Rigel took a deep breath as he looked incredulously at Tania. The girl had so much power that he was amazed. From what she was, she had grown into a lovely queen. "What is it that you have called us for?" he asked Elatnin. Lerna was sitting next to him. Over the last few days, he was feeling... empty.
Though Eltanin wasn't saying anything regarding his stay in Orion, Rigel wasn't liking his overstay. He had thought that he could convince his father about his mate, but the old man was adamant on his decision. It was as if Rigel was trying to cut through hard steel. He was angry with himself and he wasn't showing it to Lerna, but he was thinking of ways to go back to his kingdom, his people.
Eltanin glanced at Lerna who was sitting meekly beside Rigel. He said, "Lerna, I know that what I am going to ask you may not be appropriate, so if you choose not to answer my questions, remember, I have nothing against you."
Lerna frowned but she nodded lightly, clasping her hands in her lap.
Eltanin continued, "Can you tell me something about Hydra that can be of importance to us? The war is impending between Hydra and Draka and I do have support of other kingdoms as well. But is there anything that you feel you know which can be used against Felis?" He narrowed his eyes after that to gauge her reaction.
Rigel didn't like the probe. A growl slipped from his chest. "How will she know anything, Eltanin?" he said with a hint of anger. "She had never been in the political games of Hydra. Felis never treated her as an equal. He always thought of her as a breeder." He gripped Lerna's hand in his and placed it on his thigh protectively.
Eltanin was surprised. He raised his eyebrows and thinned his lips. "I understand..." he said as he let out a long exhale. Then he gazed at Tania. "You can remove the sound barrier, love..."
Tania was about to snap her fingers when Lerna stopped her. "I don't know much," she said and peered at Rigel. She found him furrowing his brows as if suspecting her information.
"Lerna," said Rigel. "You are under no pressure to say anything. If you want, you can stay quiet."
"But--" she protested.
Rigel interrupted her. "You should know that when Eltanin is asking you anything, the information needs to be accurate. From what you told me earlier, you were mostly kept under heavy security in the tower. How would you know anything about Hydra that would be of vital importance to the Draka King? Every piece of information will be used. I don't want Elty to get the wrong information."
"But--" Lerna said again.
Rigel put his hand up. "Don't!" He was unsure about her knowledge and didn't want to put her in an embarrassing situation and at the same time, didn't want her friend to be put in this situation.
Angered at his lack of confidence in her, Lerna pulled her hand away from him. She crossed her arms across her chest and looked away, feeling hurt.
Eltanin felt awkward at the lovers' quarrel. Tania sighed. She was aware how Rigel was behaving with Lerna. She intervened, "Prince Rigel, we all know that Lerna has limited knowledge about Hydra, but please don't think that Eltanin is not mature enough to filter relevant information. Let Lerna speak and if he likes, Eltanin will use the information, else he will discard it."
Rigel gritted his teeth. "I am not sure if--"
"She is right, Rigel. Let her speak," Eltanin requested his friend.
A soft smile appeared on Lerna's face. Without waiting for Rigel to say yes, she said, "You all know that Hydra Kingdom has one bridge through which most of the traffic passes by."
"Yes, there is only one bridge because Nyxers destroy all others that are constructed by other kingdoms," Eltanin replied.
"Yes!" Lerna nodded. "But in reality, there is one more bridge, far in the north of Hydra. It is dilapidated and is most of the time covered with snow. It lies in the foothills of Crimson Peak, nestled deep in the Ivory Forest. I have heard that if people try to escape Hydra, they use that bridge." During her escape, Lerna was going to use that bridge, but she was caught before she could go there.
This piece of information caught everyone by surprise. Rigel whipped his head towards his mate, his eyes wide. "How do you know about it?"
She shrugged. "I had tried to escape earlier before you came to rescue me. I had collected all the information. I had secretly gone to the dungeon and met a Nyxer who had tried to escape, but he was caught and thrown in the dungeons. He told me about this bridge. At first, I didn't believe it, but he drew the location and also told me what it looked like. Still disbelieving him, I came back. My maid who helped me to escape confirmed it. She said that the bridge is so dilapidated that it can crumble any time. She said that I shouldn't attempt to go over it."
Eltanin scratched his jaw as he processed the information. After a long silence, he said, "Is there anything else you would like to share?"
"I think that is enough," Rigel cut in. He was getting jittery about sharing more. He wanted to talk to her first and then share it with Eltanin if he found that it was good enough.
Eltanin shook his head. He looked at Tania who snapped her fingers and the sound barrier ended with a pop in their ears. Then he said to Fafnir, "Send you spies to the foothills of Crimson Peak. Get the exact coordinates of the bridge. If it is still there, we can use it to our advantage."
Fafnir got up. He bowed to them and left hurriedly.
Rigel said, "If there is nothing else, we would like to leave."
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