The Crown's Entrapment

[Sixth day inside the Element Forest]

Another morning came, and Darius intended to keep what he vowed to do last night. He woke up early and improvised a tool that he could use on Devas’s hair while he was searching for food to prepare for his wife.

With a scoff, he started skinning Devas’s head, all while cooking a good breakfast for the three of them. It was childish, but he couldn’t help but feel petty with Devas messing with his hair. And he was also annoyed with how much Devas was enjoying himself in calling Xen his wife. The nerve of that guardian to claim what was rightfully his was infuriating!

[You do know that he could just easily cast a spell and put his hair back to what it originally was, right?] Zeus scoffed.

“Let him try then,” Darius scoffed. “I’ll just skin his head again if he did so!”

Well, that, and he also doubted that Devas could ever bring his hair back. Indeed, he could cast a spell, but it would most likely only be something temporary like how the man’s servants would have their human forms.

By the time he was done, Devas and Xen had just woken up. ‘What a good timing…’ he thought to himself with a mischievous smirk.

“Good morning, Xen! Your breakfast is ready, so come and eat up,” Darius greeted with a wide smile. His lovely wife was always stunning even if she woke up with messy hair sticking out of her head at times.

Xen stared at him with wide eyes, and she quickly covered her mouth with her palm as if trying to control herself from laughing. Her face was red, and Darius could tell from her eyes that he did a good job on Devas’s new appearance. He’d even bet that his handiwork was probably a masterpiece to behold.

“What the hell have you done?!” Devas hissed the moment his eyes darted towards him.

“Well, I admired how well you fixed your hair, so I thought I might as well do the same!” Darius enthusiastically replied, wholly unaffected by how dark Devas’s expression looked right now. “Having a shaved head seems appropriate while we’re in this trial altogether. This is more practical, after all.”

Furious, the latter quickly walked towards him and grabbed the tool he used. He was about to grab a strand of his hair when Xen barked, “Don’t you dare touch a single hair on your head!”

Devas blinked rapidly at Xen as he murmured, “But he’s right. Having a shaved head is more appropriate…”

“Put that down now! If you dare mess with that hair again, I’m gonna kill you,” Xenia threatened the fake Devas. “That look is at least good enough right now, so don’t you dare try cutting it more!”

Darius frowned as he watched his wife glare at the fake Darius. It was exciting to watch his lovely wife scolding Devas as the man tried to cut off more of his remaining hair.

[She’s right though. You look younger with that short hair…] Zeus commented from the sidelines.

“But… I…” Devas whimpered.

“Put… it… down… now…” Xen firmly stated with a frown.

Meanwhile, Darius had a smirk as he mused, ‘My wife looks so damn hot right now with those fiery eyes!’

Oh, he was already having trouble controlling himself, doing his best not to pull Xen into his embrace and taking her right then and there without a care in the world. He was longing for his wife so much that even her angry and fierce demeanor looked so sexy to him.

Smugly, Darius watched as Devas put back the tool back down as he stomped back to his place. Darius was about to open his mouth to tease the guardian, but he quickly closed it when Xen threw him the same scary glare she just used against the fake.

“Let’s just eat and get important things done, shall we?!” Xen said aloud with a scolding tone, giving Darius the sign that he should quickly follow his wife. Eating breakfast, silence reigned for quite some time, and Darius knew Devas was doing his best not to talk so that he wouldn’t make the mistake of saying any words that would put them all in danger.

***

They were in the middle of eating when the ground suddenly shook from underneath them.

“An earthquake?” Darius mumbled as he quickly pulled Xen out of the cave. All of them ran out when suddenly, they stepped on what looked to be a mix of loose sand and water. The whole thing just suddenly popped out of nowhere, and Darius was sure that this was one of Polo’s tests again.

“Quicksand!” Darius called out.

The ground continued to shake, helping the trap suck them down faster as their weight held them all deep in its grasp. Immediately looking around, his eyes met Devas, who gave him a knowing nod as they both got on the same page. Hopefully, the man could cast his magic in silence again while he took credit due to having his face. He waited for it to happen, but nothing came. He looked at Devas, and the guardian’s eyes widened. Devas looked terrified.

“Your spell isn’t working?” Devas uttered at him.

That wasn’t a question to him. It was Devas informing him that his power wasn’t working as intended. Darius inwardly cursed and hissed at Devas, “Why won’t my power not work when it was perfectly fine yesterday?! I’m a guardian of this realm, so why can’t I do something?!”

“I don’t know…” Devas weakly murmured with a frown.

Darius could tell that the guardian was also confused. Looking around, he did his best to try and come up with a solution, but it was already too late. It was impossible for them to move after being pulled down further, and it was only a matter of time before they truly sank in.

Turning to Xen, he saw that she was chanting something. A few seconds later, a tree suddenly fell before them, and Darius was quick with grabbing Xen who inexplicably lost consciousness.

“Quick! Move and pull Xen along with you!” Darius commanded Devas since he was closer to the area where there was no quicksand. The tree that fell before them served as a bridge for them to hang on to, allowing them to crawl their way to safety.

Heeding Darius’s call, Devas pulled the unconscious Xen with him, while the former pushed her along to safety.

“What happened to her?” Darius gasped as soon as they were finally back to safer ground. The shaking finally stopped as well, and he was quick to check on Xen. After a few moments, he was finished, and he was grateful to see her breathing fine.

“Like I said, it’s because her body is still adjusting to her special blood,” Devas murmured. “She’ll get a hang of it once her body has fully embraced its activation…”

“We have to move,” Darius whispered. In that instant, he carried Xen into his arms.

“Your power in here is limited,” Devas suddenly uttered.

It was funny how he was addressing him using the word ‘your’ instead of ‘my,’ but then, that was needed from them since none of them wanted to feel another strike of pain if Devas said any words pertaining to himself.

Darius looked at the unconscious Xen with a sigh, hoping that could finally recognize him and analyze the situation they were in.