Chapter 107: ​A Pact Between Vipers

Eiren’s POV

"What the hell are you doing here?" Eiren hissed, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the figure blocking his path. Of all the people in the Palace of Asmodeus, it had to be him.

​Kaevian.

​Kaevian grinned wickedly, casually fanning himself with the ornate golden fan in his hand. "Who else were you expecting to magically appear in front of you?" he scoffed, his tone dripping with condescension. "Don’t get ahead of yourself, Eiren. Your low-tier illusion magic might fool a clueless guard, but it doesn’t work on me—and it certainly won’t work on Malachi."

​Eiren’s heart slammed against his ribs at the mention of the head royal guard. He instinctively cast a panicked glance over his shoulder, as if Malachi were about to materialize out of the darkness. "Is he part of the night patrol?"

​Kaevian gave a slow nod. "He would have seen right through your pathetic disguise long before you even reached the courtyard gates. Everything we’ve worked for would have been utterly ruined."

​"You have no idea what I just heard!" Eiren snapped in a hushed whisper. "I had to act!"

​Instead of arguing, Kaevian cast a quick look down the empty hallway, turned on his heel, and gestured for Eiren to follow.

​Eiren hesitated, a wave of skepticism washing over him, but he fell into step behind Kaevian anyway.

They walked into a secluded, pitch-black corner beneath a stone archway. Before Eiren could demand answers, Kaevian raised his fan, casting a shimmering, soundproof barrier around the two of them.

​"There are far too many ears listening in this palace ever since Slyven died," Kaevian muttered, his dark eyes glinting.

​At the mention of Slyven, a cold chill ran through Eiren’s veins. He knew with sickening clarity that if Kaevian hadn’t stepped in to silence Slyven and erase his mind, it would have been Eiren’s head on the chopping block instead. That selfish, brutal decision had saved his life, but it also made him terrified of the man standing in front of him.

Who was to say Kaevian wouldn’t throw him to the wolves the moment things went sideways?

​"Are you following me?" Eiren demanded, clenching his fists at his sides so tightly that his bloodied knuckles throbbed. "If you’re planning to sacrifice me the way you did Slyven, I won’t let you!"

​Kaevian let out a dark, quiet chuckle. In a flash, he stepped forward and slammed one hand against the stone wall right beside Eiren’s head, trapping him. "You foolish concubine! Slyven’s sacrifice was an absolute necessity. You should be down on your knees thanking me! If I hadn’t taken care of him, you would already be six feet under. I only trailed behind you because I knew you were bound to do something hopelessly reckless after leaving the Prince of Lust."

​Eiren froze.

Kaevian had been lurking nearby. He had heard everything. He knew Azriel’s plans for the court.

​"You heard it too, didn’t you?" Eiren whispered, his voice trembling.

​Kaevian nodded slowly, his expression darkening. "I knew it would come to this eventually. Anyone with half a brain could see how soft the Prince has gotten for Seraphel. The human is carrying his bloodline, and Azriel treats him with a gentleness he’s never shown a single one of us. It was bound to happen."

​"I won’t accept it!" Eiren snarled, his eyes flashing with desperate rage. "I refuse to be cast out!"

​Kaevian raised an eyebrow. "So what was your brilliant plan? To run away like a coward? Or were you going to end your own life over a broken heart?"

​"No!" Eiren snapped, forcing himself to hold Kaevian’s sharp, cunning gaze. "I am going to contact Elysium again."

​"Elysium?" Kaevian echoed, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. "The holy realm of the deities?"

​"Yes! That human has to die! We both know what happens if the harem is dissolved—we lose everything! Our status, our power, our cultivation... we become absolute nobodies! Besides, the Prince of Lust belongs to me! Not to some nameless, dirt-born omega!"

​Kaevian fell silent for a moment, folding his arms across his chest as he studied Eiren. "Elysium failed the first time. What makes you think they won’t fail again?"

​"I don’t care!" Eiren cried out, shaking his head wildly. "I will do whatever it takes to wipe that omega out of existence! He is the reason Slyven is dead, and he is the reason we’re about to be stripped of everything we own! Killing him is our only option!"

​Kaevian’s wicked grin returned. He leaned in close, hovering mere inches away until his cool breath fanned across Eiren’s cheek.

​Eiren flinched, leaning his head back against the cold stone wall. "What the hell are you doing?"

​"Just trying to figure out if there’s an actual brain inside that head of yours," Kaevian purred.

​"You arrogant bastard! What is that supposed to mean?!"

​"It’s simple," Kaevian answered smoothly, stepping back with an amused glint in his eyes. "Let’s say this contact in Elysium can help you. How on earth did you plan to leave the palace grounds? The perimeter guards are doubled, a total curfew was just announced, and Malachi is personally patrolling the grounds. You can’t even cast a basic teleportation portal on your own."

​Eiren’s chest deflated. He reached up, nervously dragging a hand through his hair.

​Kaevian was right.

​What had he been thinking? He had been so blinded by panic and heartbreak that he hadn’t thought through the logistics. There was no way he could sneak past Malachi and escape the inner court on foot.

​"Then what do we do?" Eiren asked desperately, abandoning his pride.

​Kaevian tapped his golden fan against his palm. "First, we cast a high-level illusion spell in our private quarters. We need proxy shadows resting in our beds so if the guards do a door-to-door search for the curfew, they’ll think we’re fast asleep. Once that’s done, I will use my secret teleportation array to take us outside the palace barriers. And yes, I am coming with you."

​"No way!" Eiren protested immediately. "I am not taking you with me! Caelum won’t like extra eyes on this!"

​"You utter fool!" Kaevian sneered, laughing dryly. "Caelum failed. You failed. If I had been running the show from the start, that human omega would already be buried in a ditch! You need me, Eiren. Without my magic, you won’t even make it past the courtyard gates. I saved your skin with Slyven, and I am the only one clever enough to make this operation work. You have no choice but to rely on me."

​Eiren let out a heavy, defeated sigh. Every word coming out of Kaevian’s mouth was a bitter truth. He was entirely at the man’s mercy, and as much as it terrified him, he needed Kaevian’s cunning and power if he wanted any chance at survival. But he vowed to keep his guard up—Kaevian was a viper, and he wouldn’t hesitate to strike if Eiren showed a single moment of weakness.

​"Why are you staring at me like that?" Kaevian asked, narrowing his eyes.

​"Because I don’t trust you," Eiren said bluntly. "I don’t believe for a second that you won’t throw me under the bus the moment things go wrong."

​Kaevian shook his head, pointing his fan directly at Eiren’s chest. "I already told you—Slyven’s death was a strategic necessity. His situation was completely different from yours. You and I share the exact same ambition: we want to maintain our standing, remain beside the Prince, and keep our power. You are my ticket to securing that future, so I have no intention of letting you die. We need each other."

​Eiren swallowed hard, taking a slow breath before giving a stiff nod. "Fine. I’ll take your word for it. Just... don’t fail me." He rubbed his trembling, blood-stained hands together, anxiety gnawing at his throat. "So what is the plan? We have to find Caelum tonight. The coronation and the wedding are approaching fast, and this is our last chance to strike."

​"First, we set up our decoy illusions to fool the guards," Kaevian said with a dark, satisfied chuckle. "Then we slip out through my array and track down this Caelum .. and he had better not disappoint us this time."