194 Levin’s Trade

AUTHOR'S POV

Helena was distraught with Levin's epiphany. It almost sounded like he's dagger that stabs soul travelers' in the back. "You… seemed very sure… about it", Helena tried to endure the bitterness in her mouth.

"Definitely! As a merchant who's all over the place, at the very specific and right time, I get to see everything. I saw Calum sliced his own throat with the King's sword", Levin uttered suddenly. Helena clasped her fists, wondering if Levin did something stop Calum. "After that, Argus went ballistic. He drew the line and declared war, not the other way around as what everyone thinks. King Edmore didn't dreamt of a war against soul travelers given that his own son is in love with one. But Argus was so persistent to take revenge against the royals. King Edmore had no choice to retaliate, prepare every warrior for battle and ordered to kill all the soul travelers in the kingdom. So to have a good fight, Argus needed so much power because soul travelers aren't bound to shed innocent blood or else they turn to dark ones. That's why he made a deal with the devil", Levin precisely professed the story of the past as if it was only yesterday without blinking. "He's still fortunate to end in an ice casket in Caluso, instead of being entirely dead", he pouted.

Levin was always there, Helena thought. A whistleblower to the royals who was their eyes and ears. A snitch who's loyalty is to the crown. No wonder the King knew what he does. The old man shares them all to her knowing she, too, is a royal. "You think… there will come a time that he'll be awaken for some purpose, given that King Edmore didn't kill him?", Helena asked.

"Of course! King Edmore was too forgiving that he thought Argus was just a mournful father who lost his son. He punished the celestial ruler with imprisonment in ice. But, he was wrong, he should've punished him with death", Levin gave Helena another drink to Helena, batting his short lashes for her to say no.

"Argus woke with rage and vengeance", Helena took the drink, and slowly engulped the cool liquid which was sweeter than the first one.

"Because he's a monster, like what I told you!", Levin said with creased brows. "He will never go back to the same old Argus that he was", he added.

Helena drifted her thoughts to what Levin was truly like as he speak to his people with intense gravity of negativity. He knew that Callum was a fraud but he didn't intercepted and paved a way for the truth that it all ended with war and deaths. He's simply secured himself on the pedestal, watching people fight for their lives.

"Princess, if I may ask since the Holy Land was burned down, would you know where the Traveler's stone is?", Levin leaned on the table with his hand on his chin.

"Why would you take interest in that stone?", Helena uttered as she read the twinkle in Levin's eyes when the stone was mentioned.

"I'm a merchant! I take interest in anything that has value", Levin snorted a laugh.

"Ahh.. The priests took it. The stone is probably in the care of Father Bertram", Helena drank more of her sweet beverage.

"So he's still alive? Marvelous, marvelous", Levin said with excitement.

"It's tricky to use, isn't it?", Helena asked casually. She have read very little about the stone, and none have facts on how to use it.

"Oh not really! You'll just have to grip it hard until the sharp edges make your palm bleed. Together with your crest, bury it in Caluso ice until your blood paints the snow red. That's the perfect time you get to be one with the stone", Levn playfully demostrated with his fist. "Make haste, before the wound closes. Make sure the wound is deep enough to bleed enough of your essence.", he uttered with certainty.

"How did you know that?", Helena asked with creased brows. Levin indeed know a lot, like an unfiltered open book to the royals.

"That's what Argus did", he answered.

The traveler's stone was the devil that made Argus a demon. Wondering, Helena was tormented with how in the world should she use it to soul travel home. The witches wanted Helena to find it and wield the stone against Celeste and Argus, realizing it was a damned suicide mission. 'I'm a fool', she said.

"Levin… do you hate travelers?", Helena asked the cynical man she's growing to be distant with.

"Why would I…", Levin overly dejected the idea.

"Seems to me, you despise them", she said.

"Despise? Not at all. More like, obnoxious about them. They are radical, insufficient, and carefree. They are too engaged in finding celestials in the clan,

"Then, you must know Tris?", Helena started to dig deeper on Levin's fountain of awareness. Through him, she could find more facts about her mother.

"Of course!! She's my niece.", Levin surprisingly answered.

"Oh", Helena was stupefied at the fact that she has been speaking with her grandfather. At this moment, she wants to walk out. 

"That poor girl, who fell in love with King Edmore's only son and bore his child. I wonder where she is now", Levin caressed his chin with his thumb.

"She..uhh.. she soul travelled away with a man", Helena stuttered.

"That's probably Gaius, a childhood friend who pursued her with a one-sided love I'm surprised they're together, how did you know?", Levin knitted his brows in wonder.

"I… I just heard", Helena simply answered as she feel her vision started to blur.

"Ahh.. rumors don't believe them, Princess.", Levin clapped his hand in dismay, for he only believe in things he have seen with actual proof. "Tris is one of the great celestials in this kingdom. Just imagine a descendant of Caluso, and a warrior of Brandenburg all rolled into one? She regretfully killed all the dark healers set off by Argus before she disappeared. King Silvius even made quite a good show by stabbing her just to pretend that he killed the great Beatrice of Caluso, a direct order from King Edmore himself… ah what a pity", Levin clicked his tongue as ge shook his head. "As said in the prophecy: with a scepter that she picked from the armory, she is bound to make great things… and she did", he said with ultimate sadness.

"Uhh.. what does her scepter do?", Helena felt her troubled heart skipping a beat, and cold sweats started to appear on her forehead. Her mouth ran dry, and her hands were trembling, pursing her lips as she exhale.

"It magnifies her powers. And best of all, it lifts the soul in a body", Levin squinted his eyes on Helena as he notice the sudden paleness in her skin. "Are you alright, Princess?", he asked.

"I.. should.. I should go, Stellan might be awake anytime soon", Helena started to feel dizzy, her head spinned that her eyes became heavy. "It's about time to.. time to", she then lost her consciousness and fell on the hard wooden floor.

"About time to make a trade", Levin walked ahead and stared out the window as he wave at his newly arrived guests.