“Your Majesty,” Altid entered and bowed to me. I was a little surprised to see him here especially as the council was busy with so many cases at once. “Lady Asher,” he greeted her and I saw her face pale at the sound of his voice. “I was told I would find you here,” said Altid. “Why are you looking for me?” she asked as though nonchalant. “I need you at the council to answer a few questions,” Altid ignored the unpleasant tone of Lady Asher. “A few questions, you say? If that is the case you can as well question me here,” Lady Asher said. “I am afraid I shall have to question you at the council,” Altid's tone remained pleasant but firm. “At the council? Why? Is this an arrest?” “Not at all; just a few questions.” “If it is…” “I shall accompany you to the council,” I had been quiet all this while. “Then permit me to run a personal errand before…” “You will be back in no time,” Altid said. She looked as though she wanted to protest but she stopped herself. Ältid’s POV“My m
I had other errands to run here as well. The kings had burdened me with the task of putting things in place for choosing a representative amongst the people in the town that would be chosen by the town. It was not my job exactly; it was Curtis' but I was to supervise the process. I could not do so directly because I did not want my identity to be revealed so I remained behind the scenes on this one. But that was what had informed my disguise as an innkeeper. In all fairness to Moana, it was just another way of saying that I served men their drinks. On this particular evening as I was serving drinks I was glad when the conversation spun around to choosing a representative from among the common people. I had tried unsuccessfully once to broach the subject but the men had told me such conversation was for _men_ and I should not bother myself with such things. I had been furious and wanted to demand what that was meant to mean but my goal here was to remain as unnoticed as possible so
Alpha Ares' POV “We propose war, an all-out war. This is the greatest insult we have ever received as a pack,” one of the noble ministers said. He was a short sticky man who was quick to anger.I was furious but not at what Cyrus did to my pack but rather at what the pair of riffraffs I had allowed into my pack must have done to warrant Cyrus to be provoked to the extent of doing what he had. Cyrus was not one to just act without any justifiable reason; I had to give him credit for that part of his behavior. I did not know yet what they had done but whatever it was, it had not been a part of the plan. My suspicions were about Audrey due to the last conversations that we had. Now I was on the spot. If I did not declare war against Ghysem, my ministers would revolt and their combined effort would see me get thrown out of my throne but if I did act and brought war to the doorstep of Ghysem, how was I supposed to win such a war? One thing I knew I needed however was time. I needed tim
Cyrus's POV As I walked into the throne room, I could feel almost all pairs of eyes giving me a judgemental look. I could tell from their look of disdain that this was going to have something to do with my actions towards the South and I smiled in satisfaction. Sometimes, I enjoyed when the lord's and ministers were angry at me so I could shut them up with my words."What is with the gloomy atmosphere?" I asked, ascending my throne. Theo shot me a questioning glance, I knew he was wondering what had lifted my spirits when we were going to have a war coming soon. "We think that your actions were rather rash your Majesty," Lord Marshall said. "You should have consulted with us.""Pray tell me, what actions do you speak of?" I asked him. "Your actions to rob the South. You have just called a war upon us.""You think I should have consulted with you all?" I asked, not wiping the smile off my face. "Even if I did, we both know it is whatever I have in my mind I shall still do.""Your ma
Two Weeks LaterKing Ares POV"We have concluded our investigations, Your Majesty," Lord Matthews said, walking into the throne room with a few other noble lords. "And we have determined that the attack was from Ghysem.""I don't believe I assigned you to investigate the matter.""If we did not take action, would you have? How do you want to investigate without sending your subjects?" Lord Farkun questioned. "We have already arranged men on your orders to attack Ghysem. They are headed to the borders already. We are getting ready for war!""You dare make such a decision without my permission?" I asked. My fears were beginning to become my reality. I could tell these people no longer respected my decisions as a king. It was only a matter of time before we had a civil war. Perhaps, after we have defeated Ghysem these ministers would find a way to oust me out of power. "Lord Xeik? Did you know about this?" He was the minister of war."I was not aware you did not give the command. Seeing
I led the men I had chosen, our footsteps cautious as we moved toward the village. Two of them veered left, their eyes scanning the horizon, while I made my way to the bridge. The houses stood like guardians, a little way off from the bridge, their windows like empty eyes staring back. The quietness was overpowering, punctuated only by the gentle lapping of the stream against the shore. The sun beat down upon us, its reflection dancing in the water like a thousand tiny diamonds as I walked on the bridge. I didn't know anything about the common people of enemies and it was frustrating. Were they the type to wake up late and then come to the stream to bathe? Or would they have done that early in the morning and gone about their daily business which was away from their look quarters? The uncertainty frustrated me. Looking down, I smiled wistfully at the beauty of the rural landscape. Ghysem was indeed blessed, Cyrus, their ruler seemingly caring about the living conditions of its peopl
The sudden, terrified neighs from our horses broke the silence, making Jonas and I to turn our heads around in unison. More than a hundred men appeared out of nowhere. They were fully armed and advancing toward us with cocky and victorious smiles. They targeted our horses ruthlessly, firing arrows into their eyes and slashing at their bellies, sending the animals crashing to the ground. Our men's anguished cries and screams filled the air as they scrambled to flee, but chaos reigned, making coordination impossible.Panic set in, and I found myself frozen in horror alongside Jonas, watching in disbelief as our men fell around us, their heads severed and bodies mutilated.The massacre was severe, with Ghysem's men seeming to toy with their victims, strolling into houses to finish off those cowering within. I dragged Jonas to the ground, seeking cover beside two lifeless bodies, their chests pierced by arrows. My heart raced wildly, threatening to burst from my chest, as I struggled to r
"What do you find so interesting?" Clinton implored in a tense voice. "We could get killed this way! Let’s get moving. We cannot remain at this distance from the border."I nodded and stepped behind him, looking around the vicinity we had only just left. That nagging feeling that something was off would not leave me. As we continued forward, the bloody tracks we had seen earlier got more pronounced, indicating that some of our people were able to go back to the pack. But we were never able to find them.For the next two hours, we fought our way through the unyielding green cover as well as the unforgiving land with increasing vocal struggles on both sides. Every movement made the growing commotion worse than its metallic drone, and the muted cries. Clinton and I exchanged glances of understanding, for ditching the southern pack and making the trip back including Clinton was risky.“Let’s go by the woods,” I said, attempting to steer clear of the heated confrontation.“That’ll take ano