The guard twisted Kypho's fingers and shoved his hand away making him welp. He said, "That ship has sailed now," and kept the bowl of broth in his cell.
"What do you mean?" Kypho said as he stared with wide eyes at the guard. His mind froze. How did a guard know so much? Maybe, he was playing with him. "You are just a guard," he growled. "Just go and inform the king that I am ready to make a deal. You don't know me, but I am a very important prisoner!"
Nora giggled from her prison. "No one is important... Jaka was... she died."
"Fuck your Jaka!" Kypho snapped.
Nora tilted her head to look at him, anger rising in her chest. She removed her mangled hair and gave him a crazed look.
Kypho turned to the guard who was leaving. "I demand to see the king now! I am from the Cetus Monastery. If the High Priest comes to know that I am held here, he is going to unleash his wrath and your king is going to pay for it! Menkar is very powerful!"
On the eighth day, his hands started shaking. While having lunch in the main dining hall, his hand shook so hard that he dropped the spoon from his hand. He created a major ruckus about horrible food and then strode to his room. He closed the door behind him and summoned his newly appointed spy.
"Go to the Bikr Harbor on the Jade Sea. There you will meet a vendor called Guntar." Menkar's body shook a little as his breath became ragged. "Guntar's shop is at the very end of the--" he swallowed his saliva down. "At the very end of the harbor. Tell him that I have sent you. He will give you a box of bottles. Carry them back carefully. If you drop even one, I will skin you alive."
"Yes Master!" said the spy. "I will go by morning."
Menkar grabbed him by his collar. "You will go now! Is that clear?"
The spy, a young boy, was surprised, but he said, "Yes Master!"
Menkar shoved him away and walked back shakily to his bed. He couldn't allow this to happen. He was going to dig out every damn place in Cetus to find those bottles. Whoever had stolen them surely knew of his state. And that part made him jittery. Sleep was next to impossible. For the past two days ever since he discovered the thievery, he was extremely nervous. It was a matter of a few more days and he was going to strike against Eltanin and Lusitania. He would get what he finally wanted--to rule over Araniea.
He took the chain out of his neck and closed the tangerine soul stone in his palm. "I am coming, Tania," he murmured. "Keep those fae powers ready for me. I am going to lock you away in my tower forever and feed on your powers as I take Eltanin's beast in my control. Then--" he took a deep breath in. "Then I am going to rule the Jade Sea also!"
---
The spy rode all the way to the Bikr Harbor, stopping only twice to rest his horse and have food. It took one full moon rise and sunrise to reach the harbor. When he reached there, he saw boats and ships bobbing up and down the water of the sea. It was early in the morning, and there was little activity. After giving his horse to the local corral, he walked to the harbor to find Guntar.