Merin, driven by her insatiable sweet tooth, chewed on the sticky purple fruit that was now her go-to snack. She was disgusted by bananas after giving birth. Her new favorite fruit was one she couldn't pronounce for the life of her.

It had been a long time since she'd seen Red break a smile when she'd mispronounced something, and part of her, in a playful manner, aimed to keep the bit going for as long as she could. Red didn't smile much before, but now his face was more grim than ever. Merin wanted to find new ways to make his mask crack.

Red, with an unwavering determination, was receiving a lot of goods from Ceren's ports as he revitalized the harbor province he destroyed. The Emperor gave it to Alev, and it was a project that distracted Red while he was trapped in the palace.

While Red tackled that and sorted out how he would kill another of his brothers, Merin, with a single-minded focus, was on a relentless hunt.

The Emperor's face had healed, so she must have healed him. Red said that nothing before her magic could undo the cruelty of Febris. A purge of healers who failed in their attempts once littered mass graves for their efforts.

Red had told her that the Emperor specialized in puppet magic. If she healed one of his puppets, would it heal the string master? Red told her he knew the Emperor would come out to be healed, and at some point, Merin must have. Or the Emperor could have gotten ahold of the ointment she passed out to circumvent exposing herself before.

That didn't explain why the Emperor knew her baby's name choices. Merin picked out two, one for a girl or a boy. So that meant one thing and one thing only; there was a rat to devour.

Merin did not know where to start with the Emperor but knew who she would tail first.

Zoltan was her first target.

The charming, sophisticated man came at them with a group of men. This was shortly after she had her first massive healing spree. From what she saw, the Emperor moved fast. He could have organized that whole thing.

Red had told her the details she'd missed long ago while she snoozed. Zoltan said he wanted to look at her but brought many men with him. The real intent was clear. All of those men but Zoltan were dead. They couldn't be at fault or questioned now.

Zoltan had been questioned extensively, and he passed Red's examination. His collar bound him to obey her word, and that should be that. But Merin was suspicious. She long treated Zoltan roughly or ignored him because she couldn't shake the feeling that he managed to hide something despite everything.

Zoltan mentioned Red's father to him and asked Red if anyone had told him he was like his father. It might not be too strange because the Emperor was a prominent figure who wandered around Habrin doing whatever he wanted. He went to war with soldiers who may be bandits or citizens, so his face was known. And that was without taking into account his reputation, which everyone knew.

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But this was more suspicious maybes for Merin to decide that Zoltan was the biggest suspect of being a rat.

Merin had to be careful in how she stalked Zoltan. He was more alert than he let on and quick to escape in the shadows. The man was an escape artist, making him the most credible rat suspect.

On the day Merin started her hunt, she gave Zoltan the rest of the day off. The man was startled because Merin had never been so generous before. She didn't follow him that day. Doing something uncharacteristic would raise his suspicions, and she wouldn't find anything yet.

So Merin continued to be sporadically generous with him and gave him time off. The day that Zoltan grinned at her instead of blinking like he witnessed a miracle was the day she officially started hunting him.

Zoltan was an even bigger flirt than Merin first suspected. The man winked, chatted, and received gifts from multiple women. Soon, Merin realized it didn't matter the age, gender, or demographic of people. Zoltan just had a unique charm about him, and he welded it.

Emine trailed after her, and Merin wanted to paste the girl's mouth shut. The girl was doing her best to stay silent, but leaving the girl behind would have been better.

Merin learned nothing outside of Zoltan's annoying popularity that day.

She was still sulking over dinner with Red. Any hope she had managed to sneak in and out of the palace was wiped away when Red said, "Do I need to ask why you're stalking after Zoltan."

Merin started coughing as she inhaled a sip of her water. Red smacked her back, but she could tell he was laughing at her. He must have waited for her to take a sip to spring that on her!

She made a face before finally confessing everything she suspected.

Red said nothing as he digested her words and his food. When he seemed to gather his thoughts, she noted that his red eye gleamed.

"It's too obvious to be my father's handiwork." He said finally.

"Sometimes the most obvious things in the world are the answer." She retorted.

"Habrin Emperors have always had a complicated history with their children. Tossing out that kind of insult wouldn't be much of a stretch." Red said.

But it landed, Merin thought, but wisely stopped herself from saying it out loud. Red lost his calm in a way she'd never seen before. That moment was important because this man was vital to her in more ways than one.

She never wanted to see that side of Red come out again, and part of her still blamed Zoltan for bringing it out.

The Emperor was also to blame. In fact, in Merin's mind, he was the main culprit. Tales of his debauchery were widespread as catchy jingles people sang when they fought, drank, or murdered each other.

Red's father was a monster who enjoyed eating the flesh of people, animals, and creatures. That blood lust lived and breathed in Red even as he suppressed it. The constant struggle at night against assassins chipped away at his control, and she could see it in the way his eye glowed.

Even if Red didn't want to acknowledge it, he was his father's son. And the physical connection was just as strong as the pair's blood lust. Merin needed to watch anything that could endanger her expanded family. She trusted Red to take out threats, but this might be something she needed to do for him. If she didn't, how could she say she gave it her all?

The rest of dinner passed in conversational topics about Alev and work in Ceren, but things were brewing under the surface. Merin wasn't done with her hunt.

Whoever was a threat to Red needed to go.