The wings. My wings were within my vicinity, the elven king said so. I should be able to feel them. But since I couldn't, does that mean the elf king lied to me?
Maybe my instincts were bailing out on me, I've barely been using them for anything substantial. Not since I lost my wings.
*****
It was hours later when Justus and Cato finally left and locked me in my chamber. They both had been summoned by their king and once they were gone I couldn't move fast enough to start looking for a way out, but I did. I tried the door and it was locked, the windows were too high up but the ledge was walkable. Or so I thought when ten minutes later, I was walking with my back to the tower wall and my feet felt like jelly while trying not to look down.
"Come on, you can do this," I gave myself a pep talk and started moving to my right after seeing an open window thinking that was my entry point. Fast forward to what felt like hours later I managed to pull myself into the open window and sneak into what looked like an empty room.
I steadied and calmed myself before opening the door, peeking outside, and remembering my entry point to get back to my room. I wanted to search for my wings but I also wanted to go down to the dungeon where they probably held their captive. I wanted to try to talk to the protesters outside that were taken away by Nicodemus's guards.
And since I was more curious about the rebellious demons, and still feeling unsure about the existence of my wings, I decided to find my way down to the dungeon.
The hallway was quiet, and I visited many castles and towers to recognize the similar layout of the architecture. So I followed my instinct and go left in the first hallway that I saw. I've got nothing to lose, I thought since I was already a prisoner and was about to be forced into marriage for my set of wings.
Humans were beings that insisted on perfection, I refused to stoop as low as them. I didn't need to give in to the human need to reach for the excellence that I crave, the perfection to have my wings after decades of surviving without them. As demons, we don't dwell on what we've lost. We just don't.
The corner of my eye caught a glimpse of an arched wall above the stone stairs heading down. I smirked and quickly move towards the dingy stairs. The place was quiet, and only the smell of decay and pungent odor indicate that there were beings kept by the end of the stairs.
And I was right, as soon as I got there demons were everywhere. Heads turn to face me, eyes gazed at me as if they were staring into my soul. I looked around several cells and I didn't find a single elf. It was not right, I thought, but when my curiosity try to dig deeper and find more wrongs with the situation in front of me, I heard someone clear their throat.
"Princess." I don't scare easily, but I almost jumped because the voice did surprise me since the dungeon was eerily quiet.
"You," it was the older incubus demon from the court. He didn't look good, his friend was way worse. I guess that was why everything was quiet in the dungeon.
"Who are you? and what do you know about my situation?"
"I'm Algar, he's Edric." He pointed to another incubus clutching his chest. A pained expression was all over his face, the male was having trouble breathing.
"They hurt both of you." The words that left my lips were not a question, I could see for myself that they were truly hurt.
"Edric needs a healer, he wouldn't last, he couldn't heal himself. He's failing, didn't you call the guards?" I questioned him as if I have reign over my kind already.
Algar shook his head and told me that no one was coming. "We're left here to rot, princess. I'm old, we're old and tired. The world held no interest for us anymore, that was why we shouted our warnings. We knew, we saw this coming."
The males were old, but I didn't think the future was that bleak. Or so I thought, I did recklessly climb out of my locked room in search of the truth.
Fuck... the truth.
"Tell me, why don't you want me as your queen?"
"We didn't mean that, we were telling you not to marry the king. Forget about uniting our two kingdoms, we're already doomed." He waved his hand around the dungeon, showing the true nature of the elves, and how they treated the demons as their captives.
"No one is allowed to go against the King, not even to voice their words. Especially demons, they shoved us here and forget about us."
"But, Nicodemus?" I had to ask. The incubus demon appeared to be comfortable in his position. Was Algar's words just the product of a stubborn older demon or was there any truth in them?
"Ah, yeah, the golden child. Nicodemus's lover is a half-elf, that man is in love. I doubted that he'd be feeling the same towards the elven king if the male he was fucking was not a distant cousin of the king himself."
"Wow,"
"Yeah," the older incubus chuckled, but the cough and his breath started wheezing, looking as painful as Edric.
"One more question, then I leave you to rest." The male nodded, so I continued. "Why me? Why now?"
"That's two questions princess, and you've answered your first question by just being you. Because you are the lost princess, when he takes you as his queen he'd have the concubi demons under his reign, instantly. And the elves need our strength in numbers." He coughed, this time he wheezed just like Edric did moments ago, the other male shook his head from the far corner of the dungeon cell.
I nodded my understanding at Algar, not wanting to strain his breathing. I know for sure what I will be demanding when the king decided that it was time for me to be his queen.
When I left the dungeon, I was startled the second I saw Justus waiting for me at the top of the stairs.
"I see you've taken the scenic route?" Cato was by his side and he didn't look pleased that I had sneaked out of my room.
"I don't want to be held responsible if you fall from the tower window. We're moving you. Come on." Cato grabbed my arm, roughly, tugging me to follow him then pushed me into a room without a beautiful window like before. The new bedroom only had ventilation holes, barely big enough for my hands.
"So, you've seen my wings? Do you know where your king might display them?" I asked Justus just before they both left me in my new room.
"I have. They're safe." He uttered before he closed the door behind him with a loud click that echoed through the almost empty bedroom. I had a feeling that he wouldn't tell me where, but I still need to ask. Just in case.
Damn it!