Astoria appeared in front of a well-built house in the Viscount Kingdom; she knew that Paloma Yearwood had built herself from the Slums to Viscount. There were flower beds along the windows as Astoria knocked on the door.

However, a dishevelled man suddenly ran out of Paloma's house. To her shock, it was Ire Cross, the man who saved her from Copper's dismay all those years ago. Ire buttoned up his shirt before he finally realized Astoria was there. "Sorry, Pal's all yours."

Out of the blue, Paloma stuck her head out. "I'll see you tomorrow night, Ire. Oh!" She turned red as Ire rushed away. Astoria blinked—usually, it was the adults who stumbled upon teenagers doing something explicit, not the other way around.

Astoria held up her hands. "I honestly don't care, Paloma. Your life is your own, plus, I think Ire is a good guy." Paloma was slightly confused, but let her through the door. The parlour was a bit of a mess, but it was a brief visit anyway. "I have good news."

"I know, all Viscount and Valdor folk know about the council members' assassinations," Paloma nodded, teary-eyed. They both didn't forget Paloma's late husband who died standing up for the Slums.

"Also, something else came up. We know the location of the Book of Darkness, but so do the Heirs. Elias and I are leaving at around midnight, we might be gone for a few days, so could you check on the De Vil Manor once in a while?"

Paloma nodded again. "Of course."

Astoria took her hands into hers. "Hey, Paloma, I'm happy for you, you know? It's been a while since Hugo passed, you deserve to be joyful. I don't typically trust Vscount folk, but I think Ire will be good for you."

"Stop making me cry, you're supposed to be the Lady of Dread around here." Paloma wrestled Astoria into a big hug. They stayed like that for a while and Paloma Yearwood almost painfully reminded Astoria of her mother, Nadine De Vil, and Madam Sunna.

Too painful.

Astoria removed herself from Paloma. "I should go, Paloma, thank you. Elias is probably waiting for me." Then a grin slowly spread across her face, leaving Astoria puzzled. "What?"

"You also deserve to be happy, Astoria."

She coiled away, clearing her throat. She allowed the shadows to consume, taking her from Paloma's home to hers. Astoria was in the throne room when Elias startled her. "God, Elias—"

"Where were you?" he demanded. "Were you shadow-travelling?"

"Just to Paloma's."

"You can't risk exhausting yourself, you'll kill yourself eventually, Tori." Elias shook his head. He had gathered the material they needed, handing Astoria a big messenger bag. Inside, it had magical herbs that Sunna used to grow, a dagger, the Madam Sunna poster, and other items. "Anything I should keep an eye out for on our trip?"

Astoria cocked her head. "The Heirs said they were starting at dawn, so we'll leave at nightfall, which is now. Even if we start earlier and have a shorter path than theirs, the Heirs have heavy militia and fast carriages."

"Not to mention our path is through rocky areas," he added.

She crossed her arms, wondering. "Once we get to Silver Mountains, there will be mines with dwarves, they can be pretty aggressive. They hate sunlight so we'll be safe during the day."

"But during the night?" Elias asked.

"Let's try to avoid that."

༻༺✧༻༺

The path they had chosen was in the rural parts of Valdor and along the Opal River. It was the dead of night as the pair traversed the grounds. "I never knew this part of Valdor was so beautiful," Elias said wistfully.

"Despite the Slums' economic ruin and debt, the place wasn't always like this. It was just gorgeous valleys and vast land," Astoria said, fondly remembering all kinds of tales that Madam Sunna used to tell her. "The Darklings actually occupied parts of the land, back when Valdor was considered to be a part of Viscount, but once they were exiled, the Viscount folks thought the land to be cursed."

Elias paused as if the gears in his head were turning. Astoria stopped as well, leaning against a tall, lanky tree. Even if his mind was similar to hers, there was no doubt that Elias Lennox was a Viscount folk. "I-I never knew that."

"They don't teach this kind of thing in Viscount or Valdor schools, it's a darker part of history," Astoria continued as they resumed their walking. Birds crooned above them as Astoria looked up at the starry skies. Valdor is really beautiful. "The remaining mortals in Valdor were known as outcasts for living on 'cursed dark lands' as the old Viscount folks used to say. It faded out of history over time."

Elias remained silent for the rest of their travel until they stopped by the river. Astoria crouched down, scooping crystal-clear water with her hands, bringing it to her mouth. It was cold and refreshing, she wished that the rest of Valdor could taste it with her. The Opal River unfortunately did not run through the local townsquare of the Slums and it was a long hike just for water.

Suddenly, there was a noise. Elias drew his sword and so did Astoria with her double daggers. "There shouldn't be townsfolk out this late and this far away from the Townsquare," Elias drawled, walking closer to her. He pushed her behind him and Astoria couldn't help but roll her eyes. I guess this is the qualification for a sidekick.

All of a sudden, multiple people jumped them, pushing them into the river. Astoria screamed, the cold water hitting her like a stab. She scrambled to her feet, the water swishing between her legs. "E-Elias!" she yelled as a hard rock hit her back.

She nearly stumbled, whipping her head around. Astoria's dull gray eyes went wide once she realized it was a horde of savages trying to kill her, maybe drown her in Opal River. They were dressed in old robes and their hair matted. A man grabbed her wrists as she resisted, twisting his arm and taking a slash across his bicep.

He merely laughed in her face. What is wrong with these people? They were savages unlike Astoria had ever seen. "Oh, lovely, lovely meals!" the man cried out, looking at Astoria with hunger. She pierced him with her dagger, kicking him into the face of the river. "Astoria!" Elias called for her and she turned around. Elias, half-soaked, was treading through the river.

Three of the attackers rushed towards him, taking Elias down, and beating him with rocks. Bruises blossomed and blood sept, one of the attackers smudged their hands across his chest, licking the blood off their palms.

"Elias!" Astoria shrieked, anger pulsing through her. She grasped her daggers and stormed over, looming over the attackers. She raised the weapons and brought them down, sinking the blades into their backs.

Their screams were horrifying as Astoria stumbled back. The three savages sunk into the river, the blood pooling with the clear water. They went still, drifting away downstream. What the hell just happened? Astoria looked around, seeing the other attackers dying or some fleeing.

"Eli, Eli," she whispered, crawling through the water to get to him. Thank the heavens that the river's currents aren't strong today, if they were, they would have been swept away. There was a shallow wound in his chest as Elias sat up, wincing as the water cleansed the blood away. "Holy shit."

"You really we-went all 'I'm the damned Lady of Dread' on them." Elias sighed, trying to stand up. He wobbled and Astoria slipped her arm around him, inhaling sharp intakes of breath.

"I thought you were going to die, asshole," Astoria growled, gritting her teeth. She waded through the river with Elias, setting him on the edge of the Opal River. She inspected the damage, sighing heavily. "You're not going to need stitches."

Elias gazed at the river, grinning sloppily. "The river isn't very opal now, huh?"

"You're mad, you're crazed. Must be the shock," she murmured, buttoning his shirt. She rummaged through her messenger bag, plucking out a roll of gauze. She cleaned up the blood as she let Elias wrap the bandages around his chest.

"Please!" a voice gasped, making both of them flinch. Even when dazed, Elias quickly grabbed Astoria, putting her behind him. A girl, with fair skin and black hair like a crow's feathers, looked at them, whimpering. She's so young, too young to be a cannibal.

"Go away, please." Astoria hoped she couldn't hear the tremble in her voice.

"I'm Corvinne," she cried out, crawling towards them, a large injury on her back. Elias pointed his sword to her, signalling Corvinne not to come closer. "I-I'm a part of the Exiled Clan, I know things, please!" The girl had gone completely insane, pulling her hair until tufts came out. "I know things, I know things!"

"Calm down," Astoria warned, her hand clamping onto Elias' shoulder.

"I know it all, please, please!" Corvinne lamented, tripping into the water. Suddenly, she wasn't just a teenager, but under the layers, she was a scared child with no one to go to. "I used to be a-a thief in Viscount until they threw me in the slammer at Abernathy Castle, I heard things."

"Why should we trust her?" Elias asked.

"Let her finish, Elias."

"One of the c-council members spoke of Celeste Laurier." That perked Astoria's attention. Beautiful and defiant Celeste, with her electric blue eyes and blond hair. "She was supposed to marry Prince Thatcher! But th-then King Julius found some nasty secret about her past, she was disqualified as a candidate to be Prince Thatcher's wife, the position went to Zinnia Xing."

Corvinne shuddered, sobbing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she wailed, sinking into the slow river currents. "I was hungry, the E-Exiled Clan offered me everything." Elias stepped forward, holding out his hand. He sat at the river's edge, his feet dangling in the water, he and Corvinne held hands for a brief amount of time. Astoria joined them and the three gazed up at the stars.

"Thank you, Corvinne," she said softly. "You can rest now, I hope you find peace in Archemoros." The pale girl's fingers slipped from Elias' grasp as the currents sped up, Corvinne's eyes closed, washing her corpse away.

Elias put his head in his hands. "What just happened, Tori?"

"I heard rumours about a group called the Exiled Clan, they're ex-prisoners who escaped jail from Abernathy Castle's dungeons. They're a brainwashed clan of cannibals, using their past skills to kill travellers, they have nothing else to eat." Astoria's throat was starchy. "I didn't think it was true."

"I think I recognized that girl, Corvinne, during my time at Abernathy Castle."

Corvinne was just like me, Astoria thought, knowing that she was once that thieving girl, looking for her prey on the streets of Valdor. She cleared her throat, turning to Elias. "Does your chest hurt?"

"Seems like the cannibals tried to beat my organs out of me with those rocks," he snorted, shaking his head. Good, the shock wore off. "I'll be fine, Astoria. I can't believe I allowed myself to be ambushed like that, I didn't do a very good job of protecting ourselves, did I?"

"You did good enough." Astoria looked around. "Let's move past the whole Opal River and get away from the corpses. We'll rest until the morning comes." She helped Elias up as he buttoned back up his shirt.

"What did you think of Covinne's words about Celeste Laurier?"

Astoria sighed heavily. "We'll worry about that later, I bet it's just nonsense." But what Corvinne spoke of, shook her world. What was the secret that Celeste was keeping from the rest of the Heirs? She was determined to find out, but that's when an idea struck her. If I find out, I can use it to threaten her—risk Celeste's secret to be exposed to the Heirs or follow my instructions. Heir Betrayer sounded quite nice, actually.

Oh, Prince Thatcher was going to face hell one day.