Kin

One by one the guards fell, either by his hand or Iris's hand. When they finally reached Edýia and Rom, they were both backed into a corner, with Rom swinging his sword left and right trying to keep them away from Edýia.

Her heavy belly did her no favours. And she was the source of the incessant cries. She'd gone into labour. Worst time ever.

Iris didn't even bother to go near the guards as she threw both daggers in the guards ' back. Which fell to their knees. Her aim was excellent. She went for the spine. Didn't kill them, but it would most surely cripple them.

Rom finished them off by slitting their throats, sweeping his sword with uncanny swiftness.

" We need Pelham or Caell. Something is wrong with Edýia, " Rom's gaze flitted, panic etched on his expression.

" She is in labour dumbass," Iris noted with a calm expression.

" Oh, "Rom's spirit seemed to have settled at the news as shock replaced his initial panic. All the while Edýia screamed her lungs out curled up in a corner, while the oaf fumbled unable to think straight.

" Let's get her into bed. She needs to be comfortable," Rom froze for the briefest moment to gather his thoughts and himself off the floor. He was not coping well with the news that the child had decided to join them in a time of great turmoil. It was early.

Wrapping his arms around Edýia, Rom picked her up on the floor and made his way to the bed. All the while, her screams flooded the chambers and the corridors of Ironstone. His grin grew wider, rivers of blood will mark Ironstone.

" We need to get to the others, before it's too late. Block the doors and breathe," Iris instructed as they made them out of the room. A pair of guards approached with Dakran walking in front of them. No sign of Maya or the children. He must've used them as leverage to get him to go quietly.

Conniving bastard.

They had to pull back into the room and shut the door when Dakran shook his head when he caught a glimpse of them.

Rom opened his mouth but Iris shushed him. They wouldn't enter the room while Edýia was howling worse than an enraged beast. And if they did, they wouldn't survive long. It was hard to listen, Edýia's screams drowned out everything around. He needed quiet.

" Now," Iris suddenly said as she opened the door and appeared at the guard's backs. They merely had time to turn around before the daggers lodged in their throats.

" Best gift ever," She hummed pleased as she lowered herself on her heels, a plucked the daggers out of their throats while the guard chocked in their blood. Quite satisfying, to see the light dim in their eyes.

" You welcome," Corvin half shrugged, proud of himself as always. He couldn't help himself nor the grin etched on his face.

" Where's Maya and the others?" She asked as she wiped the daggers on the sleeves of her tunic. Cold, detached.

" In the main quarters. They found me when I went to speak with Haren," Dakran frowned as he turned on his heels charging towards the steps.

" Go after him," Iris said as she turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

He didn't need anything else from her. She could handle herself. He knew as much. She didn't need him and he didn't need her. But he would never deprive himself of having such a force of nature in his life.

When they stepped inside the main quarters, they were empty. They were most likely on Ironstone grounds.

In a fit of rage, Dakran threw a table across the room which collided with the fireplace, smashing the table to smithereens. A block of stone dislodged from the mantle and fell on the floor with a clatter as he huffed like a raged bull. The first time he'd ever witnessed Dakran lose his temper.

" If he touches one hair on Maya. I will kill his entire bloodline and force him to drink their blood, " Dakran thundered as he stormed out of the room, heavily stomping the ground beneath his feet.

No more talk, old man. That time has passed.

He followed suit, tightly gripping his blade, watchful, just in case any of them slipped past Iris or lurked in the dark corners. Snivelling bastards.

Two guards were posted at the main entrance, watching as the rest of the guards brought out all those who lived in Ironstone one by one. More seemed to have sprouted. His initial count was seventy-five. He narrowed his eyes when familiar faces appeared in the crowd. He'd enrolled the Inari. Akema wasn't lying.

The red-haired Lady was nowhere in sight and nor was Karrise. Probably waiting. Holding Maya as leverage against Dakran. Or worse.

He shook his head to push away the dreary thought that crept up on him. How do you destroy a man that holds his woman above all else? You destroy the woman. And he will go tumbling down like a rock down a steep hill. Shit.

Without a word, Corvin turned on his heels and climbed up to the upper levels. Where did the rat tuck her away? To make sure he would be undisturbed.

He'd had better luck finding his way out of the labyrinth than finding Maya in Ironstone. The place was old, filled with nooks and crannies. Old rooms that hadn't been visited in generations.

Of course, he grinned as he approached the old infamous room where all the depravities took place during the old religious practices. A place once held in high regard. Sanctified by the priestesses themselves. Nothing more than filthy bitches with an appetite for flesh. He stopped short at the muffled voice trickling from behind a floor-to-ceiling door, embossed with a mark of the old religion.

" Quiet now," Karrise ordered, and the only person that he could think could be behind that door was Maya.

" Be a good girl and lie down on the bed," He could hear Karrise's excitement in the tone of his voice. Maya was young, beautiful and a kind Lady to her people. Even though she wasn't of the land, she loved each and every one as her own flesh and blood.

A rare find in the world that they were living. No wonder the king had gone for her.

" I'll be gentle if you want me to," He crooned, a little anxious, " or I can go hard. However you want me," He added when Maya remained silent.

" Lie down bitch," A slap echoed in the room, and that was his cue to break the party. The bastard would pay with his head if he thought that he could get away with hurting the people of the Four Regions. Dakran might have wavered, but he wouldn't.