Elian’s POV
*****
"My lord!" Farrell yelled out when Elian and Kyren levitated back to the compound of the city’s chief.
Kyren’s face was pale, his jaw tightened as he walked past Farrell and the city chief, his boots echoing on the tarred ground.
Elian stood behind, his chest still heavy with pain after whatever the fuck the titan witch did to the mate bond between them.
The bond wasn’t completely broken... But it had changed, making Elian’s spine shiver with dread.
Not to ntion the voice he heard in his head after the curse took effect.
"Found you" the voice echoed in his mind, giving strength to the uneasiness creeping in.
Was it a remnant of the witch’s spirit or soone else?
Elian’s eyes flicked to Kyren just then, watching as he stood in front of the chief’s residence, his back facing them.
Farrell glanced at Elian briefly before bringing his eyes to the rogue king.
"My... My lord, the Arcadian troops have fallen back. You eradicated the ones who dared to attack the walls, including the augnted witch."
Kyren didn’t flinch, nor did he answer Farrell. He just stood silently, as if moping over the brief mont where he lost control of the situation.
Despite the tampering of the bond, Elian could feel all of it.
Kyren’s anger. His overwhelming need to hurt sothing. Anything.
The rogue king’s emotions were dark and insatiable, pulsing through the fractured bond.
"Where is Duke Onika?" Kyren suddenly spoke with an oddly calm voice, turning around to face Farrell and the city’s chief.
His crimson eyes glowed like orbs of death as they flicked to Elian, watching him intensely.
Elian swallowed hard, not knowing how to handle all of this.
’System, do you have any stats on what happened to the mate bond after the witch’s curse?’
[It’s... Complicated. It seems to be a complex curse ant to tamper with the mate bond between two wolves. In this case, you and Kyren.]
Great, sothing he already knows.
[Relax, bossy pants. The bond isn’t destroyed or anything. It’ll get back to normal over ti... But Kyren on the hand...]
Just then, Farrel parted his lips to respond to Kyren’s question after a short pause. "Sir, Duke Onika is—"
"Here." A female voice spoke up from the entrance of the compound behind Elian, forcing him to turn to see who it was.
A woman in her forties with short black hair walked into the compound, the smoke left behind after the attack on Gravethorn billowing into the clouds several hundred ters away.
Her sleek black armour seemingly shimred, and each step she took seed like it was laced with defiance.
[My readings place her as an Alpha-class wolf. At the mid Alpha level.]
Elian’s eyes widened.
Lucian and Axel were both mid alphas... And their power levels were already terrifying to most.
"I see you took your sweet ti, Onika," Kyren remarked with pure sarcasm as Onika walked past Elian, barely sparing him a glance.
When she got in front of Kyren, she bowed slightly. "My apologies. I was rallying soldiers to co assist Gravethorn’s forces but then got word that things were being taken care of. And from the look of things outside the walls..."
She paused, rising even though Kyren didn’t tell her to. "It seems those reports were right."
Elian didn’t need a scrying mirror to know Kyren was at his wits’ end, the more Onika spoke.
And Onika, on the other hand, seed way too calm for soone standing before a celestial sovereign.
[Welp... I’m calling it now. Wanna bet he does sothing drastic?]
Before Elian could respond to the system, Kyren spoke with a voice colder than ice.
"Gravethorn City is one of the most vital border cities, Onika. And we almost lost it today if I hadn’t intervened." Each syllable rolled out with venom, his eyes flickering. "I just ca back from Lunaria and I was welcod with this. What does that say about your competence as a leader?"
Elian tilted his head, noticing how she stiffened. She had her back facing him but the look Kyren gave her was sharp enough to shatter whatever confidence she had.
"S–Sir, I was in the middle of a eting with the city chiefs in my region." She tried defending herself, shaking her head. "Really, I was busy. Chief Alan would’ve attended as well if it weren’t for the attack."
She pointed at Gravethorn’s city chief who paled like she’d given him a death sentence.
Kyren’s eyes landed on him and then her repeatedly before he suddenly did sothing Elian didn’t see coming.
He raised his right hand, snapping his fingers without saying a word.
An invisible force shot out of his hand after that, heading for the city chief who stood beside Farrell.
Before the poor city chief could even comprehend what was happening, the invisible force hit him, causing his body to explode into nothing but blood and organs.
Farrell jolted with terror while Onika froze completely.
Elian’s lips parted as the stench of death and the tallic ooze of blood lingered in the air like incense.
"That’s just the first mark in my purging of you morons holding power in my kingdom." Kyren’s voice was emotionless as he swerved his head to Onika. "See to it that you find a replacent to take over his position. In the anti, I’ll have my eyes on you."
He paused, his eyes flaring with a dangerous light that sent chills down Elian’s spine.
"Don’t think for one second that your position as a Duke gives you immunity, Onika."
With that said, Kyren turned away from her, walking toward his battle craft.
He glanced at Elian, his eyes beckoning him to follow him as if he hadn’t just killed a seemingly innocent man.
[Maybe he had his reasons?]
Elian cursed under his breath before running toward Kyren, the black battle craft activating. A ramp stretched out from the side, leading into the craft.
Once inside the ship, Elian shakily walked to his previous sitting spot, avoiding eye contact with Kyren who didn’t tear his gaze from him for one second.
"You’re afraid," Kyren spoke matter-of-factly, making himself comfortable on his throne-like seat. "Uncertain if you made the right choice being with soone as... Vicious as . Am I right?"
Elian felt like a lump was stuck in his throat, preventing him from letting any words out.
Kyren stared at him for a few more seconds before finally smirking, shaking his head.
"My little fla. You’ll learn soon enough that my viciousness has reasons. Most tis, anyway."
How comforting...
With that, the ship lifted off the ground, its engines whirring as the runes inside lit up.
And then it took off, leaving Gravethorn City behind them.
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