Page 74 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

I press my lips inward and stifle a laugh. For a moment, I thought he was about to ramble on about some fucking girl or love interest—whatever. Little did I know that the prospect of being in someone’s debt bothered him.

Maya? It’s possible that it’s not connected to the hunt. He can get lost in thought, thinking about some woman.

Everyone called Prince Reen a mutt with no emotions at the academy. An elemny who yearns for a hunt. But here he is, sweating in his sleep and irritated by the thought of owing someone. I doubt anyone sees this side of him. I’m lucky to get a front-row seat because I am stuck in a closet through my own doing!

With a yawn, I rest my head on my arms. My body sinks, and it’s hard to keep my eyes open any longer. So, I drift off to sleep, but somewhere through the night, amid the bitter dreams of painful fire, warmth spreads across my cheek. The nightmares of the past flee, and through the comforting flames, I kneel in the snow with Desmond beside me.

Chapter 33

Illusion [VNV Nation]

The Curator:

At nineteen, Reen, King Ragan, and his two sons left the Kingdom of Flesh to entertain the elemny within the Kingdom of Crystal. There was a Grand Crystal Ball, where Prince Walkyer sought love (in his mind) and met a woman named Typha Hart. King Ragan and Commander Fross Hart arranged the event, hoping they could join families. However, King Ragan had another plan in mind.

A day before they left for the Kingdom of Crystal, King Ragan summoned Prince Reen into the Throne Room. Prince Reen entered without hesitation. His dark hair fell forward, and his almond-shaped eyes were a glossy dark brown.

He stood before his king, his back straight and his head held high, as if waiting for the king’s every waking order.

King Ragan leaned against the throne, his fingers trailing across the armrest. Deep red eyes settled on Prince Reen. He spoke words that made Prince Reen’s stomach sink, causing the relaxed hands at his side to clench with undeniable rage at the prospect of what King Ragan had said.

“How would you like to become king, Reen?” King Ragan spoke with clarity, without a hint of malice or doubt. It was a thought that caused King Ragan to lose sleep. He roamed the castle halls, wondering what would happen if Reen ascended to the crown instead of his flesh-and-blood sons. “Would you accept my offer?”

“No,” Prince Reen replied in the same tone and with the same energy his mother held when she declined the King’s offer when they first tethered. “I have no interest.”

King Ragan’s lip curled, and his dark red eyes narrowed when he glowered at the defiant mutt, who exhibited no emotion aside from anger and hunger. On any other day, he could have entertained messing with King Ragan. But it seemed he sensed an intense and different energy about the King. This made Prince Reen think otherwise and decline with as much grace as he could manage instead.

King Ragan tapped his finger on the armrest while he thought of a way to bring Reen to the throne. The teenager had requested to become a Knight of Eraminia. Each time he asked, it was another brush of his hand and dismissive behaviour at the thought of the boy he had raised as something other than a king. He regarded Reen as nothing less than power, and for that power to sit upon the same throne he had occupied for decades. But it seemed Reen’s stubbornness left King Ragan with another plan for him.

“Very well, I have a mission for you, Reen,” King Ragan spoke, his voice dripping with acid. “Your very first mission as a Knight of Eraminia.”

Prince Reen’s eyes narrowed, and he held a suspicion towards King Ragan’s words as he waited for him to continue.

“While we travel to the Kingdom of Crystal, you will protect my sons at all costs. If they die, you will give up your knighthood and accept the throne.”

Prince Reen agreed to the terms. If he didn’t, he knew King Ragan would still send enemies upon his sons until only Reen was left to claim it. His mother hadn’t spoken to the King since birthing Emmerton for warranted reasons, but this wasn’t the story to tell the tale.

Now, let’s move on to the Kingdom of Crystal for our story.

Prince Reen had trained well under the watchful eye of King Ragan all his life. He could sense an enemy before they made a move. Prince Reen gunned down the first three before they could step towards Prince Walkyer or Emmerton.

Emmerton understood what was happening and holed himself up in his room. Prince Walkyer wandered the ship in amazement at the ice glaciers and the frigid wind, but later complained about the biting cold.

Reen snapped the neck of an enemy when Walkyer moved obliviously ahead of his older brother and spoke of meeting a girl there to fall in love with—a connection filled with empty promises and stray tears in the darkest of nights.

When an enemy came forth as they docked, it caught Reen off guard. He thought he had finished his mission as soon as they entered the lands of the Kingdom of Crystal. He didn’t see the attack coming when they left the ship and stepped onto the snow that crunched beneath their boots.

The elemny came up from behind Emmerton with a dagger laced with venom. Reen wrapped his hand around her mouth and pulled her away into the darkness to kill, with no one noticing. Her blade sank into the side of his waist, burrowing near his ribs and scraping against the bone. He jerked her neck to the side until it crunched, but the blow was too deep to ignore, and crimson dripped into the snow—a bloody trail.

While his family entered the Crystal Ball, he moved across the flames with fire elemny guards drinking and singing into the night. Despite being observed, Prince Reen received no aid. Others even curled their lips in disdain at the illegitimate prince and had hope for his death in their eyes.

With no help from anyone, Reen decided he wanted to die in the darkness. The wound was too severe, and his powers wouldn’t let him burn the injury, only burn the poison that wormed inside him.

He rested against the wall, listening to the thumping of music and the spirited voices of elemny with laughter in their words and excitement bubbling at the tip of their tongues. Reen wondered if he would ever feel that sort of happiness. One day, he could be as excited as his brothers and enjoy a day without worrying about protecting his family.

The crunching snow caused Reen to snap a look at a girl no older than fifteen. She stood at the corner of the building. Her bright pink eyes stared at the crimson spilling and melting into the snow. They sized each other up, and hostility leaked from Reen at the thought of her killing him.

As she moved towards him, she frowned.