Kitanna
Chapter 188: BUMP IN THE NIGHT

Chapter 188: BUMP IN THE NIGHT

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: LILAC ~ IU]

Kitanna stood frozen when she heard what Clephas had said; it only meant that the killer was now in the palace, and this was a big problem.

"Every royal servant inside their rooms now!" Nix ordered, declaring a state of emergency. He turned to Kitanna, "I’ll get Chantal to stand guard at your door; let me check this out."

Before Nix could walk away, Kitanna held him back, "We are going together."

"Are you sure? You don’t look so well," Nix said, touching her forehead, which was slightly warmer than the normal temperature, assuming it was because of what she had seen earlier.

Kitanna nodded, "As long as I’m with you, I’ll be fine. Let’s get changed first." The queen pointed at their heavy royal robes, which were not necessary for the important task they were supposed to carry out.

Nix agreed with his wife, turning to Clephas he said, "Make sure all servants are inside their quarters before I come out, and take Lord Hieron to his quarters; get Chantal here immediately."

Kitanna relieved herself from the royal heavy gown, replacing it with something simpler—a pant and a shirt with boots. It was an outfit gifted to her by Larel’s brother Cortez before he left the palace. The queen removed the heavy hairpins and jewelry, holding her hair with a simpler hairpin as she tied it into a messy bun. She crouched under the bed, retrieving her Tizona, which she felt wouldn’t be needed anymore since Almaria had died.

Nix got changed also into something casual; as they walked out of their room, the palace was now very quiet with no activity. Candles had already been lighted at each pillar, giving light along the passage.

"Your Majesty, every servant except the two who were killed have been accounted for, and guards have been placed at every point, including the royal shrine," Chantal informed diligently.

Nix’s shoe made clicking sounds on the marble floor as he walked to the place the two bodies were wrapped. He tried to wrap his mind around the case and why the body was found close to Almaria’s murder scene.

"Is it the same as what we saw earlier?" The king asked, checking out the body.

Chantal nodded, "Yes, your Majesty. Exactly the same, pale skin, purple lips, cut abdomen, missing organ," he replied.

"Then it means the well has nothing to do with it because they died here in the palace," Nix said in a low tone, closing back the corpse.

Chantal raked his hands through his hair, "T-that, your Majesty. These two servants only returned from the market this evening, and one of the servants informed me that these two said they had tried to go near the well to see if something would actually happen to them."

Kitanna’s brows knitted, "Is it really a well monster that attacks them?" If it was, then what was the reason? The young queen completed in her mind; just then, another wave of sickness washed her face, making her look pale.

"Are you sure you want to stay?, Go back to your chamber my queen I’ll sort this out." Nix touched Kitanna’s back, worry greasing his forehead.

Kitanna shook her head, "Not when there’s a problem; I’m fine, maybe it’s the breakfast I had this morning." She gave her husband a reassuring smile, knowing he was very much worried about her.

Nix nodded, letting go of the matter. "We should go to this well," he finally said, getting a look of disbelief from Chantal and other guards.

"We should; I can’t wait to meet whatever or whoever it is." Kitanna agreed, following her husband as they advanced towards the palace entrance.

Chantal stood behind, "They are really meant for each other, charging in the face of danger like it’s a fun game," the young guard sighed, waving his hand tiredly.

Before mounting the horse, Nix made sure everything was organized within the palace while putting Lord Hieron and Chantal in charge. Not wanting to scare other guards, Nix and Kitanna left alone.

As the horse hooves trotted on the sandy ground, the couple took note of how the villagers have all closed early, hanging charm amulets on their doors for protection while blowing their lights off. It was clearly evident that the villagers were afraid of whatever it was that attacked them, and they didn’t want to be on its list.

"What is your guess?" Nix asked as he moved gently on his horse, keeping his pace with that of Kitanna.

Kitanna’s hair was blown by the night breeze, her eyes focused. "Who knows? Maybe a random serial killer or someone trying to instigate chaos. You know by making the rumor about the cursed blood to be true." She replied, her attention caught by the stray cat that crashed into a basket nearby.

Nix watched his wife, "Hm...I hope the instigator doesn’t mind if we have a date close to their precious well," he joked, trying to make the atmosphere lighter, while listening to the cool natural sounds of the night.

Kitanna laughed, "We should have brought a drink to appease them maybe," she chimed, adding to the joke.

"Do you regret it?" Nix asked out of the blues, causing Kitanna to turn her gaze and face him. It only took her a moment to understand what he meant.

"Not in this life or the next. You saved me, Nix, and I don’t mean just literally. You helped me when I couldn’t keep my head above water, when I was chasing the wind, unsure of who to trust. They don’t know you like I do, and you’re anything but poison," Kitanna replied, her delicate words carried by the soft wind to Nix’s ear.

Kitanna knew that as much as Nix tried to hide it, the words people said would hurt him one way or another being called someone with the blood of poison. But these people didn’t know Nix; she did and she would never let him go because of their mere words.

Nix smiled; the words of assurance gave him the closure he needed. If it was just him alone, he wouldn’t have been worried about the names people called him, but now that he had a partner, he didn’t want to ruin her reputation either.

"There’s something I have to tell you, Kitanna," Nix said in a serious tone.

Kitanna was stunned; it’s been long she heard her name from Nix so it came as a surprise. "If you say you want to dissolve this marriage, I’ll jump inside the well and never come out!" She threatened, aware that any reason Nix called her in such a serious tone was not to be taken lightly.

Nix smiled, "Why would you think that? You think I’ll ever let you go? Even if it means staying on an isolated island alone, I won’t mind as long as you’re beside me. Took me long to find you; won’t make the mistake of losing you." The king remarked, coming to a halt, as he dismounted from his horse while helping Kitanna to come down.

"So what did you want to say?" Kitanna asked after getting her balance steady as she felt a little lightheaded. She shook her head to get rid of the feeling, which was now annoying her because she felt weak.

Nix started walking towards the well; he held Kitanna’s hand as they got closer to the stone-raised well. He released her hand for a moment, trying to check out inside the well.

"All clear," he muttered. "What I was saying, about us having children, my blo-" Nix fell silent when he turned and Kitanna was no longer beside him but held by someone or something else.

"Nix..." Kitanna muttered as she felt the claw-like hand clutch her neck, the sickness she had been feeling since morning worsened.

Nix dropped his weapons immediately, "Release her and take me." He bargained as every moment without Kitanna’s safety in peril made him scared.

The figure whose whole body was wrapped in torn clothes sniffed Kitanna, and it said in a creepy witch-like voice, "I’ve got myself something good, royal blood. Two royal bloods!"

Kitanna was confused at the statement; Nix was yet to be caught so what was this saying about two royal blood. She cried out in pain when she felt the fight grab her stomach.

"Argh!"

Nix tried to attack but was stopped when the figure held Kitanna’s neck tightly.

"Don’t! I’ll enjoy the blood of Morgair and the rare seed of Zeno and Morgair; it’ll help me fulfill my destiny." The figure said, sticking out its black tongue.

Rare seed of Zeno and Morgair... Kitanna and Nix passed each other a look, trying to understand, then it dawned on them. Great! What a refreshing way to know they were having a baby.