Chapter 0004 Banished truths

No.

Faiz wanted to scream, not just in defense, but against the critical voice in his head.

Ilias being his next in command gave him every right to act accordingly. Ilias began a deliberate slow step towards Iver, but Faiz halted him.

“Until it’s proven he is indeed the one, there will be no interrogation”. Faiz said to Ilias, but his eyes were on Iver who was oblivious to his mounting adversities.

Iver had been late on purpose, to avoid Faiz, but it was a vain wish, and to top it all his beta had a murderous glint in his eyes, which he knew was meant for him.

“…it’s clear as day, who is…”.

“I make the final judgment”. Faiz's voice was frigid, hinting at his command, which must be obeyed.

Till it was proven he was behind the murder, Faiz would stick by the rules, and not allow any misjudgments.

“Assemble the elders”. Faiz added.

Reluctantly, Ilias backed away, his eyes flickering to Iver, but confused at Faiz’s reluctance to accept the obvious truth.

Iver had held his breath as Faiz walked past him, without as much sparing him a glance, but his body as if sensing him tried hard to cling to his scent which was drifting away along with him.

Iver sensed their discussion had been about him, although Faiz had tried to conceal it, his demeanor had given him away.

“Heard you caught the attention of the elders yesterday. Why not show me what you’ve got, huh?”.

A tall male said, from the group ahead, and a few others around him snickered. Most faces were filled with contempt, while some had indifferent expressions on their faces.

Iver exhaled hard, not uttering a word. From the way others cheered him up, it only meant they all placed him in high esteem.

He walked up to him, his chest puffed out in pride, staring down at him, a sinister smile on his face.

“Hades Is that the way to talk to your leader?”. Another male which Iver hadn’t noticed before came forward.

Immediately Iver could sense the change in Hades demeanor, as his eyes hardened, before it flashed in Iver’s direction.

“Sorry Payce”. Hades mumbled, and then without uttering a word to Iver he backed away, like a coward caught in the jaws of a trap.

“I would have handled him myself”. Iver said, hating someone else had to intervene for Hades to back away.

“I never did that for you. I don’t care about the royals who discriminate against you, nor do I give a damn about you being the head warrior. I'm only here for my own shit”.

Iver scoffed, but wasn't stunned by Payce's indifference about him or anyone else. He was intrigued by why the warriors seemingly had a subtle respect for him.

“Who comes late for their first meeting with the Alpha king, after being appointed? Quite a gusty one aren’t you?”. He suddenly said, folding his arms, as his eyes went down his frame.

“Why do you care about my presence if the Alpha himself didn’t have a damn about it?”. Iver fired back at him, sensing Payce was either one of Faiz’s lackeys or he was just trying to get to him, but Payce chuckled in return.

“Only brother to the Alpha king”. Payce eventually said, and Iver’s ears perked up.

Brother?

He could discern the reason for subtle respect from the warriors. Iver's eyes moved to observe his face, but he found no resemblance between him and the Alpha.

“Cousin brothers and of course you would have to agree I look better than him”. He winked an eye at Iver, a smug smile at the corner of his lips.

Iver wanted to refute his words, but held back his words instead.

”What do you want from me?”. Iver asked.

His new mission was to find a way to cope in the palace. and anyone related to Faiz wasn’t one he wanted to associate with at the moment.

“Trust me, I generally hate wolves and wish to be anywhere but here, but duty calls before my desires”. He said wryly.

“Follow me”. He said curtly to Iver as he began to walk farther away from the training field. “Locke, the previous head warrior, did a bunch of other duties apart from being a head warrior”.

Iver was curious about what had happened to the previous head warrior, but he knew sooner it was bound to be revealed.

The sun began to shine brighter, showcasing the lush fields of the palace, but Iver wished he could have a little break from Payce’s non-stop talks about his duties.

“Why is there blood on your hands”. Payce suddenly asked. Iver stared at his opened palm to see the small gash on his palm. He had clenched his fist too tightly, but his mind instantly went back to the prick he had felt the night before. The arrival of the palace guards halted any thought that came up.

“We were asked to escort you to the court hall”. One of them said to Iver his expression grim.

Iver wished he could erase the buzzing feeling in his heart, as one of the guards led the way to the court, while the rest walked behind him. Payce had barely said a word, but his face had held an unspoken warning. Like he knew what was coming but couldn’t say it aloud.

As Iver walked into the big hall, the last thing he hadn’t expected to hear was the scared voice of his brother.

“Brother!”.

“What are-”. Iver tries to get to him, but a guard close to him draws out his sword.

Iver felt his heart stop for a beat, as he saw Nur, his cousin, a few feet from Reuel, but also held back by the guard.

He immediately sensed the tension in the air, he had ignored it when he walked in. His eyes took in the elders and some officials in the hall. Their ominous gaze on him. His jaw ticked anxiously, as he tried to keep his calm.

The next second, a bloodied cloth was thrown at his feet, and a dagger rolled out of it. Iver stared at the dagger, as he realized the gnawing feeling he had earlier wasn’t just his paranoia, but reality unfolding before his eyes.

His eyes went to Nur, whose expression also mirrored his. Why was their family most valued weapon at his feet, instead being locked up in their family’s chest.

The next minutes later questions were thrown at him, and barely any word from him. He understood that his identity placed him at disadvantage, but being accused of two murders on his first day as head warrior wasn't in his list of initiatives.

“This weapon bears the engraving of your family, no one else here is a clan member, and the unhealed injury on your right palm, is glaring who is behind the murder”. Elder Rayden said to him.

He had been the one to first approve of him, the previous day, but it all old news as he was the first to outrightly accuse him.

Iver chuckled in disbelief. The pit was deeper than he had thought. He had no time to think about why he hadn't healed, but it was glaring that it hadn’t been a simple injury like he had thought.

A well thought out plan, and it worked out perfectly to frame him.

“Who knows, maybe he had sneaked in his-”.

“They are innocent”. Iver gritted out, cutting him off. His knuckles white. The odds were against him, and he knew it. No explanations would change their minds.

“Do you confess to your involvement -”.

“I did nothing”.

“Then why is a dagger with your family’s engraving found near the scene?”. It was Faiz. He emerged from the corner of the court hall, where he had been observing everything.

Iver swallowed an invisible lump in his throat, his heartbeat suddenly beating faster. He had been too preoccupied to notice his presence. A little hope blossomed in his heart, and he held onto it fervently.

“Not only does the murder evidence point at you, but an eye witness revealed that you were at the scene of the murder, any logical person wouldn’t believe otherwise”.

“What do you think?”. Iver asked, his voice low, as he peered deeply into his eyes, but Faiz’s eyes held something he couldn’t discern.

In a flash, Faiz drew out a sword, aiming it at his neck. Iver didn’t flinch an inch, but felt a deeper ache in his heart spreading across his entire body.

“What I think doesn’t matter here? Why did you kill them? To become more powerful for your clan? Or to-”.

Again. He had hoped.

He was surely trapped in his illusion, to think Faiz would sense a bit of his truth.

“Aren’t you tired of using my identity as a means to judge me?”. Iver muttered, his eyes blazing.

Faiz's eyes hardened, his grip on the sword slackened, and he turned away from him in pent up frustration. He was darn stubborn!

“You are in no position to talk to the Alpha that way!”. Elder Rayden yelled at him. Iver was instantly knocked to the floor, on all fours. “Talking to him is of no use. Make a decision on what you want to do with him”.

Faiz inhaled hard, his mind a jumbled mess. His eyes peered at Iver on the floor. He didn’t know how he felt, but he detest that he couldn’t plead for his innocence.

Faiz couldn’t fathom why he acted so detached if he had nothing to do with it, but eyes were on him impatiently awaiting his judgment.

“As of today he is banished, and his immediate family will be stripped of their rights”. Faiz finally said, his back to Iver, the weight of his own words crushing him quietly .

Yet more than anything, hated the way his heart felt like it wasn’t his.