Astoria went down to breakfast, wearing her nightgown and her hair in a loose braid. Elias, looking charming per usual, sat next to her. They had some stale bread and glasses of milk, food was still scarce in the Slums. "How was your sleep?"

Astoria blinked. "I had a dream about my meeting with Madam Sunna. I still don't know why she'd leave me that poster." She chewed on her bread, biting down on the hard crust. "How about you?"

"Slept just fine."

"Good, we'll need our rest when we travel to Abernathy Castle." To avoid draining Astoria's shadow-travelling energy, they decided they would walk to the Viscount Kingdom, it wasn't too hard.

"So, after we torch the king's and queen's bedroom, what about Lord Vance and Lord Otis?" Elias asked. Astoria wanted to light the whole castle on fire to kill them all, but it was too cruel. Too vicious. Lord Kai lived at Grendels Estate, so he would have his separate killing.

"I just hope Lord Vance gets into the crossfire. If we see Lord Vance or Lord Otis, we'll kill them, but it's going to be risky." Astoria wished she had taken longer to plan the assassinations. "Let's just focus on King Julius and Queen Caprina."

Elias stayed silent. "And Prince Thatcher?"

Astoria was unsmiling. "It'd be easier if he died in the fire as well, but we'll stay out of it. His murder will come later." She knew she was asking a lot of Elias, she was asking him to commit treason. "I'm sorry if this is too much gore for you at breakfast."

He cleared his throat. "No, I am forever loyal to you, Tori," he said professionally.

"That means, well, a lot to me."

With the already-deceased Lady Avalon Crest's wealth combined with the Abernathys', Valdor would be wired their money through the contract. Paloma was already to face expulsion from her banking job for this.

"Let's not dally," Astoria said suddenly, standing up. They were on a strict schedule. "I'll go get dressed, you should do the same. Also, maybe brush your hair more thoroughly, Hawk."

༻༺✧༻༺

They went into the streets of the Slums and Astoria felt all of Valdor's eyes crawling on her skin. She wore a cloak, but underneath she wore armour and chainmail. Elias was also dressed the same, but had a sword by his side, though hidden by his dark red cloak. "Let's hurry up, we don't need unwanted attention," he muttered.

They sped up the pace and hurried to hitch a ride to the Border. There was an old man named Gilbert who offered a ride in his carriage led by his horse, Aulus. Astoria deemed him trustworthy enough and hopped in the wagon. Elias was more wary, keeping a close eye on Gilbert as he mounted Aulus.

"Where to?" Gilbert asked. He was an old man with graying, greasy blond hair and yellowed teeth. He wore rags and a torn hooded cloak, a common outfit among the folks of Valdor. Aulus was a horse with a deep brown coat and shaggy mane, his reins were hooked up to the wagon.

"To the Border." Astoria doubted that Gilbert was able to enter Viscount dressed as he was. Aulus nickered, taking off with a jolt, startling and throwing Astoria back into the arms of Elias.

She immediately sat up straighter, clearing her throat, and scooted away from a red-faced Elias. She sat on the other side of the wagon's floor, crossing her arms. "This is quite an uncivil horse." To that, Elias snorted. "Hey, you're not allowed to laugh."

"Since when was laughter banned from the exclusive Astoria De Vil?" Elias smirked but realized his fault when he remembered they were in the presence of Gilbert. Shit, he used my real name, Astoria thought. "Oh shit—I didn't mean that, Tori—"

She threw a worried look after her shoulder. It appeared like Gilbert hadn't heard, he was old and probably half-deaf. "It's fine, I don't think he heard." Aulus galloped faster when they hit rocky terrain.

"Hold on tight, folks!" Gilbert shouted as the carriage ride became bumpy. They hurriedly passed a blur of trees and red skies, an omen of Valdor. Red skies meant someone was going to die. It better be King Julius and Queen Caprina, she turned to face Elias.

If Elias Lennox died, Astoria couldn't live with herself.

༻༺✧༻༺

Gilbert stopped at Border, sticking his head out to the area where the Border's forest parted to Viscount. "Good, there's no castle guards or whatnot." Astoria and Elias got off, hopping off the wagon. Aulus huffed, bowing his head to chew some of the dry, dull grass. Astoria pulled her hood back on to make sure Gilbert didn't see her face.

"Thank you, sir." She placed twenty croixes in his hand. "Keep the extra ten." And after the Council of Viscount dies, it'll be much more transferred to you. Gilbert's eyes went wide, nodding rapidly, shaking her hand.

"Thank you, thank you. Yes, yes, missy is very kind and generous." He turned to Aulus excitedly. "You'd see this, Aul? Ten croixes in a day! A day!" Gilbert pranced around happily with a trotting Aulus.

Astoria and Elias went on their way, leaving behind Gilbert and Aulus, to the Viscount Kingdom. Pure viciousness, Astoria thought as they stepped into the light. It was around afternoon, and the walk through Valdor took up most of their time. Though, after hitching a ride with Gilbert, things went faster.

In the distance, they saw Abernathy Castle. Astoria's heart pounded against her chest as she clenched her teeth. "We still have some time before nightfall, that's when we'll strike." I need to distract myself.

"We could go to the library," Elias suggested before he dropped his voice to a hush. "To research more about Darklings, Viscount's public libraries are typically stocked with knowledge."

The Darklings, Astoria hated to admit that even her knowledge was limited about these mysterious creatures of the Archemoros, also known as the Underworld or Realm of the Dead. "I suppose so. Come along, Hawk."

The two travelled quickly to the library closest to Abernathy Castle. Oona's Grand Library, Astoria read the sign above the library as Elias held the book for her. She tightened the hood over her head as she went up to the front desk. There was a young woman by the name of Oona, having bright red hair.

"Hi, how can I help you?" Oona asked, propping her elbows up on the counter.

"Do you have a Viscount Kingdom history section?"

"Yes, it's one of the oldest in all of the kingdom!" Oona smiled brightly, she was very bubbly. "It's near the end of the library, to your left." Astoria thanked her as Elias guided her with Oona's directions.

Oona's library was small, but the historical section was the biggest area. Astoria skimmed through the shelves of books and picked one out. Elias did the same, flipping through a few pages. They were mainly about how Darklings looked after the dead who are technically now ghosts.

Then Astoria picked up an old scroll and stumbled across something weird. "Eli, look at this text." Elias stood up from his reading corner, which was surrounded by stacks of books, and strolled over, peering over Astoria's shoulders.

There was an old, watercolour drawing in the middle of the page, showing royal men and beings with shadows for bodies. Astoria read aloud the text, "'Long ago, there were men and dark beings known as Darklings. The Darklings existed since the dawn of Viscount Kingdom, back when Viscount and Valdor were whole.

"'The men of Abernathy blood banished the Darklings from Viscount, so they fled to the depths of the world.' I suppose that's Archemoros, the Underworld," Astoria guessed, her heart beating rapidly. This is it, she thought excitedly. "'The Darklings, left defenceless in the Realm of the Dead, taught themselves dark magic. However, the Darklings were angered that they were still exiled, so they would find a worthy mortal vessel and teach them their Darkling ways.' The text ends here..."

Astoria furiously flipped through the next pages, but they were void of any information. Elias stopped her, grasping her hands. "Stop, this is good enough. We know more about the Darklings than we ever did."

She nodded slowly and checked who the author was on the front cover. S. C. S., making Astoria gasp.

S. C. S.

Sunna Cecil Silvers.

Madam Sunna, Astoria grasped the thought.

༻༺✧༻༺

Astoria and Elias left Oona's Grand Library and Astoria was left reeling. No, focus on one thing at a time, she gritted her teeth as Elias led her into a dark alley. She would have to think about the Darklings and Madam Sunna later, this was the night she was going to kill King Julius and Queen Caprina.

I need to keep my head in the game, she thought worriedly. I can't afford to screw up. Without warning, she grabbed onto Elias' shoulder, making him jump. "Sorry, but I think we're safe to shadow-travel right now."

"Of course."

Astoria relaxed her breathing and thought of the Abernathys. Make them pay, she let out a heavy sigh as the shadows travelled up her legs and engulfed her torso. Make Julius and Carpina Abernathy beg on their knees for mercy after leaving the Slums to rot.

Like that, they were no longer in the dark alley, but rather the Abernathy Castle's courtyard. It was nightfall and the moon shadowed Astoria and Elias. She freed herself from Elias and jerked her thumb forward to the castle. "Let's go."

She tried to walk, but stumbled, nearly face-planting if Elias didn't catch her. "Sorry, shadow-travelling still leaves me dazed." She was mortal, not a Darkling, of course, her powers would drain her energy.

"We shouldn't have risked it," Elias sighed heavily as he slung an arm around her neck. He helped Astoria hurry across the courtyard, hastily passing by exotic flowers and plants. They then reached the back of Abernathy Castle and saw a little door for the servants to leave freely through. "Keep your hood on, don't take off your cloak until we're free of any watchful eyes."

"I can manage on my own now, thanks," Astoria said and Elias let her go. They entered through the door and the aroma of luxury food hit them. Astoria took a long whiff as they quickly dashed past the kitchens. Last night, she had memorized the layout of the castle thanks to the map that Elias gave her, so they had quickly discovered the best way upstairs to King Julius' and Queen Caprina's chambers.

Suddenly, Astoria spotted two people outside of the bedroom, stopping herself and Elias. They backed into a corner and Astoria peered out. Her eyes went wide when she realized the two people were Elias' father, Advisor Lennox, and Lady Kindi, Elias' new stepmother.

"You have to be kidding me," Elias grumbled and Astoria shushed him. Advisor Lennox looked just like Elias, but with older and neater hair, sporting a navy suit. Navy also happens to look good on Elias, she thought.

However, Lady Kindi was a squat and short woman, having dirty blond hair and cloudy gray eyes. She wore a mint gown with lace gloves, but even the beauty of her outfit could not draw the attention away from her unsmiling expression.

"Where's the king and queen?" Lady Kindi asked, holding a tray of lemon water. "Queen Caprina sent me to fetch some water, treating me like a maid, where is she?"

"They're not currently here, love." Astoria could see Elias flinch from the back of her head. They're not in their chambers? "There was a late council meeting held in the Viscount Courtroom, all members were invited, well, all alive members. May Lady Avalon rest in peace," Advisor Lennox added.

Astoria turned to Elias, grabbing his wrist and dragging him closer back to the stairwells. "Change of plans," she whispered, "we have to go to the Viscount Court, we'll kill all of them off."

They fled down the halls as Elias muttered directions to the court. Eventually, they had arrived at a shadowed corridor where a knight stood guard, blocking the large doors to the court. To Astoria's surprise, it was Copper, looking much older.

Copper squinted, looking angered. "Hey! No entry except for council members—" He was quickly swept off his feet by Elias while Astoria pressed her ear to the door. I wonder what the meeting is about, she thought as the two men fought in the background. Astoria brought out the box of matches she had and closed her eyes.

This is it. Astoria steadied her pace of breathing and when she re-opened her eyes, the match's flame turned purple. Perfect, she tossed the match under the room and all hell broke loose. There was an explosion, throwing Astoria off her feet.

Ringing echoed in her ears as the world merged together. Astoria groaned as the air smelt of smoke. She sat up, wincing, rubbing the back of her head. Ash floated around as Astoria saw that the doors to the court were blown off. A fire raged inside as she looked to the side, seeing Elias sitting up.

"Elias!" she cried out, crawling over to him. Before she could get a word in, Copper kicked her away and a sharp pain shot up in her stomach. Copper stood up, his sword drawn, but Elias was also back on his feet.

"Assassins!" Copper screamed as he jumped at Elias. In the distance, Astoria saw Prince Thatcher. He was older and taller now, nearly a grown man. This is my chance to strike, Astoria charged forward, summoning a sword. The shadows and thoughts merged, creating a sword out of thin air, a trick that she mastered from Madam Sunna.

"Father! Mother!" Prince Thatcher hollered, his eyes feasting upon the blazing fire. Astoria swung at him, missing, but close enough to make him terrified. Remember me? She laughed aloud, taking another swing with the sword. "Who the hell are you? Y-You murdered my parents—"

Astoria kicked him onto the ground, her foot on his chest. Prince Thatcher's familiar hazel eyes wandered over her with fear as she cocked her head. She couldn't help but smile. Your death will be the beginning of Valdor. "S-Stop," he spluttered, gasping, "You don't have to do this."

Oh, yes, I must. Astoria raised her sword to stab Prince Thacher, but something sliced through her hair, freeing her tight braid, and kicked her back onto the floor. The sword flew from her grasp as she hit her head on the ground. Astoria, though dazed, quickly recovered to see who knocked her off her feet.

Astoria's eyes widened.

With shiny blond hair to her waist, electric blue eyes, and the fairest of all skin, stood trembling with a sword at her side. Celeste Laurier. Astoria scrambled away, caught off-guard. "Run, run!" Celeste yelled to Thatcher.

Shit, Astoria thought, looking over to Elias, who had defeated Copper. "Elias, we need to bounce!" She dodged a swing from Celeste, running up to Elias in a blaze of smoke and fire. She grabbed onto his hand and shut her eyes.

Hurry, hurry, she begged as the shadows consumed them. One minute, they were outside the burning Viscount Court Room, and they were in the throne room of the De Vil Manor. Astoria gasped loudly, stumbling forward. "E-Elias—"

Then the world collapsed with her.