Xanth watched him.

He stood in front of the man that had snuck into the castle and tried to seat Lyra away from them, he had found the man tied up and held by one of the guards, and together they had brought him here, to the lowest parts of the castle where the dungeon was. The man was tied up in a chair and unconscious, stripped of his armor and leaving nothing on him save for the very thin shirt he had underneath, which was now stained with blood resulting from his bruises which were caused by Ryder when he had flung the man across the yard with one hand.

Xanth could imagine that the man suffered from a few broken ribs, broken or cracked or grazed, whatever, but the pain could not be denied. He had a bucket of cold water and a towel beside him where he stood, he knew that he would need to wake the man up before Ryder got here because he would definitely come, and he would be expected to know some answers, answers he was supposed to get from the unconscious man.

Just as he took a step forward towards the man, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming down the dungeon halls, and he knew immediately that it would be none other than Ryder.

“Has he said anything yet?” He asked immediately he stepped into the cell where the man was being held. Xanth, without turning to look at Ryder, shook his head negatively.

“Nothing yet.” He replied. “He fell unconscious.” 

“Unconscious…” Ryder grumbled and reached for the bucket of water beside Xanth, and with all the anger welled up in him, he threw the water in the man, startling him back into consciousness.

He coughed and spluttered water from his mouth and nose, shaking his head repeatedly and coughing some more. He struggled to breathe for a while and when he got himself, he looked up to the people standing in front of him. He frowned in anger and made to stand up, but when he felt restraints, he looked down at himself and saw that he had been tied up, it fueled his anger the more.

“You devil!” He spat out, yelling at Ryder and struggling against the ropes holding him to the chair. “You cursed spawn of the devil! You killed Lyra! You killed a princess of Dragonsbane and let me tell you that you will not get away with this! I promise you that Ryder of Astaroth!”

Ryder ignored his rants and Xanth remained indifferent, he just stood there, arms folded, and watched the man and Ryder battle it out with each other. Ryder walked up to him till he was mere feet away from him and he leaned in a little closer before asking. “Who are you that you had thought yourself so brave as to sneak into my castle and try to steal what is mine?”

He didn’t yell and his voice was not loud, but they carried just the same amount of dread in them, and it would cause anyone to shiver. And the man did shiver, either from the fact that the Lord himself of Astaroth was this close to him, or it was from the cold water that had been dumped on him earlier, anyhow, the man did shiver.

“I would be the one to lead the whole army of Dragonsbane against Astaroth for the crime you have committed against Dragonsbane!” He struggled repeatedly against the ropes, his voice, and expression burning with anger.

Ryder stood upright and looked down at the man, then with a more serious and deeper voice, he asked again. “Who are you? And who is Lyra to you that you would risk your life for her?”

Once again, Eris ignored his question and said to him. “You would be a fool to think you can keep me locked up in here to hide what you have done, I am not alone, soon my men would storm here and they would capture this castle. One thing you failed to do, O great Lord of Astaroth,” Eris mocked him, chuckling as he spoke. “Is that you failed to arm your castle with enough guards. And this is the great Lord that makes the other kingdoms cower? A Lord who can not ensure his castle’s protection.” He laughed. 

Ryder took in a breath and turned to look at Xanth, and without speaking a word, Xanth already knew what question he wanted to ask and he nodded his head.

“Yes that is true, he did not come alone. They have all been spotted and surrounded, awaiting your next orders.” Xanth reported, his expression straight.

Eris faced the other man standing beside Ryder who had just spoken and he had a look of shock and surprise. Then in a much lower tone of voice, he said. “That is impossible.”

“You forget that you are not in Dragonsbane but in Astaroth, what might be impossible there is very much possible here, and now I ask again,” Ryder said, leaning down closer to the man. “What are you to Lyra and what is she to you?”

Eris didn’t speak, he remained quiet and watched Ryder as they both stared daggers at one another. The man was proving to be stubborn and Ryder was not a very patient person. He hissed.

“Xanth?” He called without turning away or looking away from the man.

“Eris Dumieres, Duke of Deltora, Dragonsbane and commander of the Deltorian army.” Xanth reported. Eris turned to him in surprise as to how he would be able to get such information about him so quickly. He frowned at the man but Xanth wasn’t quite finished yet. He continued. “Husband to Jenny Wixx, the third princess of Dragonsbane and Lyra’s sister…”

“She is the second princess of Dragonsbane, you moron!” Eris spat at him and then smirked, turning to face Ryder. “And you think that you know it all.”

Ryder smirked back at him and stood upright, he turned away and walked towards the cell gate. “Is that all, Xanth?”

“No my Lord,” Came his reply, he looked at Ryder and then back at the man before he continued, a frown coming to his forehead. “He was set to be married to Lyra thirty-eight years ago before…” He looked at Ryder who had his back towards them. “…before the incident.”

Ryder turned towards them but kept his gaze to the ground and looked like he was pondering on something. “Before the incident?” He knew what “the incident” was, but he wanted to emphasize it more. He looked at Eris with a tight frown.

“On her eighteenth birthday…” Xanth was saying but he stopped when Ryder held a hand up to stop him.

“This isn’t just about rescuing a princess of Dragonsbane from here, or is it, Eris Dumieres of Deltora?” He said, approaching the man one step at a time.

Eris struggled against the ropes restraining him to the chair, what he wanted more than anything was the opportunity to get his hands on this Lord of Astaroth. “I came here to get the princess away from your cruelty and back to her family as it is very clear that you do not value her. What was your reason for taking her?”

Ryder ignored his question because he was in no position to question him. He was his own prisoner now and Ryder would be the one asking the questions. “You still harbor some feelings towards her, despite the fact that you are married to her sister. What do you think that makes you, Eris?”

Eris stiffened in the chair, his breathing hitched and his anger towards Ryder grew. “She is now my niece, and as such it is my duty to protect her.”

“And you are doing an excellent job at that.” Xanth chipped in. “Protecting her.”

Ryder glanced at Xanth briefly who bowed slightly in apology as he had just spoken out of line.

“Xanth, go fish out the rest of his men and handle the rest of everything else yourself.” He kept his eyes on Eris as he said his new words carefully and clear enough. “Make sure to keep the yard clean of any Dragonsbane blood, and send their bodies back to where they came from.”

“You devil!” Eris trashed about in the chair. “You bloody devil!”

“And as for you!” Ryder’s voice was louder and drowned in pure rage. His eyes darkened and he took another step towards Eris, sending shivers through the man and rendering him quiet. “The only reason I will not have pieces of you sent back to Dragonsbane is that Lyra doesn’t want it so.”

Xanth looked at Ryder now, he was doing things because of her, it was new and strange because Ryder was used to doing things as he pleased and wanted, and never because he had someone in mind.

He continued. “But I will also not let you go just yet. Until Lyra doesn’t get better, you will remain here in the dungeon as my prisoner and the men you had brought with you will receive the punishment for your insolence.”

“You cannot do that!”

“He already did!” Xanth addressed the insolent man. Ryder had been quite lenient with this one and to think it was all because of Lyra. As much as Xanth was happy that Ryder was beginning to change towards the Dragonsbane princess, he was still cautious. Lyra was the one to fall in love with him and not him fall in love with her. If that happened, things were bound to go wrong later on.

“Get right on it.” Ryder said to Xanth and then turned away, storming out of the dungeon with Eris yelling threats after him. He would stay with Lyra and observe her knowing that he would not be coming down here ever. He trusted that Xanth would handle everything concerning the matter about the Duke of Deltora.

In