Chapter 90: The traitor
Seraphel
As soon as I heard the announcement, chills ran straight down my spine.
The absolute certainty in his voice made my heart race—he was completely bent on making me his princess, and there was no escaping it.
The wedding was happening this time unlike when it had appeared in the nightmares.
I immediately looked around the room, watching the other Sins to gauge their reactions, but none of them spoke up at first.
They simply exchanged heavy, knowing glances between me and Azriel.
It was Sariel who finally broke the quiet.
"Are you truly certain about this?" Sariel asked, stepping forward. For the first time, his tone lacked its usual sharp, green-eyed bite, carrying a rare, genuine thread of concern instead.
"Becoming your crown princess means his life force will be tied directly to yours. If you are weakened in battle, he will suffer the exact same fate. So, mortal... what do you have to say about that?"
Azriel didn’t even hesitate. He gave a single, firm nod. "His life is already tied to mine. He will become my crown princess by the end of the week, exactly as planned."
"There are only two days left before the week ends," Thamiel, who had remained quiet in the corner, finally spoke up, his deep voice echoing off the stone walls. "Should he not be resting and healing instead? Perhaps you should reschedule the ceremony for a later date."
"No!" the rest of the brothers chorused in unison, their voices overlapping in immediate objection.
"I refuse to waste another second sitting around in Katula," Luceriel complained, resting a hand on his hip and looking thoroughly annoyed. "Mecianda requires my presence. There are urgent realm affairs that demand my personal attention."
"The border wars with those savages are far from over," Lumiel grunted, adjusting his massive frame in the stone chair, which groaned under his weight. "I need to return to the front lines the moment the vows are spoken. So get married as quickly as you like, Azriel, but do not waste any more of my time."
Uriel let out a long, dramatic yawn, stretching his arms high above his head until his joints popped. "I have to agree with them. I have pressing business to attend to, and my dream bed is calling my name. I need to travel through a few dream dimensions before the week is out."
"Whatever," Azriel muttered dismissively. "The wedding takes place in two days, and if that is all, this meeting is over. I need to be with Seraphel now—he needs to be fed and rested."
Raziel clapped his hands together with delight, chuckling softly behind his fan. "Oh, look at you, performing your sweet husband duties already!"
"Shut your mouth, Raziel," Azriel warned, turning his back on them and marching directly toward the bed where I sat. "Now, I am going to—"
"There is something you ought to know before you run off with your human," Luceriel interrupted, his cold voice cutting Azriel off mid-sentence. "We uncovered something regarding the person involved in harming your mate."
Azriel froze mid-step, his crimson eyes snapping over to Luceriel. "What are you talking about?" he asked, his expression instantly darkening into a hard glare.
"While you, Uriel, and Taizel were away dealing with the mess in the dream world, we conducted an investigation," Luceriel answered calmly, gesturing toward Sariel. "We found something critical regarding the exact matter we came here to discuss. Listen carefully. Sariel, tell everyone what we discovered."
Sariel nodded, stepping into the center of the room. "While we were searching for traces of the Kaishata tree’s corruption, we tracked the residual energy back to your own palace. One of the servants under your roof came into direct contact with the curse."
My eyes widened in complete shock as the revelation hit me. One of the castle servants? How could that be? Who among the staff possessed the dark knowledge or sheer audacity to handle something so lethal?
"Are you saying it wasn’t Elysium who cursed Seraphel?" Azriel demanded, his voice dropping into a dangerous register. "That it was someone inside my own walls?"
Sariel shook his head. "It was undoubtedly done by Elysium, but they used an insider to execute it. Someone physically placed the cursed talisman directly beneath the human’s bed, which is why his spiritual core was suppressed and he fell into that unnatural sleep."
Panic flared in my chest as my mind raced through every face in the palace. Analisse was the first person who came to mind—she was the main maid assigned to take care of me, the one who was constantly in and out of my chambers.
Then there were Durin and Rami, two other palace attendants who had always been close by.
The mere thought of any of them being involved made my blood run cold. If Azriel even suspected them for a single second, he wouldn’t hesitate to erase them from existence before they could even plead their innocence. He would never show them mercy.
"So..." I asked, my voice trembling so noticeably that I could barely force the words past my lips. "Who is this person? Do you know who did it?"
Sariel sneered at me condescendingly. "I do not reside in Katula, mortal. How on earth am I supposed to know the name of every low-level servant scrubbing your floors?"
I let out a quiet sigh, biting my tongue. Of course he didn’t know their names. Leave it to the Sin of Envy to act as insufferable and petty as possible before giving a straight answer.
"Describe what they looked like," Azriel commanded, his voice eerily sharp, reading my anxiety instantly.
Sariel crossed his arms, recalling the vision. "A young servant, average height, slender frame. They were wearing a high-collared, formal tunic styled in bright royal blue and trimmed with stark white embroidery."
A tiny breath of relief escaped me. None of the close personal attendants assigned to my private quarters wore those specific colors—that uniform belonged to the general cleaning staff of the outer halls.