The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 156: Danger

Chapter 156: Danger

"We can travel ahead in our mist form once you’ve located Ezekiel’s exact spot, Mine," Nikolai suggested gently after they couldn’t find Ezekiel at the end of the river trail like she had initially pointed out. The red light they encountered was indeed a spirit, but not Ezekiel’s.

It was honestly a challenging task since it was her first time attempting something like locating the energy of a spirit. She wasn’t even aware of the exact feeling she should expect when searching for a spirit’s energy. Sure enough, it proved to be quite different and more difficult than locating her brother’s human body.

’You’ll succeed if you just trust your instinct, Your Majesty. You have a special connection with Prince Ezekiel being born of the same blood ties, and that bond will guide you to feel the energy of his spirit...’

"We can’t. It will distort my spell, Lai," she quickly replied with drooped shoulders. While Nikolai’s suggestion might work for tracking Ezekiel’s physical body, it was different when it came to locating his wandering spirit.

A human spirit is intertwined with the heavens and the Almighty so she had to be careful with her approach. She was not confident enough to do her work traveling through Nikolai’s mist form.

The last time she traveled with his mist form, she utterly felt uncomfortable and dizzy. It was even worse when she did it during thunderstorms with Aunt Alexa. However, right now, she didn’t want to risk any mishaps during such a crucial task.

Tarah said to trust her instinct but her first try failed her.

’I didn’t feel any special connection with that red light though,’ Mineah analyzed inwardly. ’I should look for a spirit that I’ll connect with,’ she reminded herself. She would not make a mistake this time.

"Alright then, let’s do what you think is best," Nikolai agreed, and they continued their search on horseback.

A few moments later, Mineah felt a sudden shift within her. Her heart started pounding erratically and she sensed something unusual. ’The connection!’ she realized as she looked around in all directions. She could feel that strong connection...

"What is it, Mine?" Nikolai asked.

"I feel something," she whispered.

’Is that you Ezekiel?’ she mumbled inwardly as she continued to scan her surroundings. There was something peculiar, a warm and potent energy lingering nearby. Mineah closed her eyes, focusing on heightening the senses of her consciousness letting it function separately from her physical body.

’Could that be his spirit this time?’ she wondered as her conscious mind spotted a golden light which gave off a foreign and yet familiar energy. The connection felt strong and unmistakable, and her gut was telling her that it was Ezekiel’s spirit.

Mineah opened her eyes and quickly turned towards a particular direction where she sensed the energy. With her index finger pointing out, she confidently said, "There... I’m feeling his energy in that direction."

Then she shifted her focus to another direction where a mountain stood. That was where Ezekiel’s body was found, and his spirit wasn’t too far from his body.

"We need to walk from here to climb that mountain. Get on, I’ll carry you on my back, Mine. It will be faster since I’m quite swift," Nikolai offered.

He then turned to Wizard Lurio and said, "I trust the royal wizard can cast a teleportation spell too. If Mineah is confident that Ezekiel is in there, then it might be safe to use the teleportation spell to get there quickly."

Though Wizard Lurio nodded, Mineah and her mother quickly exchanged meaningful glances.

"But I’m not confident, Lai. We can’t let Wizard Lurio use a powerful spell because it might attract the attention of Helion’s witches, sorcerers, and dark wizards. They will easily find us," Mineah pointed out.

Their search had to be conducted carefully, ensuring it wouldn’t attract any enemies that could put Ezekiel’s body and spirit in danger.

Also, if they did what Nikolai suggested, they would end up disorienting Ezekiel’s wandering spirit as well.

’What if I just point in a different direction to mislead the enemies?’ Mineah pondered only to shove it away as they might end up losing track of Ezekiel’s spirit.

Mineah’s shoulders shrugged. Catching a wandering spirit is much harder than it already is, especially with Nikolai around. Her movements were limited and she had to be careful not to raise suspicions about Ezekiel and Vulcan’s connection with each other.

Caught up in her thoughts, Mineah was startled when Nikolai suddenly grabbed her hand. "Danger. I sense danger, Mine," he informed with a dark face. His amber orbs suddenly turned red, like a predator ready to hunt.

Mineah looked around as Nikolai’s men formed a protective circle around them, ready to defend against the approaching danger. Nikolai turned to Wizard Lurio and asked, "How many people can you teleport back to the camp?"

"A maximum of five, Your Majesty," Lurio answered.

"Then let’s go back now. There’s a huge force coming our way, hurry." Nikolai said.

"No, don’t teleport us to the camp but to that mountain instead. We’re so close to him," Mineah suggested. Time was very crucial for her brother.

"No, we’ll return to camp for now, Mine. We can continue the search after a while. We’ll have Lurio teleport us directly in that direction later on. Please listen to me, it’s not safe to go there now as they can follow us and put your brother in danger as well." Nikolai firmly stated.

Mineah watched as her husband signaled Wizard Lurio who immediately cast a teleportation spell. Pressing her lips together, she turned to her mother who simply shook her head.

Mineah’s heart weighed heavily, as she looked in the direction of the mountain. She was sure that she had found him this time. The connection she felt was too strong for her to be wrong. She hoped that she would be able to rescue him soon without more hindrances.

’Hang in there, Big Brother.’ she whispered in her thoughts, feeling downcast.