"You want us to do what?" Zander's tone matches my current state of bewilderment as he hollers at Mellisa.

The ultimate queen just crosses her arms over her chest, her blue-green eyes blank, "You heard me already, Zander Hellion."

Zander's eyes narrowed into slits, "You want me and her," He pointed his index finger at me before looking back at Mellisa, "To find this 'thing' you don't have a damn clue what it is yourself. Together?"

Mellisa nods.

"Are you out of your mind?!" He looked ready to pull his hair out.

I roll my eyes. So dramatic.

As if you're not. My bitch of a subconscious thought it necessary to give her opinion. Nevertheless,

"I'm not very eager to work with you either, devil incarnate." I remind my darling-make it as venomous as an anaconda-mate.

"Eager? Oh, come on, I don't want to work with you!" He turns to me with an icy look and I give him an equally chilly one.

"What, you wanna fight me?" I ask when his cold stare turns to a glare at my lack of defiance.

"As if you'd win." He lets out a humourless laugh.

That ticks me and I get off my seat again steaming like a volcano, "Oh, you couldn't be more wrong, devil incarnate."

"I'm certain I couldn't be more right, fish." He rebukes equally mad.

"Let me prove you wrong this very instant then." And then I'm about to pounce my claws on him again in full-on hyena mode but a translucent blue shield blocks my move.

"What is wrong with you two?" Mellisa's voice is as incredulous as her facial expression, "I thought you both were mates?"

"He isn't my mate."

"She isn't my mate."

We both say simultaneously before turning to dig holes through our eyes at each other.

Mellisa sighs. Eleanor sighs. Kaitlyn sighs as well. Valerian remains blank as ever but then Anthony decides to open his mouth,

"Why are they always like this?" The lycan king pokes the vampire king, Kane, who had been scanning his nails as if he had them manicured.

Kane glances up at me and Zander as his lips pull into a slow smirk, "Must be sexual tension."

I and devil incarnate snap our heads towards Kane in such a quick movement, it's a wonder we still had our heads attached to our neck. The glowers we pass the vampire king then meant murder.

"Enough of this." Mellisa's voice is hard, making us turn to her. That heavy aura of power radiates off her reminding us of who she truly is. What she is.

"Settle down, Marilla." Her blazing eyes shift to me then to devil incarnate, "Sit, Zander."

We sit down back in our seats silently like obedient children at the ultimate queen's command, not daring to disoblige.

Mellisa lets out a sigh when she notices how quiet everyone had gone, "I'm sorry. I was harsh." She rubs her temples with the tip of her fingers, "But I really need your help. This is my last chance. Please."

I look up in surprise and even Valerian does. We've both been the closest friends to Mellisa among all the other kings and queens. And we knew very well that if she was pleading us for something, it truly must mean a lot to her. She never pleads for anything. What Mellisa wants, she gets it. She's the queen of all the supernatural realms afterall.

"Why, Lisa?" I ask, but this time my question is genuine and not baffled.

I see the colour in her eyes dim and her gaze skid downwards at the wooden table. Everyone goes silent, probably sensing the sudden air of sadness enveloping her.

It takes a minute for her to answer but when she does, her voice is full of pain and anguish, "This is the only way I can find Lysander and Elian. And avenge Ryan's death. . ." Her words break at the last sentence and I can see how hard she tries to hold back tears.

"Who's Ryan, Lysander and Elian? I don't get it." Zander seems confused but he's careful when he asks the question, realizing how quiet everyone was.

"Ryan was Mellisa's mate. Lysander and Elian are her children. Four years ago, Thanatos Skia—it's the name we call the creature by—attacked Mellisa. He killed Ryan and took away Lysander and Elian along with him." It was Valerian who explained the event of that horrifying day.

I still remember that day from four years ago, the last time we met Lisa before today. . .

I was in Valerian's study annoying him as always and Kaitlyn was laughing along with me but then we felt the air around us shimmer and drop and then Mellisa appeared.

She was covered in blood from head to toe. Her claws outstretched, her hair flying. Her eyes were shining like blue light bulbs staring aimlessly ahead, just standing there in the middle of the study, not saying a word.

She looked like death itself if it weren't for the hollowness in her eyes. I'd called out to her repeatedly asking what happened. Valerian had shook her to make her snap out of whatever haze she was in. But then Kaitlyn had walked in and wrapped her arms around Mellisa engulfing her in a warm embrace.

That had been her breaking point. I'd never seen Mellisa cry so much. Not even when her parents died. So hard and painful. It still scares me thinking about it. How she'd wept for her mate's loss and her children being taken away.

Even after being the most powerful creature to exist, she'd been brought to her knees when her mate was in Thanatos' clutches. But what did she get in the end? Ryan still died and her children were still taken away. She couldn't do anything before because the love of her life was in that man's hold and when she could, he was gone leaving Mellisa broken beyond limit.

It reminded me of my mother. Weeping. Sobbing. Clutching my father's arms as he took his last breath. The way she'd lost herself after his death. . .

The things love does to a person. The reason why I don't ever want to be trapped in the mess called 'love'.

I feel my heart sink for my friend though. She was so happy. She had everything she ever wanted but then all of it was gone.

"Oh. . .I see." Zander's voice snaps me out of my reverie. He looks up at Mellisa, "You're the most powerful creature to exist, you couldn't kill him?"

Mellisa's hands fist on the table and she looks away, "He can't be killed. He's a shadow form. We can't kill shadows. Usually, shadows don't have any power to even touch anyone. But Thanatos is a strong entity and he's possessing a human body. Even if we kill him in his human form, he'd possess another body. I couldn't even find him in these four years. And it's terrible to think that if I do find him, I can't even kill him then and there. That's why I need your help."

That has our attention.

The queen's eyes shift back to us, "The only way to stop Thanatos is to capture him."

"And you think we both can find this thing that could capture him?" I ask, gesturing towards myself and Zander.

Mellisa shakes her head, "Not me. Dulcamara thinks. And she's the fortune witch. I know better than not to heed to her words."

"So, where's this thing exactly?" Zander wants to know.

"I don't know. Dulcamara gave me a riddle though. But it makes no sense."

Ofcourse, the fortune-seer witch's riddles never make any sense. But what's the pain in trying to solve it?

"Tell us the riddle."

"What's the riddle?"

I narrow my eyes when devil incarnate imitates my words but I spare him for the time being.

"It was something like this," Mellisa begins making us avert our attention to her, "The key to capturing Thanatos is the one to capture them all."

There's an utter moment of silence. Then,

"The fuck? That makes no sense!" Kane raises his arms in stupefaction.

Zander nods along, "It really doesn't make sense. Who are all? Have we ever captured something before?"

"No." Mellisa shakes her head, "We never had to."

"The one to capture them all. . ." Valerian's voice makes us turn to him.

Ofcourse, he might have some clue. He's the smartest here even if I'll never give him the credit for it.

"What about your mother's archives, Zander?" Valerian's cold green eyes stare at devil incarnate, "You should check there once. I remember Queen Annabeth having books in her archives mentioning various ways to bound different creatures which she used for controlling the sentenced demons to keep them within the underworld."

Sentenced demons are the ones serving for their crimes in Helvon, the Underworld. Once their duration of the trial is completed, they're released out of their punishment. They can then either choose to live in one of the other four kingdoms or stay back in Helvon without the obligation to serve for their sins anymore.

I know handling the demons there can be very hard. Queen Annabeth almost never left the kingdom. Zander's father, Erebus, was the one to attend the meetings before. But after Charlotte killed him and with Queen Annabeth being taken away, Zander has no option than to leave Helvon for a few hours in the hands of his second-in-command so that he could attend the court meetings.

I think it was understandable considering how I myself leave my kingdom in the hands of Ursula, my second-in-command, so often that she could very well be the queen herself.

My brows furrow as a sudden realization dawns upon me and I snap my eyes up to devil incarnate, "Wait, you're going to actually find this thing along with me?"

"Don't give yourself the credit. It's not for you." Zander's eyes go stony at my words but he lets out a sigh. Ever so slowly, his gaze skids to Mellisa who's already looking at him,

"I know how it feels to lose the one you love. I know how much it hurts. And how badly it makes you want to end those who took them away from you," At that very moment, his eyes shifted to my face.

I look away from that accusing gaze, knowing well his words were directed towards me. The familiar guilt washes over but more than that, I'm confused. Confused why he didn't exactly end me as he'd want to.

"So I'll help. For the sake of love." His eyes leave mine and shift back to the ultimate queen.

I snort internally.

For the sake of love, you say? If only you knew what love could do to a person.

And if only I knew what awaited me at the other end of this mission . . .

Thanatos Skia means

Shadow Death in Greece.

▪︎¤▪︎

This chapter was a lot. Phew.

How do you feel about Mellisa losing Ryan and the children?

(^If y'all remember, Mellisa's mate's name is Ryan but in Chapter 3 of ROYAL HEIRS, she was married to a guy named Ciaran. It was a clue👀)

Anyways, what do you think this mission would led Zander and Marilla to?

Believe me, it's more than just love👀