~Feon PoV~

 

I stood before Adrian. She was laying down in Riela’s bed, completely distraught and depressed. Looking at that sight… I felt… jealous. While I had been working my butt off, she had been enjoying all of Riela’s items to herself.

 

I could hardly contain the unbridled rage welling inside of me. At one hand I felt empathy for Adrian who had been suffering like me. I knew that she had become extremely reliant on Riela, always living in his shadow.

 

But on the other hand, I also wanted to sleep and revel in Riela’s bed. To envelop myself in his scent while I sniffed onto his pillows. Despite all of the turmoil within me, I needed her help to accomplish my goals. Though Adrian might not seem the part, she was quite capable in combat.

 

Her potential shined bright during team fights, she could act as both a damage dealer and a buffer, making her a lethal threat. Her buffing powers were so strong that even a group of puppies could be turned into ferocious wolves when under her command.

 

“You know where Riela is…?” Adrian asked with a quivering voice.

The looming shadow over her head disappeared. She made a hopeful expression, her earlier gloom nowhere to be seen.

 

“Tell me where he is!” Adrian said excitedly, hopping off the bed. The strands of hair in her hand were placed inside some box beside her, which she quickly stored into her bag. It was quite obvious those bits of hair belonged to Riela. It would be a lie that I wasn’t tempted to take them right at this moment, but that plan could be set aside for later.

 

“Calm down, first let’s move to a quieter place. I also have some more information that you would be interested in. But I can only tell you this if you agree to team up with me and share Riela amongst us.”

 

Adrian quietened down for a few seconds, putting my deal into consideration. I could tell from her facial expressions that she was reluctant, but she had no other choice. We needed each other’s cooperation, in the end, that was the only chance we had to get Riela back.

 

“Alright, let’s go.” Adrian finally agreed. There was some hesitation shown by her but it was the same for me, we both wanted Riela to ourselves.

 

---

 

We entered various branching alleyways to ensure no one was pursuing us. After making sure of that, I set up various illusionary wards to hide our presence. When we both felt that our location was secure enough, I began speaking to Adrian.

 

“Adrian, listen carefully. Whatever I am about to speak shouldn’t be told to anyone alright?” I give an inquisitive gaze which she replies with a nod. 

“From what I have gathered, Riela has been captured by a high ranking church official. By high ranking, it can possibly be the new pope though the information isn’t official yet.”

 

“The church? You mean the Parlene church?” Adrian asked, emphasizing her words.

“Yes that church, our enemy isn’t a nobody for sure. They are staying in the Eastford Mansion on 3rd Avenue. The security there is quite tight with magic wards all over the place. Chances of us entering that place without being detected are extremely low, so we can only brute force our way through it.”

 

Adrian kept staring at me with rapt attention, not missing a single word which spilt out of my mouth.

“Truthfully I had an encounter with this person, I suspect her to be Riela’s sister from the way she referred to him.”

 

“His sister?” Adrian asked with surprise apparent in her voice. 

“Yes, Riela seems to have a sister and an influential one at that too. There’s also something shady about her. Recently she was witnessed having a deal with the black market too, having bought the Blue Pill from there.”

 

“Blue Pill?”

“I am getting to that part. It is a drug used for interrogation. Upon consumption, the person becomes more open to showing his hidden thoughts. The restrictions in their thinking are gone and have no consideration of the consequences of their actions. It is commonly used as a truth serum.”

 

Adrian’s face becomes wrapped in horror after hearing that.

“So you mean to say is… Riela might be getting interrogated or even tortured?”

 

I gave an amused expression having heard her conjecture.

“Hmm, well that is possible but I feel his sister is the same as us. From the moment I met her, I realized she had a deep affection for Riela too. I think it’s more likely she could use it to affect Riela’s thinking and remove any inhibitions that might come from their familial relationship.”

 

“You mean to say…” Adrian started agonizing over what I had just said. She gripped her fist so tightly that her nails started digging into her palm.

I was also similar to her in this regard. Just the thought of someone playing with Riela’s body wretched my heart. Though I didn’t want to admit it, it was something even I was likely to do if I were to be in her position. 

 

Both of us dwell in silence for a few seconds from the prospect that I had just uncovered.

“Feon, what are the chances of us succeeding?” Adrian asked. The tone of her voice had become sombre.

 

“Quite unlikely, but I do have a few more plans to back them up. So, are you in?” Though I already knew the answer, I asked again for her to reaffirm her thoughts.

She nodded before showing me her fearsome countenance. It was as if a general was preparing to enter the battlefield.

 

“Let’s show her who Riela belongs to,” Adrian exclaimed in a resentful tone, filled to the brim with hatred.

“Glad to have you back Adrian, about time we showed who’s boss,” I smirked, having successfully persuaded her into joining me. With this, I was a step closer to getting Riela back.