It was a lonely time at De Vil Manor. Silence filled the halls as usual, but Astoria felt like the manor was so empty. She sat on her throne, thrumming her fingers on the arms of the blackened throne. The manor is on top of a cliff by the sea on the outskirts of the Slums.

She wore a lacy black dress that fell to her ankles. Astoria tied back her hair in a braid as she tapped her cold fingers on her throne. It echoed back at her. Suddenly, Astoria heard the door open. Elias is back, she thought as the nineteen-year-old boy entered the throne room. He had his messenger satchel slung over his shoulder and a few scars on his hands.

"What the hell happened?"

"Got into a fight with some shabby Viscount knight," he said, shrugging. Elias had grown into a fine young man, though he was still pretty lean. He opened the satchel and handed Astoria some files. "Got what you wanted though."

"It's not worth it if you keep getting wounded," she tutted as she thumbed through the files, kicking up her legs on the throne. Her loyal comrade stood at her side. She was forever thankful for Elias Lennox. She reviewed the map of Abernathy Castle and grinned. "We can go through the servant's backdoor, hm?"

"Yeah, but there's a few guards there."

"I'll distract them." Astoria reviewed the map again. "So, how was your time at Abernathy Castle? Did you see your father again?"

"He didn't even notice me," he said and Astoria picked up a hint of rage in his voice. Odd since Elias was calm and collected. "He also has a new wife apparently since I was gone, Lady Kindi Lennox. Unlike what her name suggests, she was not kind."

"What a shame. Look, Elias, if you're not comfortable to go back to Abernathy Castle tomorrow night—"

"I'm still going," the boy insisted as Astoria laughed again. Elias was a very loyal person, she realized that from the day they met. Even loyal, Astoria didn't know much about his past. "We'll torch King Julius' and Queen Caprina's bedroom together. Are we still proceeding with Prince Thatcher's assassination?"

Astoria closed the files. "No. We don't have enough time to torch his room and his routine happens to switch a lot. He might actually not be in his bedroom when we try to light it on fire. We'll stick to the king and queen."

"Whatever you want." Elias crossed his arms. "And the council?"

"Lady Avalon Crest already died from illness, so with her money and the Abernethys' wealth—Valdor is set for quite a while. Is Paloma still able to wire the funds?"

Astoria had recruited many others, including Paloma Yearwood, the wife of killed Hugo Yearwood. Paloma was sick for a while, but managed to recover, and now worked at the Viscount Kingdom Bank undercover.

Elias nodded. "The money will be wired or given to everyone in the Slums."

"Perfect."

The boy rummaged through his pockets to find another file, handing it to her. "These are the heirs, I got some extra info for you, Tori," he said, flustered. Astoria nodded and started to read.

Prince Thatcher Abernathy, son of King Julius Abernathy and Queen Caprina Abernathy. Resides in the West Wing of Abernathy Castle and is betrothed to Zinnia Xing.

Zinnia Xing, daughter of Lord Vance Xing and Lady Azalea Xing. Resides in the West Wing of Abernathy Castle and is betrothed to Prince Thatcher Abernathy.

Nayleen Crest, daughter of Lord Rhodes Crest and Lady Avalon Crest. Resides in the Grendels Estate and is married to Foxe Grendels.

Foxe Grendels, son of Lord Kai Grendels and Lady Elea Grendels. Resides in the Grendels Estate and is married to Nayleen Crest.

Celeste Laurier, daughter of Lord Otis Laurier and Lady Rosalind Laurier. Resides in Abernathy Castle under the permission of King Julius.

Astoria's lips twitched at Celeste's name, she was never fond of her. "I didn't know Nayleen and Foxe were married, that's awfully early for marriage," she commented. "But now that I am aware of their love, we can exploit it. We can use one of them as bait for the other if it comes down to it."

"Of course."

"What should we do for Lord Kai Grendels' killing? We already killed his daughter-in-law's mother, Lady Avalon, so we may as well kill Nayleen's father-in-law." Astoria closed the file as Elias tilted his head.

"Poisoning. It gives us a chance to tour the Grendel Estate and see Foxe and Nayleen in person. Plus, it's untraceable to us if we execute the poisoning well," Elias explained and Astoria smiled. "What? Don't give me that pouty look."

"I'm not pouting," she rolled her dull gray eyes. "I'm just impressed."

Elias went red. "Oh, t-thanks then."

Astoria snapped her fingers and a paper and ink quill landed in her lap. "My dark magic is improving, no?" Astoria was satisfied when Elias nodded. She started to write.

King Julius & Queen Carprina—Fire in Abernathy Castle (To be killed)

Lord Vance—Fire at Abernathy Castle (To be killed)

Lady Avalon—Deceased from sickness (Dead)

Lord Kai—Poisoning at the Grendels Estate (To be killed)

Lord Otis—Stabbing at Abernathy Castle (To be killed)

They only had to kill the council members, Astoria decided to spare the members' spouses. "Stabbing for Lord Otis Laurier?" Elias asked, puzzled. "Why something so traceable?"

"I have a burning hatred for the Lauriers. Do I have to explain more?"

"No."

Astoria De Vil set aside the files. She grabbed Elias' chin, cupping his face. Their eyes bore each other and Elias was the first to look away. "You have bruises," she noted, tracing her thumb along his jaw. "Be careful next time or you'll end up dead."

"Charming, Tori."

"I do with a flair," she said, batting her lashes. She let go of Elias' face and stood up from the throne. She smoothed her black dress, tucking back the strands of her hair. "I think I'll pay Paloma a visit, will you accompany me?"

He smiled. "Of course."

༻༺✧༻༺

Valdor was nearly in ruins and pained Astoria's heart. It was just like it was in her childhood—broken down buildings, dirty water, thieves, and beggars on the street. They walked through the Slums and Astoria wrapped the faux fur coat around her waist tightly. They stood out, Astoria knew that much, but she wasn't worried about the thieves as Elias was. He was gripping a dagger in his hand.

"Loosen up, Eli," Astoria said, her platinum heels clicking on the broken pavement. They were by the Border, the Border that divided Valdor from the Viscount Kingdom. The De Vil Manor was by the sea, guarded by a vast forest, but Astoria teleported them to the Slums earlier. She was disappointed that she didn't teleport them to the kingdom to save time, but Elias reminded her that she was still learning.

"Just wanting to do my job," he grunted.

"And what is that?"

"To protect you and fulfill your wishes."

Astoria sighed lazily. "No, Elias, it's not to serve me, it's to serve Valdor. You can not be afraid of the place where your service is going towards." With a grumble, he looped his dagger in his belt.

They arrived in the Vicious Kingdom, the streetlights and bricked paths gave Astoria an eerie familiarity. The stores and shops were closed at the time, but Astoria knew it was around the time that Paloma got off at work.

"There's the Viscount Kingdom Bank," Elias whispered as they neared. It was a squat building with golden accents. "I remember my father and I coming here once, on the business of Prince Thatcher's birthday gala budget."

Astoria was heart-stricken. "I never had a birthday. My mother died when I was five years old, and, well, old oracles never found birthdays too important but taming sorcery was..." What made up my life, she thought. Madam Sunna raised Astoria until she died five years ago when she was twelve.

Her dying wish was for Astoria to use her taught sorcery to help all of Valdor.

They waited under a streetlight until Paloma Yearwood came out of the building. The widow was unrecognizable from her past life in Valdor, she was dolled up in a gray dress with fringes and her curly brown hair was in a tight bun. Her heels clacked as she turned around, spotting Astoria and Elias, looking surprised.

"Hello, Paloma," she said, smiling as they approached her. Paloma sighed in relief, throwing her arms around Astoria. They both met a year ago when Astoria realized her dead husband was the man who stood up against the Abernathys ten years ago. And was silenced, she held back bitter words.

"Oh, I thought I was being mugged!" Paloma released her and squeezed Elias' arm. "Good to see you too, Elilas." She regained her composure, glancing around. "You're taking a risk by being out in the open in the Viscount Kingdom."

"A calculated risk, of course. I'm not scared of King Julius or Queen Caprina, we plan their assassination tomorrow night. Lady Avalons is already dead and I plan to kill the other five council members."

"And the heirs of the council members?"

Astoria looked over her shoulder before whispering, "Prince Thatcher's routine is unorganized, we won't be able to kill him by then. We'll have to wait it out, but I'll figure out a plan, I always do."

"Then why are you both here?" Paloma asked.

"You're the only one here, right?"

"Uh, yes, I'm the one to lock up the bank after hours."

"Good, because it's about time we talk about contracts, Paloma."