"Well, Father, after the adventure we had. How could we not?" the prince spoke cordially. "I will not waste your time, especially since the purpose of this dinner was for a formal introduction." I tensed up more when all the attention came back to me. My eyes refused to meet the scorching pair that held me in place. "Morana. My royal bodyguard," the prince introduced me curtly by my name. The name he had given the king was enough to make his cruel eyes flare.
"Your warrior with the Duvessan name fails to meet my eyes." The king was harsh and blunt with his statement. A dark beast inside me snarled at the fear I blatantly showed, the beast controlled my eyes to meet the King's. Our eyes clashed in an unknown battle.
"I am sure you can understand that not everyone meets a king like yourself every day, Father." The prince seemed to be a mediator between myself and his father's analysis of me.
"Tell me, Adrion, was this the warrior Dritan spoke of? I do not remember him mentioningherin his letter."
"No, my King. This is the arena leader's esteemed champion." The prince cut into his chicken but never took a bite. Colfe sipped his wine, either unaware of the tension or too drunk tocare. Inanov sat in silence, while Izlana smirked as she chewed, clearly enjoying the intense scrutiny I was under.
"So you employed a performer?" The king's displeasure was sensed in the entire room; the dining hall's lanterns had brightened with power.
"No, my King. I employed the warrior who could slaughter cliftolights and come out of the fight unscathed." Was the prince's immediate response. A response that elicited a gasp from the guests around who heard the prince. There was a flicker of surprise in the king's eyes but had been masked by emotionless calm. The king now assessed me like an opponent and not simply an intruder. The heat in the room became almost unbearable while the king tapped on the hilt of the sapphire embedded sword, I moved my eyes elsewhere.
"I assume that since you are back in Apollo, this means the three lands are now officially under my command?" The king began to cut into the chicken heart on his plate, the incision made deep and swift. I wondered if he could hear how hard my own heart pounded.
"Yes, Father."
"Are the spies of the coast under our army's command?" The king sounded almost as if he did not believe his son.
"They are, however, there are terms that were requested by theirleader."The prince did not dare say "vampyre king" because there was only one king in Terran and it was the one sitting on the Korovian chair in front of me.
The king's voice dropped by an octave. "And what are these terms?"
The prince shrugged nonchalantly and answered, "The term was that Morana leads the army of hispeoplewhen they are needed." It was so sudden, the king slammed his fist into the table and the very ground shook—lanterns burst from its spot in the chandeliers. It was loud enough to even sober Colfe up.
"And how could you accept such a term? How canshelead an army of vampyres in a war?" The king grit out.
The fork in the prince's hand was now bent as he clenched his fist. "He would never have accepted."
"You should have never agreed to such a deal. Colfe, you allowed this?" The king's eyes were now slicing into the man that looked close to nearly pissing his pants.
"I would have never, Your Majesty, I was not allowed into the meeting when the decision had been made."
"Father, the land is ours, even if Morana led an army of vampyres to war. There are no wars coming—most of Terran already belongs to Apollo," the prince stated. The king’s eyes darkened, as if he would kill his own son.
“Your sister was always the wiser one in this regard." The very sentence had angered me and I didn't know if it was the warrior in me or the feelings in my heart that wanted to protect the prince from something as simple as his emotions getting hurt. The words didn't physically do much to the prince other than the visible tick in his jaw that seemed to clench and unclench.
"I see you still keep Aideena's chair next to you even when she is not here," the prince spoke with slight envy. It made sense the prince was jealous of his sister. He had not spoken much about her on the trip and now it made sense.He had to conquer these lands... because his claim to the throne was at risk of being taken from his sister.
"The seat will remain here until she is done with her own quest." The king analysed his son and then looked at me.
"I must say, word travels fast. You have made quite the impression in Litara. My minister reports that the Litarans are now calling you their royal saviour." I swallowed and listened to the king who gracefully forked a liver into his mouth. "Tell me, how is a goddess blessed arena performer like yourself able to defeat a full-fledged necromancer?" Adrion opened his mouth toanswer but the king raised his hand up. The question was made for me, and there was no way the king would let his son continue speaking for me. I had thought my voice would come out soft and uncertain but when I answered it was firm and strong.
"I had barely escaped with my life, Your Majesty. I was able to stall the necromancer long enough for the concoction he consumed to tear him up from the inside." The king cocked his head to the side as if he heard the lies with each beat in my heart. "And I would have died if the prince had not healed me," I answered truthfully, the prince laid a palm on my knee beneath the table. He gave it a pat, as if to show I had done well. I ignored the fact that his palm was warm and that it left a tingle on my skin.
The king smiled. It had looked odd and scary to see such a feature on a face so cruel.
"Well, Adrion, you have conquered the lands as per your quest and seem to have found a capable bodyguard. To that we shall pay tribute to the cauldron of Apollo once the feast has concluded." The king raised his glass and so did everyone in the room. Honouring the prince's grand achievement.
The castle staff had begun to serve tarts which seemed to have a red-like filling inside it that reminded me too much of blood. I usually loved sweets and would have no doubt eaten dozens of them back in the arena. However, I was now in a kingdom that could very well chew me and spit me out.
"May I suggest hosting a grand ball for tomorrow, Your Majesty? To celebrate such a grand triumph." Colfe was sly in his proposal and seemed like he was not going to ever go on another quest for a very long time and just wanted to enjoy his spoils of luxury once again.
"There will be guests of importance arriving tomorrow." The king gave it a moment's thought before he said, "Let the preparation for the ball begin," the guests around us cheeredand whispered excitedly amongst themselves. My mind drifted to the demons who said they would be here, my heart stuttered, remembering what they had stolen from me and how that green eyed demon had looked at me. How he had looked deep into my soul and saw the truth of everything lain bare.
The prince tensed almost as if feeling the same way when he heard the mention of guests. He then cleared his throat before announcing to the king, "I would like to include a grand entertainment that might intrigue the guests you have invited."
"And what might that be?" The king now looked at his son with regard.
