The next day finally arrived.
Oriana was anxious the entire time Tharzimon brought her back from the mountain. She was thankful that he didn’t keep her in his own chamber. She was given food, new clothes, and female demon servants to attend to her, but she noticed none of these. She could not have a wink of sleep and the night felt longer than ever. All her thoughts spiralled around Arlan and his safety. Without a wink of sleep or even a bite of food, she was eager to see Arlan.
Xyron came to her and dismissed all the servants. "Greetings, my Lady."
Oriana, who was sitting quietly at the edge of the bed, felt relieved to see him. "Take me to my husband."
"I can’t, my Lady," Xyron replied. "After I brought you to the mountain yesterday, Lord Tharzimon ordered me not to take you anywhere without his permission. He will be the one to escort you to the battlefield."
Oriana gritted her teeth. "I just want to meet him. I am not running away with him."
"Still, I can’t follow your wishes, my Lady," Xyron said. "If I go against his orders, he would never allow me to visit you again and would appoint Everton to look after you."
Oriana understood the implications. She needed to keep Xyron on her side at all costs.
"Xyron, could you somehow help them defeat your lord?" Oriana asked worriedly.
"I did advise something, but it’s up to your husband’s abilities, my Lady," Xyron replied.
"He must still be weak, and Tharzimon is more powerful in the demon realm," she expressed her concern.
"You should leave it to your husband, as there is nothing we can do now. We would be fortunate if Lord Tharzimon doesn’t send your husband to the Valley of Eternal Abyss. If that happened, everything would be over for him."
Oriana clearly knew what the Valley of Eternal Abyss was. Her voice grew sadder as she spoke. "Did I make a mistake by having them fight for me? I don’t want to lose Arlan. If something happens to him, this demon realm won’t have any princess anymore." She looked at Xyron, hoping to hear something reassuring from him, but there was only silence. "Xyron?"
"Yes, my Lady?"
"Is there no one else who can control the Valley of Eternal Abyss?"
"Only the ruler can control it. It obeys the most powerful one," he answered.
"Was I powerful enough and able to summon it in the past?" she asked.
"Yes, my lady."
"Can’t I do it again? Will you teach me how to?"
"You are not powerful enough, and it can’t be taught, my Lady. With the power to rule this realm, everything comes to you on its own; everything here follows the wishes and commands of the ruler," he spoke straightforwardly. "At this moment, even an ordinary demon here is more powerful than you. You are nothing but an earthly supernatural. Moreover, given this human body, it would take you more than a human lifetime to become the demoness you were."
Oriana looked dejected. "That means I can do nothing at all to help him?"
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