Chapter 10: Chapter 10

I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the incoming impact of the swing that never came. Instead, I heard an all too familiar voice echoing as he spoke.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” When I opened my eyes, I saw Chace standing behind the man and grasping the sword that was supposed to cut me. Ice covered his hand in a thick layer, which enabled him to stop the blade’s swing onto my neck. The man gasped as he saw Chace, but Chace merely laughed and froze the entire sword at such a low temperature that it immediately broke like glass when he balled his hand.

He gave me a quick side glance. “You need help with him?” He asked me.

I grinned. “No, thank you. I can do this myself.” I craned my neck until I looked back at the vampire holding me captive and blew air that froze his face when it made contact with his skin. He lets out a shriek as the covering of the ice blinded him. He released my hand and stumbled while screaming.

I don’t understand why the vampire was being overdramatic. But just to shut him up, I created a small block of ice behind his step that made him trip and fall to the ground. I chuckled as he fell before turning back to Chace to thank him. But what I saw before me made me question what I was seeing.

Chace was holding the man by his neck with a sort of dangerous look on his face. I didn’t understand what he was doing at that moment until I saw ice running from his fingertips and unto scar face’s neck up to a point until he completely froze the guy.

“Hey, what are you doing? What is your friend doing!?” The girl, whose body I locked up in ice, was yelling. The other two beast men were also desperately clawing at the ice on their feet when they saw the scene in front of them.

“Chace?” I called for him because I could tell that the temperature that he was using wasn’t safe for the body of regular people or the supernatural. “What are you-”

It was already too late. Chace has thrown the man to the ground, causing his frozen form to shatter. I let out a gasp and covered my mouth with my trembling hands. There was no blood or odor when the man's body dismembered because his body was completely frozen from the inside out.

“What the hell, Chace!?” I yelled out amidst all the screams and cries from his fellow members.

Chace looked at me with a blank stare, “He tried to kill you, Stella. And you are a member of the royal family. It is a crime that is punishable by death. Besides, he asked for it.” He says calmly. “I tried to interrogate him where the other rebels are, and he said that he would rather die than tell me.”

I was stunned at what I had just heard and couldn’t believe those words left his mouth. “But...But that doesn’t mean that you have to kill him like that.”

“So he’s the white devil.” I turned around to the girl. Her eyes were focused on Chace intently like fear had struck her.

“White devil?” I wondered as I looked at her. “What do you mean?”

The woman gulped but didn’t respond to my question because, at that time, Chace was glaring at her. I turned to my friend with a puzzled look. “Chace, what does she mean?”

“It’s none of your concern, Stella.” He says and dusted his hands like it was nothing. “Come on. I will escort you back to the palace. I’ll send some guards later on to take these guys.”

He headed to the spot where my uncle rests and bowed his head respectfully as if he was greeting the king. Then, he bent down and grabbed my bag full of the things that I had shopped earlier. He slung it over his shoulder, and smiled at me while offering me hand. “Let’s go?”

I hesitated and once again looked at the broken pieces of the frozen man on the ground. Then my eyes shifted to the weeping rogues around us.

I was confused. I don’t know what was happening. Nonetheless, I took Chace’s hand and allowed him to escort me back while I walked in a stunned state. It’s not my first time seeing blood or a corpse. I was there when the second war of the realm broke out.

But this? Massacre when the realm was supposed to be at peace? This unforeseeable event made my skin crawl as I recalled the events.

“Stop looking at his shattered form,” Chace told me. “I’m sorry that you had to see that. I was going to take care of him silently, but it seems that he managed to slip past me. I guess he saw you in town and recognized you.”

I came to a halt just as we were about to enter the castle. Chace turned to face me after seeing my pause.“What’s wrong, Stella? Did you forget something?”

I shook my head. “No. More like I remembered something.” I said, remembering the words that the man asked me. “That man. He was asking for Kellar.”

The look on Chace’s face was unexplainable. But I could only guess it was the same expression that I wore when the man first asked me about Kellar’s whereabouts. “Kellar?” He whispered before lowering his gaze. “So, he’s what they’re after.” He muttered.

“Hold on.” I marched up towards him. “Chace, what do you know about this? From the sound of things, it seems like you knew about these rogues.”

Chace looked at me hesitantly for a long time before turning back to the door. “Let’s go, Stella.” He says dismissively.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop.”We’re not done talking, Chace.”

“I know.” He says without looking at me. “But I don’t think that I should be the one to explain things to you. And especially not out here in public.”

I loosened my grip on his arm as I pondered over his words before giving a tentative nod. He was right. If a person could explain things to me more clearly, it should be HIM.

Without uttering another word, I followed him. Chace has been here longer than I have for the past few years. He was more accustomed to the way and shortcuts in the castle than I was since I still live a double life in the other realm.

The castle began to emit bright fairy lights, a more common design in the elven kingdom. As Chace and I made our way to their office, the brightness of the place was more than enough to illuminate the entire space.

As soon as we arrived, Chace knocked on the door and waited for a response. “What?!” Came the response from the other side. And knowing my brother-in-law, it was his way of telling us to get in.

Chace looked at me before opening the door. “I’m sorry, Stella. I don’t know what else to say. But I promise that it isn’t my intention to keep things from you.”

I didn’t know what to feel about his words, but one thing was certain. I intend to get to the bottom of this. Especially when Kellar, my old friend, is involved.

“Alright,” I told him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Chace stiffened at my touch, and he glanced down at me with a small smile that I returned.

“WHO THE FUCK IS OUTSIDE OF THE DOOR?! GET IN ALREADY!”

Chace and I flinched at the intensity of the voice that we both panicked and fought for the doorknob. It took us a few seconds before we could finally get inside the office of none other than KING Ace.