His Queen

The Search

Darius' POV

The morning came sooner than expected, Caspian came through the portal followed by twenty of our best trackers. Each one of our trackers was paired with one Asgardian tracker from the Land of Venari. All in all, that was forty pair of eyes looking for my beloved.

  I could already tell that there was tension between the two sides. One by one, my trackers contacted me saying they didn't like how they were being stared at by the Asgardians. But it wasn't like I could do much, so I told them to suck it up and start looking. As a last command, I told them to contact me immediately if they found her.

  My father and I were asked to stay back as the rest of them conducted the search. I had half a mind to tell them to fuck off and go looking for Ziya, but that wouldn't be very diplomatic of me.

  We were currently sitting in the room from before, but this time Fergus was sitting in at the table. Apparently he was forced to rest these past few days; whatever was on that dart was some powerful stuff, because he was in and out of consciousness this whole time. Fergus didn't seem as lively as I remembered him; in fact he looked rather old and ragged looking. Whether it was from the dart or from losing Ziya, I had no clue.

  "Fergus...it's great to have you back so soon. If it's possible, we'd appreciate it if you gave a detailed account about what happened that day," James asked.

  "Ai...we we're about a days journey from Afisa, Ziya was looking rather lost in thought, so I we started talking. During the conversation she mentioned how Piper gave her a portal as a parting gift. We were talking about how gifted she was when the conversation shifted to someone else," he said while looking at me. "Our conversation got cut off when the carriage stopped. We looked out the window and the driver was gone. I was the first one to step out when an arrow came flying and pierced my stomach. That's when groups of mercenaries came swarming in wearing all black, with no type of identification. Ziya...she held for as long as she could, but the arrows kept coming. She told me to head towards the portal...she promised me that she'd be right behind me. I saw her get hit by one just before I passed through," he said.

Fergus tried hard, but I could still detect the subtle tremble in his voice. The man was distraught. I was currently trying to keep my composure. They fucking hit my beloved with an arrow. I would smear the fields red with the blood of my enemies, once I learn who they are.

"Was there anything distinctive about them?," James asked.

"Their horses...if I recall correctly, they looked like wasteland horses. In fact, I'm sure of it their skin was rotting and you could see it's bones," Fergus said.

"But wasteland horses are usually only ridden by that one nomadic tribe. The Arvada tribe, scavengers and rumored cannibals that roam the deserts of Tulpar. What they could they possibly want with Asgard," Lord Venari spoke up.

"They're loners in nature...they stick with only members of their tribe and there are quite a few of them. Mostly outcast banished from one of the four kingdoms. Do you think this is revenge?," Lady Bellum asked.

  "No, it can't be Asgard doesn't have any previous ties with the group," Lord Oceanum said.

  The nobility looked over at us accusingly, as if this was all our fault.

  "Afisa, is much like the Arvada tribe in that we are an isolated group, that enjoys our privacy. In all the years of our existence, we've never crossed paths. And we couldn't possibly either, geographical wise. They stay in the desert, while our kingdom is near the mountains," my father explained.

  "So what? They just acted on their own?" James asked.

  "If I may cut in, it's highly unlikely that they did. The Arvada tribe, although large in size and rumored to be violent, do not have a sense of community. Even within the tribe, they have cliques. They couldn't have banded together on their own; they must have someone else leading them. Promising them something much greater than a barren desert," I said.

  "Well who could has the ability to do such a thing?," James asked.

  The room went silent as they all contemplated this question.

  In the back of my head, I felt a slight pressure, as if someone was pressing down on my mind. This was a normal feeling when was someone was trying to contact me telepathically. I allowed them access.

  "We managed to get to the spot where the attack happened," Taylor said.

  "And?," I asked.

  "Her scent is all over the place, but it's strange. Beyond this point of attack, her scent is gone," he said.

  "You mean like it's faded?," I asked.

  "No...like beyond this circle of trees it completely vanishes. Even with a faded scent, there are slight traces, but Darius...I smell nothing," he said.

~~~~~~

Teehee another cliffhanger bc I don't know how to continue this part 🤭. But I was nice and gave you another Asgard chapter.

  So I'm gonna burst bubbles and show you what happening to Ziya in the next chapter. I'm gonna be completely honest with you, homegirl is not having a good time. Like....she's going through it. Her experience right now is a solid 2/10.

RIP Ruth Bader Ginsburg she was truly the baddest in the game 🕊 😇 ❤️.