The Legends of Kartas | Ongoing

25. DREARY AFTERMATH

Jimin awoke to agony and pain. Sunlight was beaming through the windows and spreading across the room, but there was no warmth behind the rays. The soft taps of a staff sounded beside him, glass clattering, tea pouring, but everything was a dull succession of awful reminders and unpleasant greetings. Pain fluttered through his body as he sat up, blinking against the upcoming barrage of bright lights that made his skull ache. Hissing through the sharp soreness, he turned his head to the side and discerned a hunched figure fiddling with tiny vials on a tabletop.

"Mother Erna?" Jimin groaned with a frail voice.

If Mother Erna was surprised, she didn't show it. Instead, she shuffled over to a chair next to the bed and sat, her bones creaking and her wooden staff croaking. She placed a cup of tea below Jimin's lips. "Drink. It will ease the pain."

The fluid burned Jimin's throat as he swallowed, smacking his lips to a bitter aftertaste. He sputtered in between coughs as Mother Erna supported him with a hand on his back. When his fit ended, he let a moment of silence pass before asking, "What happened?"

The already low light in the room, along with the makeshift atmosphere of tranquility, dimmed. Once a decent silence proceeded, Mother Erna poured a cup of tea for herself, and after taking a sip, she sighed in short-lived content. Her face darkened, and it seemed as if storms were gathering in her eyes. "All of the sovereigns have passed, and with them, Prince Novas of Vita and Queen Laisa have drawn their last breaths."

Jimin could feel his exhaustion on his skin, the dark circles under his eyes. His body was sore, his muscles stiff as if he had been running for hours upon hours. But even with the state his body was in—even after hearing confirmation that a dismal future awaited him—he couldn't help but worry for someone else. "Is Sylvia. . . ?"

Mother Erna locked eyes with him. "She is alive."

Allowing the tears to flow freely down his face, Jimin cried in relief, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

"But only barely." A hidden element of fear resonated behind Mother Erna's calm front. "She will live as long as her body has the will to fight her ailment. She lost a large amount of blood to her injury, a tear in her neck. Almost similar to a bite."

Wiping his tears, Jimin was hesitant to ask, "An animal?"

The shake of Mother Erna's head was steady, slow. And her tone was all the more ominous. "Demon."

Bile rose to Jimin's throat. "Are you positive?"

Glancing at the closed door, Mother Erna leaned in, gesturing for Jimin to do the same. "I am certain, and it only confirms Elkii's premonition. There is a demon in the castle. The guards have searched the area and only found an abandoned set of armor in the gardens belonging to a boy named Nefrin Antaro."

The name was familiar, and Jimin vaguely remembered glimpsing the same name on the list of guards attending the Royal Council Lieutenant Colonel Nichel had prepared. "That boy was at the meeting."

"No, he was found unconscious in a cupboard. The boy himself claims someone ambushed him, so whoever attended the meeting in his stead was an imposter."

Jimin curled his fists. "But the person made no attempts to kill anyone."

Mother Erna's expression revealed nothing. "I have been gauging everyone's reaction in case of a possible traitor. The other princes are distraught; most of them keep to their chambers, but Prince Hoseok frequents the infirmary, I imagine from the devastation of his mother's death. In the court, whispers are traveling quickly. No one is suspicious, but one person could not have planned this tragedy."