Hours passed, and Yuko awoke behind bars. Veyric was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall, with the book in his lap. Standing nearby was Xena with her arms crossed. In front of Yuko’s cell was King Alan. His eyes were narrowed like thin slits, his foot tapping repeatedly while Yuko stirred and sat up.

  “Finally awake, assassin?” Venom played on King Alan’s tongue.

  Yuko groaned, shaking her head. Her eyes trailed up at King Alan from behind the bars of the cell.

  “Just who I wanted to see,” she said.

  “I needed to pray and ask the star for guidance before I came to you. The moment I heard of your capture, I immediately thought of bringing about your execution. But Xena says you have valuable information, so I advise you to answer my questions, or your head will be on the floor after the guillotine chops it.” King Alan said, crossing his arms behind his back.

  “Executing me would damn your souls to the void,” Yuko said.

  King Alan’s foot tapping the ground reverberated through the torch-lit dungeon.

  “If you kill me, I’ll be back, but it won’t be me. There’ll be an entity reanimating my corpse. “ She added.

  “You fool! You made a deal with an entity of that caliber? For what in return did you get? How power hungry could you be to put a curse on yourself, assassin!” King Alan shouted at her.

  “I didn’t choose to make a deal with it, you cunt!” Yuko snapped back with a yell.

  King Alan was silent, Veyric’s head perked up, and Xena scratched her chin. The dungeon was silent.

  “The curse was put on me by one of my own fucking clan members! Don’t talk to me like I’m some kind of evil maniac, because last I checked—the real evil maniac is still out there, stealing people away, killing them like cattle, and turning them into white monsters that mindlessly kill!” Yuko was out of breath, and she was clenching her fists tightly.

  “Zeta will be dealt with. But you still chose to be an assassin! You gave in to these dark powers placed upon you. What is your answer for that?” King Alan said.

  “This was supposed to be the last job. The one that would buy my freedom.” She stood, leaning against the wall for support.

  “And you took that away from me, you bastard.” Yuko’s fingernails dug into the wall, and then she eased up, softly exhaling.

  “Whatever, I don’t care if you understand or not. What’re you going to do with me now? Kill me, and unleash the entity out of my body? And watch it slay your entire kingdom? No, that’s not right. Watch it slay the entire population of Augus? What’re you going to do with me?” Yuko said.

  “I will figure out what to do with you and how you’ll answer for your crimes. Speak of the envoy, who hired you?” King Alan said.

  Yuko burst out into raucous laughter, slapping her hand against the wall.

  “Your son, Prince Avery, came to me,” Yuko said.

  King Alan’s gaze gaped open. He stepped closer to the cell bars.

  “That’s right. He came to me seeking my services. He wanted me to kidnap the Vislinian envoy, and it was all for his own selfish ego. You’re raising a good, good kid, by the way.” Yuko grins.

  “Do not speak ill of my son, tell me the truth!” King Alan shouted.

  “I told you the truth, you just don’t want to believe it, do you? How else do you think he could’ve known it was the assassin’s cocktail? He used me to make me a scapegoat.” Yuko chuckles.

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  “How do you like that? Weren’t expecting that, were you? Because neither was I. He played both you and me like fools, no shame in admitting it.” She adds.

  King Alan’s hand trembled, and he pulled away his gaze. Xena kept her eyes on him. Veyric scratched the side of his head, looking down at the book. King Alan paced around the dungeon for several minutes, rubbing his temples and briefly looking at Yuko in the cell every time he passed. Yuko’s breathing began to even out, and she let out a long sigh.

  “And what exactly happened to the envoy?” King Alan asked.

  “He got eaten by the other hybrid. I’m sure of it. When we were running, I heard a scream. And a few days after, when I was passing back through The Silent Expanse, he was rotting flesh. But not even a wild animal would eat like that. It’s like he wanted him to feel the pain—he was mauled alive by that hybrid with clear intent. What was supposed to happen is that we were going to make a clean exchange. I’d give him the envoy, he’d give me the money, and whatever shit he got himself into would be his problem. The other hybrid was unexpected, and how he found us was even more of a mystery to me.” She explained.

  “How grim… Dareth will not be pleased to hear this. But Avery wouldn’t go there by himself. Was there anyone else with him?” Alan said.

  “There was a knight with him. I think his name was Beckett. Just to let you know, he’s dead. The hybrid killed him.” Yuko said.

  “How do you know it was the other hybrid?” King Alan asked.

  “Never seen purple fire a day in my life. Originally, I thought it was a banned incantation. When those rumors were circling, that’s when I realized it was one of the two.” Yuko said.

  “Interesting,” Xena said.

  “Just to add, you might have a bit of a problem with the underground,” Yuko said.

  “Why’s that?” King Alan asked.

  “Well, I said I’d get some of Veyric’s blood for them to sell overseas to help their community. Turns out dragonblood is one of the most sought-after things in Iuzen.” She said.

  “Thank goodness you were caught. But why would we have problems with the underground?” King Alan said

  “Made a deal with their leader, Merle. He’s letting his brother, Morris, who’s some kind of bandit boss, take it over. I told him if he called it off, I’d give him some of Veyric’s blood.” Yuko explains.

  “Merle, you say? I’d always suspected something was wrong, but I didn’t think he’d be leading the underground.” Xena said.

  “Surprises come in all forms, I guess,” Yuko replied.

  “Morris, I remember him. I fought him because he and his bandits were terrorizing some villagers.” Veyric said.

  “So, you were the hybrid he was referring to. Good to know. All I’m saying is keep an eye out.” Yuko said.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” King Alan said.

  “I must ask. Why are you being so compliant?” Xena said.

  “Because there’s no reason to be loyal to people I don’t know. They can’t help stop this curse from killing me, but I’m sure someone among your ranks can. I made your lives a little easier, don’t you think? Instead of finding time to run around Augus trying to solve mysteries, I told you everything. I think that earns me some kind of help, no?” Yuko walks over to the cell bars.

  “I’ll think about it. Xena, come, we need to talk for a moment.” King Alan said.

  King Alan and Xena headed for the doors of the dungeon. Veyric stayed behind, continuing to read the book. Yuko pushed off the wall, sitting on the bed of stone.