Talisman

"The King wants the participants to gather, gentlemen. Please escort your partners to the stage." The Crown Prince had the same gentle look on his face. He looked at Cassandra, then Hunter, before turning his head towards the other nobles around them. "As usual, gentlemen may partner with anyone that they choose to. It could be a lady or a Madame of the house as long as they are capable. Or… they can hunt alone. Most people do it in groups to protect each other from the beasts that have turned into monsters because of the negative energy inside the forest."

The faces of the people around Cassandra turned serious.

The Hunting.

It was an event done every three years and while the crown would always say they did their best to keep everyone safe, deaths could still occur in every hunting.

The hunting games were started hundreds of years ago by some king who thought it would be good to expose the nobles—people who hadn't fought at the gates and basically everyone in the city—to the harsh reality outside of the large walls that had been protecting everyone from the demons and dark ones.

At first, everyone had been enthusiastic to try them out. After all, the Hunting did not really mean killing demons. It was an event designed to kill animals that had been influenced by the negative energy in the forest.

"So, the rules are still the same?" A lord from the back asked.

"More or less. This time… everyone will be given a device that can actually count the number of monsters that someone kills." The Crown Prince had a proud smile on his face. He and everyone else started walking towards the stage. "This has been a project that I started two years ago. I left Zealandia for a few days to talk to some scientists outside of the country and I studied how to create something that would benefit us."

So he left to create some sort of a counter? THAT'S what makes him proud?

Cassandra was confused. If the Crown Prince had created something that could kill those feral animals, then she would have been impressed. But a device that could count the number of animals that one killed? Really? She pursed her lips. Unless of course, they would use this device to monitor everyone's location. Then the story would be different.

As if sensing her thoughts, the Prince added, "The device would also act as a locator. In case emergencies happen. We don't want to put anyone in any danger and I, personally, would not want to know that the monsters killed one of ours in the games."

So she was right. A locator was indeed helpful but it could be deadly for someone like her who had been dragged into this messy politics. She would never allow them to know where she was.

"What happens if the device is damaged?" she asked. "As a fire elemental, my fires can be very hot."

"I understand." The Crown Prince said. "But the device … would be inserted inside you."

Cassandra nodded and smiled when she saw a vision of a man—to be more precise a noble—exploding. "Lovely. I am excited." Excited to turn her blood into lava and burn the damn thing off. She looked at Hunter, then held his hand. "Congratulations to Your Highness Hiram. Zealandia is lucky to have you as it's crown prince." She wondered why they wanted to put some device in every person.

Surely, the motive wasn't really as simple as locating them and making sure that they were safe, right? The vision of the man exploding might be proof that there was another conspiracy behind this.

Wait…

Was this the reason why Prince Hunter wanted her—someone he didn't trust—to be his partner in the hunting games?

Everything seemed to turn into a blur as she met Prince Hunter's eyes. Another vision was coming.

She immediately lowered her head and closed her eyes.

Then she saw it. The Crown Prince talking to someone in front of a computer. She saw a room full of screens with a map and everyone's location.

'Blow him up.'

She heard the crown prince's cold voice.

'But he is the heir of the Cephie…'

'Blow him up!'

'Yes, sir!'

Then the visions ended.

Cassandra blinked, her lips parted as she thought of the vision. Cephie Clan… Jude Cephie?

"Are you feeling unwell?" Prince Hunter asked, concern lacing his voice. And while she knew it was fake, she was a bit thankful of how his voice had brought her back from her stupor.

"Yes." A fake smile appeared on her face. She noticed that the King was already having his speech on the stage, behind the pulpit where a small red velvet box had been placed.

"Do you understand it now?"

She thought she heard him speak but clearly… he hadn't opened his mouth. Was that her hallucination? Or…

"Can you hear me?"

She quickly lowered her head to hide the surprise in her wide eyes. Yes, this was Hunter's voice. He was speaking… in her head.

"You can… right?"

His voice was low, dangerous and cold.

'Can you… melt it?' he asked.

She slowly nodded her head.

"Good."

Relief flashed through him when he stopped speaking. How could he… speak inside her head? Goosebumps slithered all over her body as the realization hit her. He could no longer use elements but he could use spells and magic and maybe even talismans. To hide this fact, he needed someone powerful by his side. Prince Hunter had chosen her to become his bride because of her flames.

He saw the black flames in the forest.

He saw its destructive force.

He saw how it easily killed a demon like it was some fly.

He saw it.

And she would never forget the look on his face when he had held her in his arms. It was as if he had found a treasure—an important object.

"Without further ado, let me show everyone the prize for today's hunting!" The King's voice echoed.

Cassandra looked at the King as he opened the small box and showed everyone… two black talismans. "They are believed to have been created by Saintess Rhea and Knight Mo. These are talismans that can protect anyone from magic, curses and elements." The King smiled as he showed them the contents of the box.