Chapter Eight

Elek

I remained at Fort Khronos for an additional two days before returning home. Even though Huri assured me that the threat was eradicated, I wanted to be sure. Fortunately, every evening was quiet and the forest began to repair itself, magical forests tended to do that. Even the wildlife seemed to return as swallows rebuilt their nests in the newly emerged trees.

Just as my feet met with the earth a tangled web of golden fibers engulfed me tightly. Pale hands pressed against my neck as golden eyes with violet rings inspected me closely.

“I see you have made it home without so much as a scratch.” Celina commented before pulling away from me, her eggshell gown now stained with the dust I had picked up during my flight.

I wasn’t surprised to see my twin. Huri warned me of her and Father’s arrival the day before. But I would prefer it if she would contain herself to herself. Too much of her company felt bad for my health, mostly my nerves.

She liked to prattle on about useless things, such as waiting for her time to marry or wanting to know why Gweniviere or whomever displeased her at the moment seemed to have bought a jewel or fancy mare to have a leg up on her. I never understood it, nor wanted to.

“My body heals quickly, as you know.” I said, pushing her warm palms away from my neck.

Her eyes twinkled at me. She was bursting at the seams. I simply rolled my eyes.

“Spit it out, Cel. I have work to do.” I said, brushing past her and towards the wooden doors of my castle.

My castle. Not hers or Father’s. Although the latter liked to remind me that gifts could always be taken away as quickly as they are given.

“We’re going to Regnum in a few days, for a ball.” Her voice was light, like a song, as she followed close behind me.

I paused in the foyer before the stairs, turning to face her.

“You mean ‘we’re’ as in you and Father, correct?” Although I already guessed the answer from her glowing aura.

She clasped her hands together before her chest.

“The whole family! You and Auncle Huri as well!”

Tension rose up from my neck as I pressed my fingers into my closed eyes, applying enough force to skew the colors of the room when I reopened them.

“I’m far too busy to leave, Cel. If Father wants me to marry her then he knows where to send her.” I turned back towards the stairs, heading up before she had the chance to stop me with more nonsense.

When I reached my door I had to stifle a groan. Nailed to the wood was a folded piece of paper. I pulled at both the paper and nail, fighting a grimace as I assessed the new hole in my door.

Dinner at seven.

The barbarian could have just sent word by way of the servants, instead he had to put holes in the structure of my castle.

I set my sword down on my desk, still piled high with paperwork, even more than last time.

I should work through some of it. A glance at the old clock above my mantle read noon.

It’s not like it’s going anywhere. I thought, retreating to the washroom.

I bathed quickly and threw on a loose black shirt that had a loose knitted neckline, and made my way into the city.

The air was still crisp, and would continue to be until spring was half over. Mountains in the distance stood as pillars of protection for my people, the snowy caps too treacherous for most to brave.

The market was full of life. Various beings littered the cobblestone streets, stoned shops, and eateries. Some kept their wings out, using them as a sign of superiority over others who lacked the ability, most of the time their human blood acting as a barrier. A few nagas, giving themselves legs in lieu of their tails, passed through the crowds with majestic ease, nearly shadows walking through like others didn’t exist.

At the bottom of the hill sat an older stone structure. The tavern. A fine enough place to find barrels full of ale, questionable food, drunk musicians, and consenting evening companions to relieve the tensions of a long day of training and paperwork.

Pushing open the heavy door I was greeted by the stench of molding bread, ale, and a merry group of people who hailed my entrance with a raise of tankards. I made my way to an empty corner, my usual spot when visiting.

Tess, a busty young brunette stopped before me, with a food tray held flatly to her side. Her light gray dress pushed outwards from her thighs as a short frilly black apron traveled down her front. The top of the tavern attire lay open, revealing little to the imagination. A dazzling smile crept across her features as I observed her gaze.

“The usual, Your Highness?” Her voice was light.

I merely curved my lips up slightly before nodding as she scampered away to bring over my drink. Three drinks and a time away in her rented out apartment upstairs. The usual.

Second drink in I couldn’t help but notice eyes peering at me from a neighboring table. An older man, a retired soldier by the sight of his cleanliness and well groomed silver hair smiled up at me, cheeks tinged pink, then raised his tankard. I did the same.

“Did you teach them bastards to keep to their own affairs, Your Highness?” He said, voice straight despite his stained cheeks.

“As always.” I answered, before lowering my own tankard down to my lips, the bitter ale sliding through.

Tess returned with my third and final drink before sitting beside me, leaning into my shoulder.

“The rumor is you’re getting married.” She softly whispered.

“Possibly.” I answered, not turning to face her as I took a sip. We had a good thing going without the mess of obligation towards one another. If she was disappointed in my words, she did a fine job masking it.

“So I take it your visits will draw to an end soon.” A sigh left her lips as she inched even closer, hand grazing my inner thigh.

“Drakonis men don’t leave their wives until death. You know that.” I kept my tone low as I spotted the other patrons eyeing us and re-positioned myself to accommodate the newly formed tightness in my leather pants.

It was true. Once we were set to marry that was it for us, unless our wives met untimely ends before us. Some other monarchs have even praised the men in my family for their ability to not stray from the marital bed. In all honesty, it was less of a headache to keep track of one spouse and whatever children came from them, rather than splitting time between mistresses, bastards, and legal families. So the unspoken rule always remained.

Tess leaned closer, lips grazing my ear as I kept my expression straight.

“Then let’s make up for what will be lost.”

Any tension that was relieved in the tavern’s upstairs apartment had made a full return as I leaned in my chair in the Dining Hall, a glass of red wine in hand. Sitting beside me at the head of the table, my usual seat, was my father, far larger than an average man in height and muscle.

His shoulder-length mess of a black mane lay strewn about as wine dribbled into his beard. So barbaric.

Then there was my twin across from me. Delicate as a flower, or that’s what our father likes to say. Behind those golden irises was a woman who never learned the word ‘no,’ as evident from her beaming expression at the thought of being married off to her childhood crush. The weak and docile human prince. She gently pierced each well cut up piece of boar looking ever-the-innocent. Huri sat beside her, quiet and observing. Not a usual behavior from them.

“I don’t like this matter with the necromancer.” My father began in between chews, voice rough and loud.

Gods he repulsed me.

“She’s dead.” I said, sipping at my glass.

He gave me a pointed glare as the end of a steak knife was pointed at me. I pretended to peer above the mantle of the large fireplace, where a massive family portrait hung. My mother embracing a young Celina in her lap, mirrors of one another, then I stood beside my father. Mother and Celina both smiled, golden eyes glowing whilst Father and I stood stoic, pillars of what was expected from the royal men.

“They’ll be more, mark my words boy. I need this matter with Jovan settled quickly.” He then peered up at my mother’s sibling.

“Huri, we will be leaving in a couple of days. I want you with us for at least the first week. Might be more though.”

My gaze snapped towards my supposed king.

“If we are all going, including Huri, for the Gods knows how long, who will be running the place? I can hardly leave Maleko for longer than a couple of days without becoming backed up with work and you are speaking as though this little holiday of yours is going to take weeks.”

“Most likely a month.” He cut me off.

The old man really was going senile.

“Besides, Aeneas will keep an eye on things.” He finished.

My mother’s father. It made enough sense, due to the proximity of Hyperion to Thanases. But still, a month gone was outrageous. I had specific duties that couldn’t just be passed off. As if sensing my thoughts, Huri cleared their throat.

“Captain Nolan will be intercepting all work that is designated for you until you return.”

The glass under my fingers felt so fragile as I resisted the urge to ball up my hand around its base. To uproot everything I have been working on, to pass off my work as if it meant nothing irritated me to the point that my fingertips began to burn, yet the glass stayed unyielding to the heat. All of this for some low-born, not even low-born, but an illegitimate nobody. My heart lurched harshly against my rib cage. Damn her for having such an effect on me.

“What is so special about her?” I had thought it was only said in my head, until I heard the clatter of a fork violently hitting a silver plate.

My father leaned the entirety of his upper frame across the table towards me, pushing platters of boar and potatoes aside. Violet eyes flashed at me. It should have caused me to recoil when his raw power erupted in waves around him, but I had confidence that I would come out victorious in a duel. Still, I allowed him to berate me, once again, on the subject. It wasn’t worth lingering longer than I had to at this table.

“Now you listen here, boy.” His tone was sharp, but barking was all he seemed to be able to do these days. He pointed the steak knife towards me again.

“If Huri didn’t make up such a fuss about what a good match it would have been for you due to your… circumstances,” the word nearly made me wince.

“I would have put in a contract for myself instead. One way or another I want her.”

Thinking of his monstrous self trying to seduce a much younger woman made me want to retch but I held it in.

“And now,” he continued, lowering the knife.

“Our chances of obtaining her are looking favorable. She just had a rather unfortunate incident with one of Regina’s guards. If she survives then Jovan will finally have to put actual thought into her safety. And at the end of the day, that’s not in Regnum.”

Without much of a conscious thought, my hand found my chest, though I masked it as stifling back a cough. So my suspicions were correct and something did happen to her. Of course, I had heard the stories of the attacks. How most in her own country wished her dead. It never made much sense to me. Why punish her when it was their king who couldn’t contain himself to one woman? Another reason to not stray from the marriage bed. Children of affairs were subjected to a harsher way of life.

“What happened, Father?”

I peered up to see Celina lower her cutlery as she spoke. Ever the polite princess. Our father leaned back in his chair, stroking a hand over his beard.

“It would appear that the girl went for an evening stroll and a female guard attacked her unprovoked. The girl managed to dispatch the guard herself but the weapon used on her had been dipped in venom from a serpent found in Durant.” He explained, bringing his wine up, but didn’t sip.

Celina’s brows creased.

“Zander must be devastated. Will she live?”

Refraining from rolling my eyes, I just sat there with indifference. That’s what truly mattered to her. Not if someone was going to the grave but how her precious and noble prince was handling it. In truth, I should have been more concerned for the girl’s well-being. Yet, every time that chain pulled I couldn’t help but let the resentment rise within me.

Father nodded his head but it was Huri who answered.

“It was touch and go for a few days, according to my sources. However, Regina donated some of her blood to make an antidote. She’ll make a full recovery at this point. And with it we have mostly solidified your marriage contract with Regnum’s prince.” They said, facing Celina but then turned towards me.

“You may be a bit harder to negotiate. But that’s what charm is for, is it not?” Huri grinned brightly, eyes sparkling from their spectacles.

I never had to work to gain favor from women. This little trip of theirs was becoming more of a chore by the second.

“Precisely. And you have an advantage anyways.” Father said, casting his gaze back at me.

Ah, yes, the Chain of Fate. A rare occurrence for the very few, let alone to have it attached to a human who led such short lives. How I would have preferred to sever it and carry on with more important matters of my life, such as preparing to take over the throne.

“Your destiny at this point is inevitable. Wherever it leads you it will include her.” Huri voiced, almost solemnly, as if seeing a grim future for myself. And maybe they did. Dragons varied in their gifts and I never cared to ask for the full extent of Huri’s capabilities.

“We can’t allow her to be dropped into the hands of the fae. Once the negotiations are finalized Huri will perform the binding ritual, preferably before we leave Regnum. We can set an actual wedding ceremony for political matters at a later date.” Father kept his gaze on me while he spoke, as if waiting for my objection. But I gave none.

A binding ritual seemed extreme when there was already a link between us, but if he wanted to waste the opportunity at a stronger alliance with another nation, then so be it. It wasn’t as if I could refuse anyways. Put up a fuss, perhaps, but it would get me nowhere.

“Good,” he continued as I remained silent. “We leave at the end of the week.”

Standing in the dragon made lab located in the dungeon, I stared across all the shelves holding various trinkets, wet specimens, and odds and ends of ingredients for whatever Huri had up their sleeve to conjure. I made a point to touch none of it. One, Huri was a grouch if something was out of place; and two, I didn’t like to admit it, but some of the objects and specimens unnerved me.

Runes and alchemic circles were written all across the stone flooring, the largest being in the center with a cauldron sitting over it. I didn’t dare step on any of them.

The fetus of a kelpie foal floated before me as the door opened.

Finally.

“Well this is a surprise. Come to see your auncle at work?” Huri’s voice floated in.

I turned to see them pulling the metal grip of a large black, leather-bound trunk. I raised an eyebrow but stopped myself from asking about it. There were more important matters.

“I need to know more about this.” I motioned with a flat palm to my chest, knowing they would understand.

They sighed.

“Help me with this trunk and while I pack we can talk.”

Huri was quick to begin pulling random objects from the shelves and drawers. Or at least they appeared random.

“The Chain of Fate is what you would imagine. It links the fates of at least two people.”

“But what if she rejects me? Does the chain then break?” I leaned against a workbench, seeming like the safest location in the room.

“Nothing breaks it, it’s not a physical thing. But it doesn’t necessarily persuade people’s emotions either.” Huri held up two near identical flasks, as if choosing between them before putting both in the trunk. “It’s not always even a case of being linked to a lover either.”

“So it can be ignored?” When I asked, Huri paused to capture my gaze and their face turned stern.

“Absolutely not, Elek. And I would highly encourage learning to work with it. Especially if I am to bind you two together. Your case is a unique one.”

“How so?”

Huri pursed their lips.

“Because you, and her, are the proof that our souls don’t just evaporate after death. They get recycled back into the universe. It’s still a mystery if it applies to all souls and in all my years I am still trying to figure it out. But with you two, you were always bound to be with one another. Whether either of you like it or not.” Their expression softened to a more playful one.

“And what if she does reject the chain? And me?” I despised the way it was coming out. As if I were a schoolboy with a crush.

Huri paused for a moment, and I wondered if they were going to tell me at all. Finally they exhaled slowly, as if preparing to give bad news.

“She can reject you in a way. She may find herself eternally bound to you, with your emotions forever linked to one another, and married to you, but that doesn’t mean she has to love you. In fact, you are more likely to fall in love with her rather than the other way around.”

“Why’s that?” I couldn’t stop my heart from thundering. The entire topic put me on edge.

Huri came to stand before me, golden eyes boring into mine.

“Because you belong to her. Your soul is hers to own. Her soul is the only reason for yours to exist. She may be a pretty little song bird in a cage for now but you will learn that once the bond clicks into place your life will revolve around her. Her safety. Her happiness. You will find yourself writhing in pain when you can’t find a solution to her predicaments.”

I crossed my arms and lowered my eyes, finding a crack in the stone floor suddenly fascinating.

“Why would anyone want to be cursed in such a way? What was the goddess thinking?” It was mostly said to myself as a thought but I wasn’t going to turn away their opinion either.

A hand came to rest on my shoulder. I kept my attention on the crack.

“The goddess was lonely and made herself a companion. A very handsome and ungodly strong companion, even for a dragon.” They snickered before continuing.

“But he did love her and she loved him in return. History does like to run on a loop sometimes so I am optimistic for your future my little nephew.”

Sighing, I didn’t dare ask anymore questions. Many dragons were all-knowing, but that didn’t mean that everyone should know the things the community had knowledge of.