The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 108: Head Or Heart ()

Zariah slowly stepped into the bath pool, wincing at the chilling cold temperature of the water as she was submerged waist deep.

Zariah had never been one to care about the cold, but recently she found she had become overly sensitive of it, perhaps it was an effect of being submerged in water too long,

It had been far too long since they came down to the Sea Kingdom, far longer than Zariah had anticipated it would take.

She had not accounted for the fact that she would end up being a victim of the mastermind’s plot again, accused of harming Kristen and imprisoned for it.

Zariah had also not expected she truly would find the meaning of that strange drawing or find out the existence of another seal where the darkness was imprisoned or end up being involved in the political machinations and power tussles of the Sea Kingdom.

This was her second time living this very same life, yet sometimes Zariah felt she knew much less than everyone else did,

Zariah admitted she had been lucky this time, she had been lucky to escape the trap laid out for her even when she had resorted to admittedly incriminating methods.

Here she was, armed with the knowledge of the previous lifetime yet she was faced off against someone who she knew she could not predict.

Every event may have been ingrained in Zariah’s mind, but the fact remained the mastermind was as unknown to her in this lifetime as he had been in the past lifetime.

And so Zariah could not tell, if truly she could be assured she had the upper hand or otherwise.

Zariah had made a last minute decision to bait Lord Imain, the battle to overthrow the Sea King that was meant to have taken place much further in future had been brought forwards by her own hands.

The very same battle that had claimed the lives of hundreds of mermen, despite eventually ending in King Himan’s victory. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Zariah had altered with the original timeline and the events leading up to it, hoping to somehow obstruct the mastermind’s plan.

Zariah knew even in the previous lifetime, the only reason Lord Imain had lost to King Himan could only be that the overthrow was his own personal ambition.

Although Lord Imain was entangled with the mastermind, based on what Zariah could see, this attempt to overthrow was orchestrated by him alone.

Zariah was sure of this because she knew the mastermind would never ruin his plans by putting himself out and drawing attention to himself like this.

The only upper hand the mastermind had over everyone else was the fact that his identity was unknown, he was well hidden in the shadows, keeping a low profile yet he commanded the fates of thousands in the supernatural realm.

The mastermind would never ruin his greatest advantage with his own hands, which could only mean Lord Imain was plotting this overthrow for his personal purposes.

Which was exactly why he had eventually lost the battle in the previous lifetime, because without the support of the mastermind...all others under him would topple at the slightest push.

It was clear the Sea Dome was a part of the mastermind’s plan, and the fact that those five battle mers who had gone missing in the Northern Seas were found without their memories proved that there was truly something to hide

They had even sacrificed Kristen to get rid of Zariah and Askel, the message was clear.

Someone wanted to keep everyone away from the Sea Dome.

And so Zariah felt if she could take out Lord Imain before time, she could understand what was truly happening within the Sea Dome and perhaps stop it early enough to interfere with the mastermind’s plan.

It had been almost two months since Zariah had been reborn, which meant the time of her death and the massacre of Crimson Moon grew even closer with each passing day.

And with every day that passed by, although Zariah tried to ignore it, she could feel the apprehension building up within her.

"So much to do...so many people to save, so many wrongs to right, yet so little time...how does the story end this time?" Zariah murmured to herself as she submerged her head below the surface of the water.

Zariah remained submerged below, her eyes firmly shut as she steadied her heart and forced away the painful memories creeping up on her.

’Get it in order , Zari! What does it matter how the story ends? That is for me to decide! No one else will decide my fate this time... I will not allow it! I will never allow it!’ Zariah swore within her heart.

It took Zariah a moment longer before her head broke the surface once again, her eyes narrowed in determination.

Yes, she had brought forward the battle for the Sea throne,

Yes, this same battle had claimed many lives in the previous lifetime.

Yes, Zariah intended to make things different this time, to spare the merfolk their terrible fate,

Yes, it seemed impossible to hope to sort this out without bloodshed, but since when did anything ever come easy for Zariah?

Since Zariah was here, she would not allow the Sea Kingdom to be ruined by the mastermind... she would never allow the mastermind have his way.

"If you wish for war, I will prevent it and restore peace. If you wish to kill a thousand, I will save a hundred thousand."

"If you wish to ruin a domain, I will protect that domain with my life, if you want the world, you must step over my dead body first... whoever you are... your nemesis has come." Zariah murmured in a deadly tone as she washed herself and then stepped out of the bath pool.

Zariah pulled on a robe, securing the ties before she headed out of the washroom and to her room, whilst running a hand through her hair to dry the wet tresses.

Zariah stopped short when she took notice of King Askel leaned against the wall right beside the door to her room.

Zariah had portaled back to their shared quarters to take that bath she had intended to before the battle mers had rudely barged into their quarters.

Zariah was after all headed to her own execution in a few hours, she would take the luxuries she could get now.

King Askel’s gaze lifted up to Zariah, his expression was dark and it had been right from the moment Zariah had revealed her plan.

"So you move from the dungeons to the execution grounds while I am to stand at the sidelines and just... watch?"

"What am I to you exactly?" King Askel asked in a pained tone.

Zariah heaved a quiet sigh, she knew King Askel did not approve of her methods but then, between herself and him... she was the only one who truly knew what was at stake.

"This is not just about the Sea Kingdom Askel...it affects the entire supernatural realm. The Crimson Moon cannot stay out of it." Zariah said seriously.

King Askel’s seemed about to say something but decided against it and lowered his gaze,

"Just say it..." Zariah said to him.

"Will anything I say change your mind? Will you listen to me? Will you consider my words? My feelings? How much it breaks me to see you in pain? How terrified I am that I could lose you?" King Askel asked in a low tone.

Zariah’s heart skipped multiple beats at his words but mostly at the vulnerability he displayed before her.

The fact that a King as he was, he was willing to let her see his weaknesses, his pains and his hurts...all of which it seemed she was the cause of.

"There is your duty to Crimson Moon, and then your duty to the supernatural realm...you were willing to toss me aside for them, is there a need to ask where I stand now?" King Askel asked rhetorically.

Zariah bit her lip, her heart constricting painfully as King Askel lowered his gaze again.

’Why...why can he affect me so? Why does seeing him this way hurt so badly? Why do I feel this intense, overwhelming urge to comfort him? To assure him that he is more...’ Zariah thought to herself as her hands clenched into fists.

Zariah’s eyes fluttered closed as she sucked in a deep breath to steel her heart, forcing her legs to move, she headed to her door, hoping to escape this situation and the feelings King Askel stirred in her heart.

"I love you Mhíjani... God’s! I love you." King Askel’s quietly uttered words reached Zariah, freezing her in her steps.

Zariah’s heart was beating so fast, she could hear the beat audibly in her own ears and while her head screamed for her to get herself together...her heart seemed to have the upper hand.

Zariah growled beneath her breath as she spun around and stormed back to King Askel, stopping right before him, Zariah stood on her toes, her right arm slinging over his neck and pulling his lips down to hers.