The Crown's Entrapment



"How is everything with Lena now?" Darius asked as he joined Xenia for lunch inside their tent.

Xenia released a sigh as she answered, "She's still confused, but I think she's a lot calmer now."

Darius nodded, "That's good. I still don't think that we should allow her to participate in the competition. This is too complicated."

Xenia's shoulders dropped as she agonized, "I really feel so bad for those two. Everything now depends on Amon. Let's just support both Bella and Lena regardless of their decision. They are mature women and I'm sure they will talk things out soon. I felt Lena's need to be with Amon… and I'm supporting it because she needs to talk to him and sort things out. She may not remember Amon, but her lingering feelings for the man are still there."

"By the way, Helion will leave and go back to their kingdom in three days. Bella already told Bartos her intention to join the entourage of Helion and go back. Bartos wants to support her… He witnessed her struggle when she lost Osman so Bartos is also dead set on Bella having her mate," Darius commented.

"Mate?! Amon is her mate? But how on earth did that happen? I don't think she ever felt the Mate Pull with Osman before, did she?" Xenia questioned with wide eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening! If Amon was Bella's mate then she couldn't imagine how devastated Bella would be once Amon rejected her. Bella survived before when she thought she lost Amon but this time around she might not!

"According to Jayra, Osman was once a human turned Lycan and his mother had cast a spell on him to conceal his demon blood, which also masked his scent. Now that he is Amon and back to his true nature with his demon blood active, his true scent also became distinct," Darius explained.

"Hmm, how complicated can these things turn? Oh heavens! I believe Lena must know about this…" Xenia groaned. She felt her head ache even though she was not involved in the situation involving Bella, Lena, and Amon.

Darius stood up from his seat and walked to her as he lovingly hugged her from her back. He leaned and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Stop stressing yourself out. I believe everything is happening for a reason. It seems like their fates are intertwined so let's not meddle in their affairs. They are all grown-up adults responsible for their own lives, Xen. Let's just let them be and see how things turn out. Now, how about we take this time to focus on giving our twins more siblings?" Darius murmured while peppering her shoulder blades with kisses.

"Not so soon, my love. Mineah will arrive shortly. She'll remove her bloodthread in Jayra's body," Xenia informed. Darius let out a growl making Xenia chuckle. King Nikolai had arrived at the Global Summit alone but she knew transportation was never a problem for Mineah, who could easily teleport to wherever she wanted. Xenia had heard that Mineah still had things to finish so she would follow Nikolai shortly.

"It's not like we're running out of time, my love. Later tonight, we can play around as much as you want," she coaxed as she gently caressed Darius's hair.

"I miss Arden and Dinara. Once Mineah arrives, I will ask her to teleport me to them so that not only do I get to see them, Mineah can also visit our twins." Teleporting was something Mineah was really good at, especially now that her true powers became activated. Well as for Xenia, magic and spells were simply not her cup of tea.

"Alright then… Wait a minute… Is it safe for her to use magic and spells while she's pregnant?!" Darius curiously asked.

Xenia chuckled and said, "If it wasn't safe, do you think Nikolai would let her practice it as she pleases? You know how protective he can be. So if it had the slightest chance of hurting their child or herself, he wouldn't let her do it. And besides, my sister is not irresponsible either to not consider things that could harm her baby."

Mineah was already in her ninth month of pregnancy with her due anytime soon… She couldn't wait to see her first niece or nephew.

"I hope she delivers her baby here…" Xenia excitedly hummed. It would be nice to witness Mineah handle such an event and be there for her. When she birthed the twins, it was Mineah who was by her side along with Darius.

"Oh goodness, speaking of delivering a baby… Will she end up doing the same thing as you? I mean, do you still remember how many times you cursed me and said you'd kill me while you were in labor?" Darius recalled with a pout.

Xenia chortled, "Well, it wasn't easy for me alright? I guess Mineah wouldn't do that as she's not the loud type like me and her pain tolerance is much higher compared to mine, but who knows?"

" I remember how terrified she looked when she asked you if it was really hard and painful. I even think it traumatized her a bit," Darius scoffed. "She learned all that only to find out that she's also pregnant the very next moment."

Xenia had a wide smile recalling that incident. Despite how exhausted she was after giving birth to the twins, she remembers that it was Darius who figured it out first. While he held the twins in his arms, he looked at Mineah and directly said, "Ah, you only have one baby inside of you. Too bad you won't have twins like us."

When Mineah asked how he was able to tell, Darius only said, "Mineah's scent changed. There's this additional scent on her plus I can feel another heartbeat beating inside her womb."

A servant suddenly interrupted their conversation, informing them that Mineah had arrived. Xenia turned at Darius as she reminded him, "Don't you dare bring up whatever happened during my birth in front of Mineah…"

Darius chuckled and said, "Understood, my love. I'll leave now so you and your sister can have quality time together. Please kiss our twins for me!"

Xenia's eyes sparkled as she suggested, "How about I bring the twins here? Mineah will stay here for the entire Global Summit so-"

"No, we can't risk it, Xen. You know how danger still lurks around us," Darius firmly disagreed.

"But Helion has so many enemies… I'm sure no one will dare harm us," Xenia snorted.

"We can't get too complacent because of that, Xen. Our close ties that bind Ebodia and Valcrez are well known to everyone. Both Kingdoms have gained many dark witches, sorcerers, and warlocks as their enemies, so we automatically become their enemies too," Darius reminded.

"Fine…" she answered with a sigh knowing how her husband had a point. After all, Valcrez and Ebodia are joining hands to eliminate all the dark witches, sorcerers, and warlocks just like what Helion is now doing under Amon's rule.

Dark magic users were an abomination who brought nothing but harm and destruction wherever they went.

Soon Mineah arrived and exchanged pleasantries with Darius before he left them.

"Look at you," Xenia exclaimed as she gently touched Mineah's big bump. 

"Come, let's walk outside. Zaila has been nagging me to walk more as I'm due soon," Mineah commented to which Xenia nodded. They went out of the tent and walked around the camp.

"Are you sure you'll be able to extract your bloodthread given your current condition?" Xenia worriedly asked. 

"Hah! Her Majesty won't be the one doing it. I will extract her bloodthread from my body and expel it on my own. It's the least I can do after  Queen Mineah put her life on the line saving me," Jayra suddenly interrupted. She seemed to have come out of nowhere and was now walking with them.

"I'm really fine… I can still do it," Mineah insisted.

"But please let me do it, Your Majesty. I want to return your bloodthread to your body on my own. Let me use my energy and perform this task, please?" Jayra pleaded as she walked past them and sat on the makeshift bench under a tree within the camp area.

Xenia and Mineah also followed and sat there. "Gosh, it feels so good not being always watched over," Jayra said.

Xenia and Mineah both chuckled. Jayra suddenly stood in front of Mineah and said, "I think now is the best time to return your bloodthread, Mineah. It might get risky if you go into labour. I promise I won't take long."

"Alright, I bet you can't wait to return it to me," Mineah teased.

"Of course, once it's back to you, His Majesty, King Nikolai will finally pull Taro from guarding me in the shadows. Gosh, I really pity that vampire. I bet he's rejoicing overhearing this lurking around here. Hey Taro, don't hide in your mist form anymore, and show yourself! It's not like I can't feel your presence! My powers are already back days ago so there's no point concealing yourself!" Jayra blurted out with a pout.

Immediately after, Taro appeared. Xenia got up from the bench and stood beside Taro to give Jayra and Mineah enough distance.

"I will now begin extracting the bloodthread. Soon I will be free to travel with my sister-in-law to Helion!" Jayra excitedly declared.