12 You Can’t Escape

After a few moments, Ezekiel eventually succeeded in breaking free from the sudden hold of the dragon inside of him. He then moved, planning to kill the spy, but King Darius had already beaten him to it, crushing the spy's head in one swift motion. 

Seeing how terrified his sister was of the gruesome scene, he immediately called for her friend, Jayra, and instructed, "Please escort my sister back to her tent. And don't leave her alone." 

He then looked at Tarah and added, "Stay here along with the rest. Or do you need some time to gather your bearings in your tent?"

Despite his own admittance, he was still a bit worried about Tarah, seeing as the Demon King didn't just threaten to steal Xenia away, but also to take Tarah along with him. Surely, she must've been scared.

"No, Your Highness. I'm fine," Tarah replied with a determined tone and a slight bow. "Also, I know that I have to stay by your side. You will need me."

Upon hearing her answer, Ezekiel frowned and assessed Tarah with a quick glance. She had this calm look, a stark contrast to the panic visible to everyone else inside the room. It was as if she already expected this sequence of events to happen. 

Letting out a mental sigh, Ezekiel threw Atlas a knowing look. The latter quickly understood his intentions and moved, ordering somebody to clean up the body and the mess before them. 

Partly turning his gaze, Ezekiel saw that King Darius was about to leave, probably to follow Xenia out of the tent. 

Ezekiel called out to him, "King Darius, you have to stay here. We need to talk."

From there, they discussed a lot of things, especially his sister's safety. He fully entrusted Xenia to the care of the Werewolf King, Darius. 

By the time everyone had left the room, Ezekiel remained seated on his chair, staring at Tarah who was also sitting not far from him. He still couldn't believe how Tarah had fit two of Beirut's descriptors on the woman that he should supposedly avoid.

'What kind of joke is this?' he inwardly grumbled. 'Should I avoid the seer that can help our kingdom? This is insane!'

For the first time in his life, Ezekiel felt conflicted about what to do. He simply couldn't make a firm decision on whether or not to drive Tarah away from him at the moment.

Sighing loudly, he stood up and said to her, "Follow me to my tent."

Standing up as well, Tarah obeyed him as she followed him to his tent. Once they arrived at their destination, he signaled for her to sit on a nearby chair. He then grabbed a blank piece of paper and wrote a quick letter for his sister. 

Meanwhile, Tarah simply watched as he wrote, waiting for the prince to issue yet another command. A while ago, she felt alarmed when Ezekiel acted as if he didn't want her as his Seer. She instantly thought of her little brother Levi's safety.

She was grateful enough that Ezekiel let her stay but she couldn't help but wonder why the prince seemed to be wary of her for some reason.

Having been given the opportunity to stare at the Prince, Tarah couldn't help but smile as the joy in her heart swelled. 

For three years she had been wanting to meet him in person and hoped for this day to come. He was way more good-looking in a person like this. He had this relaxed messy midlength dark brown hair, adorned with subtle auburn highlights that complimented well his mysterious and domineering hunter eyes. 

The smile on her lips quickly faded as Tarah's face paled at the sudden vision that appeared before her…

'No, please… Not this…' she inwardly whimpered.

"Give this to Jayra. Tell her to give this letter to Xenia once they've arrived at Cordon. Remember, she needs to read this letter by all means."

Tarah flinched, hearing Ezekiel's voice. He was now talking to Atlas, and Tarah took that opportunity to calm and compose herself.

"Your Highness, won't the Princess prefer to stay at the Ebodia Castle with her parents?" Atlas asked.

"Atlas, I know this is hard for you, but you have to accept this fact already. I know my sister well, and I can see in her eyes that she already has growing feelings toward the Werewolf King. I know you cherish and love her, but this is her fate—one that we all must accept," Ezekiel carefully explained. 

"Beirut already foresaw that a powerful man would protect Xenia in the future, and I strongly believe that the man in his vision was the Werewolf King. As much as I would've hoped otherwise, I'm already at ease in entrusting Xenia in his hands. No one else could better protect Xenia than him, and it is simply a fact."

What Ezekiel said was true. Tarah saw how Princess Xenia would have a happy marriage life with the Werewolf King during their encounter before.

Ezekiel looked at Tarah and said, "Tell us, Tarah. What kind of future do you see for Xenia with the Werewolf King? Did you somehow already have a vision about Xenia? I understand that you two have already met each other before…"

Atlas turned to look at Tarah with knitted bows. She flashed Atlas a reassuring smile as she said, "There's no safer place for Princess Xenia other than being in the Werewolf King's arms. I saw her living a good life with him. It won't be perfect, of course; the two of them will face trials and tribulations ahead… but together… they will triumph over everything. Such things will only solidify their relationship, their reign in the Kingdom of Cordon being a welcome one."

Ezekiel patted Atlas's shoulder as he encouraged, "Sometimes it's better to let go, especially when we know that it's for the best. I trust that you'll do your best not to dwell on this misfortune, Atlas."

Tarah bit her lower lip as he stared at Ezekiel, who would not follow the same path that he was talking about right now. In one of Tarah's visions, she recalled his voice while talking to a woman with a blurry visage. His words were along the lines of … 'You can't escape me. There's nowhere in this world where you can hide from my reach.'