Chapter 33 Time Travel
The princess with a burned face stood up right away when I said she couldn’t keep me away from Kaizer forever. She nervously went to the huge window in front of her. She opened it fast to look at the sky.
I took my eyes off the woman and frowned quickly when I noticed the sky. Why can’t I see the moon and stars? Didn’t I leave Aetherio at night? Why can I see light? Does time move fast in this empire?
“Wasn’t it just night a little while ago?” I asked one of the men who all looked the same. But they all turned to me with frowns, like I said something wrong.
“Night? It’s still morning, Saera…” answered the one on the right.
Morning? I thought nights were longer in this world. I know I left Aetherio at night.
“I don’t understand. I left Aetherio at night, and if I count how long I’ve been here, it hasn’t been three hours yet. Why does it feel like time went by so fast?”
It should still be dark now.
“Time here and in Igor really aren’t the same, Saera…” another man said with a laugh.
I got more confused and looked again at the woman still staring outside. Didn’t she say time here and in Igor were the same? How can they be different if we’re only in one world?
“How can they not be the same?” I asked again.
“You don’t know about this? It takes almost three months when you use the mirror to travel between different empires. Especially if you’re coming from Igor to this empire. Igor and Nalva are far apart, Saera, if you travel by horse, it takes five months.”
I almost froze looking at one of the vampire triplets. That woman lied!
“In short, you’ve been gone from Igor for three months, Saera…” added the man on the left.
What the?
“You liar!” I shouted at the woman, who now turned around from watching the sky outside.
“I didn’t, Saera. It’s true that time here and in Igor are the same right now. I just didn’t say that the travel inside the mirror takes three months.”
I didn’t know what to say anymore. I’ve actually been gone for so long. And I know Kaizer won’t like this. I’m not surprised that Nalva covered in snow already. Three months! I can’t even imagine what Kaizer was doing during that time. Maybe he didn’t stop causing trouble in Aetherio, maybe he didn’t leave the king of Aetherio alone because of what I did.
This was all my mistake. If I had just listened to Kaizer, if I hadn’t gone against him, this wouldn’t have happened. Yes, the Lancasters have fought many times before, but what might happen now is different. It’ll be empire against empire. If I used to only see drops of blood in every battle I saw, it wouldn’t be surprising if I see a sea of blood this time. Fuck.
I took a deep breath and started to stand up from where I was sitting. Doesn’t this woman know what she’s doing? I know Kaizer won’t stop until he finds where I am, and while he does that, I know he’ll cover every empire he passes with snow without mercy.
Until he sees me, everything his eyes land on will be an enemy. Innocent empires that know nothing about what’s happening will get dragged into this. In the short time I’ve been with the snow prince, I easily learned how he acts.
My Kaizer is an extremely handsome prince. He’ll destroy anything that might get in our way, and he doesn’t care if innocent lives get caught up in what he does. What else should I expect from the well-known second prince of Wisteria?
“How many kingdoms make up the Nalva empire?”
Princess Tatiana stared at me a little, like she didn’t understand why I suddenly asked that.
“Nine,” answered a man from behind me.
Fuck. If that’s the case, Nalva is much bigger than Igor. Igor only has four kingdoms under it.
“Of the five empires in this world, Igor is the smallest, Saera. So it’s no surprise it’s always the target of attacks.”
Why is Kaizer so bold?! This is goddamn suicide!
“So they need four women, Saera. Igor needs the power of us chosen women, they can’t fight any big archipelagos if our presence isn’t protecting all of Igor. Kaizer will keep trying to bring you back to Igor not because of the love you think he has, but for Igor, which he’s protecting. He has his own reason. He’s aiming for the throne, Saera, and he can’t get it without you in Igor.”
My hands were already itching to pull the hair of the woman in front of me. What other kind of bad things will she say about Kaizer?
“Kaizer doesn’t care about the king’s throne! He’s happy being the second prince! Please stop saying bad things about him to me. Because I won’t believe you anymore,” I said firmly. Kaizer was never interested in his brother’s throne.
“You don’t know anything about this world yet, Saera. Power, position, ambition, and endless lies make up the system of the vampire world. Love? It’s just a big joke that can even kill you.”
As I listened to the princess talking in front of me, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of pain she went through that made her view love this way. Is her vampire partner still alive?
“Do you want to meet the young Lancasters?” I was confused by her question.
“Young Lancasters?” I asked in surprise.
I just looked at the steaming water I had poured earlier.
What’s happening here? It’s rising up and making a hole like a passage. What the hell is happening?
“Let’s travel back in time.”
My eyes almost widened at what the princess said.
“What?! Is that possible?” I asked, not believing it.
“I can make it possible, dear. Of the four women from the prophecy, only I was given a special power, Saera. I can copy any vampire power.”
I was even more shocked at what she said. She’s damn powerful.
“I don’t want to see their past. I’m happy I met them in this time.”
There are things I might not want to see from the past.
“We’ll be quick. And this trip won’t take long.”
I frowned at her, what else she says should I believe?
“She’s telling the truth, Saera,” agreed the men who were just listening to us talk.
“Don’t you want to see how handsome the second prince of Wisteria was back then?”
I pouted at what the princess said. She’s tempting me.
“Come on, Saera.”