Helene was barely conscious and Luna was calming herself down, with quite the effort. She saw the guilt in Milo's eyes but it was not enough. How could he forget Helene, out of all the people he had encountered in his lifetime. The promises he made for her, their childhood, their days in the academy, How dare he.. Then her mind went back to the current state of the throne room "So much for a foolproof plan..." she muttered to herself.

Damien and the others were on the opposite side of the room. They were all bruised but conscious. "Helene..." Luna softly caressed Helene's bruised cheek. She was raging inside, blood boiling from the mere sight of Helene's swollen face. But she can't fight; not right now. "Are you okay?" Luna heard Damien's voice echoing through her mind. She wiped a stray tear away and slowly looked at Damien. He could tell that she was calming herself down at the moment. Heck, if something happened to Kiara this palace would already be in ashes. Luna would do the same for Helene no doubt in that.

"Whoa, did we get the book.." Adam asked, yawning. "Not now Adam," Kiara said through gritted teeth.

"Did we take a wrong turn or...we in the throne room? oh look I know that kid!"

"No Adam, that 'kid' took us all out. If you weren't too busy to wake up, you would have caught up by now, " Logan said, staring at the knight who was smiling smugly.

"Oh wait till Damien figure-" before Adam tried to finish his sentence he saw Damien kneeling beside him. He audibly gasped,

Leaving his mouth hanging wide open. "Had a good night sleep princess?" Damien replied to his confusion.

"Oh what have we here?" The king said licking his lips looking at the gang. ".. Another set of uninvited guests..."

"I found these intruders lurking around the library, looking to loot your highness" The knight spoke, the king walked towards Damien and stared at him in horror.

"Aren't you the shadow-" but before he could question the prince, the knight stepped in "Your highness, they were just bandits who were traveling with the mages"

Damien raised his eyebrow, but ultimately decided not say anything

This new king... the son of Xavier the second was infamous for his cruel torture and experiments. Best if he doesn't know my identity...

The king moved away from him shuddering on the thought that the infamous shadow prince was in his throne room. "I mean Of course! like the shadow prince could be defeated by a, bastard princess" He said chuckling, making a disgusting croak like sound,

"Wait WHAT?! Princess? I fought with the princess of Viltarin." Adam screamed, still half awake. "Yeah shadow prince defeated by a mere 16 year one could only imagine your highness" she said grinning at Damien's shocked face "Draven! She is strong for a 16 year old." logan mumbled under his breath. "We got beaten up by a sixteen year old, Logi ma boy~" Adam continued whining until his eyes landed on Corvina, who was too busy keeping an eye on Luna.

"Oh Draven you son of B-"

"Don't utter the almighty Draven's name in vain, trespasser, but yes my king these are smaller fish" as these words were uttered by the princess Adam for the first time in the history of Akeshia stopped talking. Damien looked at the princess.

Is she protecting me... Why?

The princess, ignoring his gaze, returned to the back of the throne room but from the corner of his eye he saw a small smirk escaped from her mouth.

She's scary for a 16 year old...

The king returned back to his throne. It was far larger and grandiose than the one in Otos. He sat quietly for a few seconds "Rhoden!" his voice boomed through the hall, demanding immediate attention. "Yes, your highness." Rhoden knelt down in front of the king's throne, his head bowed in deference to the king's authority. He was a small man, with an unshaven face. Dark circles burrowed under his eyes and a cunning smile was plastered onto his face.

"Tell me what we can do with these trespassers." the king asked, his tone firm yet impatient.

"My king, the white haired mage will be quite useful." Rhoden said, his voice louder than intended. The throne room fell silent as the words echoed.

Realizing his mistake, Rhoden quickly moved to the king's side and began whispering the rest of his plan. Just as he finished, the walls of the room seemed to tremble slightly.

"What did you say?" Luna's eyes locked in with Rhoden's eyes, making him slightly uneasy. He cleared his voice and chuckled mockingly, "What girl! Did I say something wrong? You barged into our kingdom without our permission." Rhoden stepped toward Luna, his gaze condescending. "So it only becomes fair if we get a benefit from this, don't you think?"

"Yes, You are WRONG! Over my dead body you will take Helene away from me!"

As she prepared to fight, two guards seized her from either side, and another raised his sword menacingly at Helene, signaling that any wrong move from Luna would result in Helene's death.

Rhoden leaned in and whispered into Luna's ear, "Don't worry; she won't end up as a lady of the night. Although her beauty will certainly be profitable."

"You sickening bastard!" Luna spat on Rhoden's face, her voice dripping with anger and disgust. The king was rather enjoying the drama unveiling in front of him. Damien on the other hand couldn't do anything but watch, because seeing the expression of the princess gave him an idea; an idea to get out of here with his book.

Suddenly the silence of the room was shattered by a resounding slap. Luna's head snapped to the side from the sudden force. She saw the king's sinister smile, not even an ounce of mercy present. Trying to process what happened, her eyes caught another pair of black eyes. Black as the shadows in the deep void. He had white hair similar to Helene and he was undeniably handsome.His stare was so commanding it seemed capable of bringing any woman to her knees, begging for his favor at a moment's notice. Luna felt a charged sense of dominance in his gaze, an unspoken demand for submission. Her own intense, unwavering glare challenged him, piercing through his soul. The air was thickening with tension, the more they were challenging each other. The mysterious man felt his composure momentarily slipping before he swiftly masked his surprise with an emotionless facade. Before Luna could fully process the situation, her eyes darkened again, as Rhoden went and stood in front of the mysterious man.

"Put them in the dungeons." The king ordered. Upon hearing the King's order Luna's eyes fell upon Damien. He was already looking at something else; Or 'someone' else. He was intently glaring at the mysterious man, although the mysterious man seemed to not mind. She sighed and closed herself from the whole world, trying to come up with a plan to escape from this shithole.