is anything the issue, my lady?" Marrok asked me.
"No, except for the fact that someone stole my calming snacks, nothing at all," I told them.
They looked confused, and I crossed my hands. "Answer me this: is there any demon in the castle walls that you know of that steals sweets? Any thief like that?" I asked them.
Marrok and Versha exchanged a look. A whole conversation passed between them in that half-second. Then they turned back to me.
"No, my lady," they said at the same time.
I narrowed my eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Marrok replied, hands behind his back, ever the perfect butler. "I have not heard of any demon within the castle walls that fits that description. I am aware of the Swindler in the walls — the imps, of course — but nothing else. And certainly nothing that steals snacks."
Versha spoke next. "The only ones I know of that fit your description are not in the castle walls. And if they were..." She paused, eyes sharp. "We would know instantly."
"That is what everyone keeps saying," I muttered.
But what if the same demon they claimed couldn’t be in the castle was in the castle?
I exhaled deeply. "The reason why I called you both here is because you’d know if there’s anything happening in the castle walls, but you say there’s no thief. Anyways," I sighed, then turned to Marrok, who stood straighter.
"Yes, my lady?"
"Ask the gargoyles. Maybe they saw something."
Marrok bowed. "Yes, my lady."
I turned to Versha. "You be on the lookout too. I’m sure the thief is still in the castle walls, and I can’t have him stealing my sweets, especially when they are supposed to be calming me down."
"Of course." She bowed her head respectfully.
My gaze shifted to Kethra. "Don’t overdo it with the sweets, but... make enough to tempt the thief. Just enough to lure them in."
Kethra grinned, sparks scattering. "I’ll make something irresistible."
"I don’t doubt that," I said, then pointed at Morthen and Rin. "You two — spread the word that I’m throwing a party in my room."
"Only tell the corners of the castle walls where you think a thief would hide," I told them.
Understanding dawned across their faces.
"Ohhh," Rin whispered. "So the thief thinks it’s a real party and comes out to eat."
"Exactly," I said with an eye-roll. "That was the plan from the beginning, Rin."
I clapped my hands together. "Good. Now—" I began heading toward the door. "I have somewhere to be."
"Who should we give the snack box to once we’re done preparing the snacks?" Kethra asked.
"Give it to Vaelory." I didn’t even turn around.
"Me?" Vaelory squeaked from the back of the room, like she had been completely forgotten and suddenly remembered she existed.
"Yes, you," I said. "You’ll hold onto it until everything’s ready."
She blinked rapidly. "Where are you going?"
I paused at the door, slowly turning back to look at all of them.
"To see the king," I said flatly. "Again."
I ignored their whispers and walked out of the dining hall — and paused.
Right outside the dining hall... waiting patiently... was the black door to Zorathys’s room.
Just standing there.
Right in the hallway.
As if it had walked up on its own two legs to greet me.
I stared at it.
It stared back.
Honestly, at this point, I wasn’t sure if Zorathys controlled the door or if the door simply had a crush on me. That last option was far-fetched seeing that it was a door and not a demon or a living thing.
I stepped forward and grabbed the handle. I opened it and walked in. Immediately I did, the door vanished into thin air.
The room swallowed me whole.
It was dark.
Not just "someone turned off the lights" dark. No. It was "the void is hugging you" dark. Thick shadows clung to the air, shaping the room into layers of deep blue and darker blue and "I can’t see shit" blue.
I snapped my fingers.
Soft light spilled outward, illuminating the space — but not like it usually did. Everything was still soaked in shades of deep indigo and sapphire, like the glow couldn’t break through the magic saturating the room.
It was beautiful, though.
The walls shimmered, and I realized slowly... the surface wasn’t normal stone. The walls looked like the ocean.
Like I was standing underwater.
Blue depths shifted, rippling, alive. Silvery light glinted in the "waves," and shapes moved — actual shapes. Aquatic creatures I didn’t recognize swam lazily along the surface of the walls. Strange fish with luminous fins. Long serpent-like creatures weaving between currents. Tiny glowing beings shaped like jellyfish and stars.
Some big. Some small.
Some adorable.
Some... well, some looked like they were nightmare material.
I stepped forward, breath caught in my throat, as I watched a creature shaped like a translucent ribbon glide past me with gentle curiosity.
The walls... were alive.
A soft shift of air above me broke the moment.
I looked up and unsurprisingly, Zorathys was there hugging his huge body pillow as he slept peacefully in the air. His giant wings covered him as he slept.
What surprised me though was that he drifted slightly in the air with each breath, like he was suspended on invisible water instead of... well, the air.
I didn’t even have time to fully appreciate the absurd beauty of it before everything in the walls reacted.
Every sea creature froze.
Every glowing being paused mid-swim.
And then—
The moment Zorathys turned slightly in his sleep—
They all bolted. They scattered like they were fleeing from a predator.
Once the walls were alive and suddenly they were not.